Inevitably, if you talk to any business owner or company manager, the topic of hiring will come up. Every one of them will tell you how hard it is to hire people right now. They just can't find anyone or they find people but then their employees ghost them two weeks into the job. There seems to be so much mystery surrounding why these employees ghost their jobs and never return.

If you are struggling with retention or employee morale then this article is for you. I have three Rules for Raving Fans that can help you turn your culture around today. Before we get into that, though, I want to share the inspiration for this post. It came from a message I received from one of my employee’s mothers this past week. After reading the below message, it dawned on me that what I do on a daily basis is vastly different. I then decided that a blog post was needed to help spread these good employment practices.

So what did I do to deserve this message? Well, in my mind, nothing. Jacob came into our company as a general laborer. He received the same speech I give to all my employees, “If in two years you are in the same spot as you were when you started, either you or I have done something wrong.” I always end with, “and I can assure you that it is not going to be because of me because I will hunt down opportunities for you.” That challenging statement brings me to the first of our three rules that turn your employees into Raving Fans.

1. You are responsible for your employees’ success. Some of you are going to be pissed about that statement and I couldn’t care less because it’s the truth. Every day I wake up thinking about my employees and how I am going to provide for them in more ways than just money. I want to make sure that they receive training on life skills, training on how to run a business, training on how to communicate, training on how to take their career to the next level. They might not be with me forever but it is still my responsibility to be the leader they have always wanted. So what are you providing your employees outside of just paying their paycheck in exchange for their work?

2. You need to find employees that want to work together. I am going to give you the same advice that my mentor shared with me, "protect and cultivate your culture with every bit of energy you have, because it can disappear in the blink of an eye". Owners and managers get really cynical about building culture because one bad hire can ruin the whole thing causing you to have to start over from day 1. Take this Rule very seriously and work every day to ensure your employees love not only working for you, but also for the other employees you’ve hired. Don’t hire out of necessity.

3. Provide your employees with hope for the future. No one wants to work for an owner who has become complacent and isn't pushing for growth. In most cases, the reason that millennials ghost their bosses is because they realize once they start that they probably aren't going anywhere just like the employees that they are working with. The older generations have already become cynical towards their career. Millennials haven't had enough experience to be cynical. So from day one, show them the exact path to success (be that a raise, promotion, life success, etc) and how you as the owner are working each day to open up more opportunities.

Three paragraphs really don’t do this mindset justice. If you are struggling with retention and developing employee plans, reach out to me in the comments below. I would love to take a look at your culture and give you advice on how you can further develop your employees!

Enjoy,

Your Company's Raving Fans