| | Finding & Keeping Great Employees"Hiring, retaining and developing great people is the biggest challenge and single greatest key to the success of any business." Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems
Finding and keeping great employees is one of the top challenges facing agencies today. You not only have to compete for quality employees within the industry, but you also have to compete with banks and other service industries. Even Disney has had to relax their employment standards and allow mustaches! Not only is it a challenge, it's an opportunity to be more profitable—as much as 30-40% more profitable. How? People are the greatest asset of any business, and great people create competitive advantage. To protect their agency's most valuable asset, agency principals must spend as much time and energy finding, developing and retaining their people as they spend finding and developing customers. Here's what the best businesses--the ones who are "employers of choice" do: 
| Build Bench Strength. Encourage people to prepare for their next job. When vacancies occur, the best people are waiting to fill them. While experienced candidates can bring new ideas and a broader perspective, they also can bring along their bad habits. |
| Provide Ongoing Training and Development. Recognize training goes beyond the minimal requirements for continuing education credits. Provide employees with intellectual challenge and the opportunity to grow. |
| Encourage a Connected Work Environment. Encourage employees to have fun and take pride in the contribution they make to the organization and to the community. Support the employees’ need to balance their personal and their business lives. |
| Supply the Right Tools. Provide employees with the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. Ensure technology drives processes, and workflow really works. Understand that even the best people cannot overcome inadequate systems and procedures that perpetuate duplication and errors. |
| Offer Appropriate Rewards. Pay employees fairly and competitively. Make sure compensation is tied to performance and attainment of results. Celebrate success, recognizing that rewards come in many forms. Employees respond based on their own personal values and priorities. |
| Recruit Continuously. Bringing new, qualified and top quality people into the organization is an ongoing activity that is given top priority. Everyone in the agency participates. |
To gauge how well you're doing--if your programs and policies are as effective as you hope or think they are--you may want to conduct an employee satisfaction survey. The results may simply confirm that you're on the right track. They may also pinpoint some areas that need attention from the employee's perspective. | | |
