Keep Great Employees: Rid Your Pasture of Weeds

The greenest pastures are not filled with weeds

By Specialty Retail Report

Employees matter. No, they really matter. In fact, it’s safe to say that the men and women who work for you are everything. Think about it. Your competitors have access to the exact same resources as you. That means almost infinite choices exist not only for your customers but for your employees as well. If you’re not seeking ways to nurture them, meet their needs and remove poor performing employees, they will seek greener pastures—and your customers may follow.

Make no mistake: When employees start searching for greener pastures, it can be a bona fide disaster. After all, your employees are the face of your organization. They build strong relationships with customers and vendors, they know the ins and outs of your operation, they train new hires and indoctrinate them into the company culture. And every time a great employee leaves, you have to shell out the cost of rehiring and retraining a replacement

Rid your pasture of weeds

The weeds in your figurative pasture are the poor performing employees who stifle the good attitudes and high performance of their fellow employees. If you’re not pulling out your weeds, then it’s likely their productive counterparts won’t stick around to keep working with them. They’ll choke out your best performers. Any environment where employees are not held accountable for their actions, whether they’re positive or negative, can create a poor working environment. The greenest pastures are not filled with weeds.

In the end, striving to keep employees happy and engaged is not just a nice thing to do—it’s the right thing to do if you want to create a successful business. Furthermore, it’s not just a matter of trying to retain people to avoid the costs and hassles of replacing them. Engaged employees are creative, productive, motivated and brimming with good ideas. If you take steps to create a healthy corporate culture, reward good work and promote an open environment, not only will your great employees stay, they’ll be fully committed to their jobs and to your company’s success—making your future pastures even greener.

By Specialty Retail Report | Read the article