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Know When to Hold 'Em: Eight Employee Retention Strategies
 It’s much more cost-effective and better for business continuity to keep good employees on your payroll than to hire new ones. Preventing turnover is especially vital in tight labor markets. But, with competitors courting the most talented employees, how do you keep yours from moving on?
Hiring smart is the basis of staffing your company with dependable, productive people. Beyond that, it takes more than good salaries to keep employees loyal to your company.
“Money is about the fifth or sixth item on the list,” says Lucy Katz, vice president of customer service and client development at Katz Builders in Austin, Texas.
Here are some proven employee retention strategies from housing industry professionals:
- Don’t promise the moon. Phil Chamberlain, vice president of Chamberlain & McCreery Homes in Cordova, Tenn., advocates approaching the hiring and retention of employees as a short-term (five-year) relationship. “When they hire top-notch candidates, most small- to medium-sized businesses can’t provide a lifetime of opportunity for that type of employee,” Chamberlain explains. “So, why paint a picture for them that doesn’t exist? However, if you hire correctly, top-notch employees will help you grow into a company that can and will provide a longer term opportunity for them.”
- Be a good leader ― and listener. It takes a lot of listening to be a good leader and to inspire your employees to work toward your company’s vision. Sometimes it’s hard to carve out time to listen to employees, given all the responsibilities and daily “fires” that compete for a business owner’s attention. Nevertheless, don’t just spit out orders when things get crazy.
“Disregard for others’ feelings leads to turnover and lack of productivity. Be sure that your leadership style is inspiring — not terrifying,” advises Lee Terry, president of Lee Terry & Associates, a San Mateo, Calif.-based executive search firm specializing in recruitment for the home building industry.
If your leadership skills could use some work, log onto NAHB’s Web site to read “Traits of Successful Leaders.” (This link is available to NAHB members only.)
- Keep the work interesting. “The best employees will not be happy unless they are challenged, learning and growing,” says Chamberlain. One good way to keep employees motivated and help them grow is to delegate important tasks and projects to them. When you do it the right way, you delegate authority but keep responsibility for the task.
For some additional tips on delegating, log onto NAHB’s Web site to read “Manage Your Time and Make More Money.” (This link is available to NAHB members only.)
- Keep the job safe — and sane. A good job site safety program communicates to employees that you’re looking out for their health and well-being. For some pointers on developing such a program, log onto NAHB’s Web site to read “Wichita Builders Work Wonders With OSHA.” (This link is available to NAHB members only.)
Mental health is an important part of the equation in keeping good employees on your payroll. Prevent burnout by encouraging or requiring employees to use their allotted annual vacation leave.
In addition, consider rewarding top-performing employees with days off. “You don't always have to pay a bonus for exemplary work,” says Tony Zimbelman, president of Zimbelman Construction in Wichita, Kan. “Most workers appreciate additional days off as much as they do extra pay. It's not that hard to watch over their job sites while they are off for an extra couple of days.”
- Offer flex time. “One of the most common mistakes managers make is assuming that an employee must be at the office to be working, and equating the quality of work with how often they are in the office,” says Terry. “Today, time is at a premium for everyone, and little things ― like arranging for dry cleaning pick-up or other services or flexibility to meet daycare requirements — mean a lot.”
If possible, be flexible about office core hours. “We do not always set exact hours, but instead expect our people to complete their work and the work be completed on time,” says Todd Leibl, president of Victory Homes in Arcadia, Calif.
Consider letting employees occasionally work from home, if that’s feasible, and set them up with the proper technology (laptop computers, cell phones, etc.) to make that happen.
- Help them learn. There’s a lot to be said for picking up knowledge on the job. At many companies without formal training programs, that’s about the only education employees get. But, to grow — and acquire skills to handle more challenging duties — employees must continually build their knowledge base. Help them do that by supplementing job-related training with a variety of educational resources.
“We bring employees to local and regional trade shows, buy them subscriptions to the Journal of Light Construction and Fine Homebuilding, and subscribe them to all the free industry publications so they know we are serious about training,” says Alan Hanbury Jr., CGR, CAPS, treasurer of House of Hanbury Builders in Newington, Conn. (It wouldn’t hurt to subscribe them to Nation’s Building News, too. ― the editors.)
- Praise them in public. When an employee exceeds a sales quota, puts in overtime to make a closing happen on schedule or otherwise goes above and beyond the call of duty, make sure everyone else knows.
Highlight the top performer in your company newsletter. Tell your staff about the achievement at your weekly meeting, and give the employee a voucher good for dinner for two at the nicest restaurant in town. Have a sign made that says, “Reserved for ________, employee of the month,” and mount it on a choice parking space just outside your company’s door. Fill in the space with individual nameplates.
Don’t forget your support staff. “Remember the often overlooked secretaries and administrative assistants, and recognize that they are often the glue that holds a company together,” says Terry. “Show them that you appreciate them.”
On the flip side, privately counsel an employee who doesn’t follow proper procedures or makes a mistake. “Nothing can make an employee look for other employment faster then getting embarrassed in front of fellow employees,” Zimbelman warns.
Turn the negative into a positive by looking for ways the employee — and the company — can learn from the mistake. Glitches and goofs can be inadvertent catalysts for improving your procedures.
- Ask for employees’ input. Whether you’re writing business plan goals, coming up with job site and office procedures, or debriefing your production team after completing a house, ask employees to suggest ideas on how to perform tasks efficiently and run projects more smoothly. When they feel involved, and see their ideas implemented, employees realize that they are integral to the company’s success. That’s extremely motivating.
“Employees are a firm’s most important asset,” says Terry. “Loyal, inspired, successful employees will help make a successful company.”
Additional Resources
'Job Descriptions for the Home Building Industry' Available at BuilderBooks.com
"Job Descriptions for the Home Building Industry, Third Edition," available through BuilderBooks.com, contains 40 job descriptions for home building industry employees — plus sample company organization charts, job description forms, electronic documents on CD and other tools. To purchase it online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
 'Managing Your Employees: Human Resources Guide for Builders' Available at BuilderBooks.com
"Managing Your Employees: Human Resources Guide for Builders," available through BuilderBooks.com, is a model personnel policies and employee handbook you can customize for your company. It contains a section on legal and regulatory authorities that affect personnel policies, suggested systems and processes for managing your workforce and a CD of forms and checklists for managing human resources policies and programs. To purchase it online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
NAHB Has More Than 170 Resources to Help You Run Your Business More Profitably
Go to NAHB's Business Management Tools Web pages (available to members only) for instant access to more than 170 timesaving, moneymaking and cost-cutting business resources to help you run your business more profitably. Get guidance on accounting and financial management, business strategy, computers and information technology, customer service, human resources and more.
Resources are added weekly, so bookmark www.nahb.org/biztools to go directly to these vital business management resources.
Local and state home builders associations can link directly to www.nahb.org/biztools from their Web site and give their members instant access to these resources. It will make your HBA's Web site the place to go for the information and guidance that members need to succeed.
Subscribe to NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source
NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source is your monthly electronic guide to the hot issues and emerging trends in home building business management. You’ll find practical advice, tricks of the trade and sound business guidance — all delivered monthly, straight to your desktop, in a quick and easy-to-read format. Business of Building e/Source is available free to NAHB members and their employees. To subscribe, visit www.nahb.org/BoB on the Members Only side of the NAHB Web site.
 Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera
Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.
Make Your Connection With www.nahb.org
 Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB.
Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started.
Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section.
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