In part four of a six-part series on motivating employees, Gary Kleyn considers ways to attract quality staff and fit them into a firm’s culture.
TO avoid politics in an organisation that can have a negative influence on a firm’s ambitions, getting the right mix of employees is imperative.
However, it is important that these “right” staff are recruited correctly.
A good starting point to achieving this is the Small Business Development Corporation which provides some useful advice on its website that businesses can follow.
In addition, the Business Enterprise Centre of NSW offers a useful publication on retaining staff.
The SBDC says that good human resources management also includes proper induction, training and the reviewing of employee performance.
Objectives must be set in place that ensure conditions are created and maintained to provide profitable and efficient use of personnel.
At the recruitment stage, the key issue is to provide adequate information through a variety of means to potential candidates.
During selection it is important to ensure that the right questions are asked that will highlight the skills of the applicant. Once an employee is chosen, keeping the staff member motivated remains the key.
“Employees remain motivated when the employer takes an interest in their development; cares about their safety and health and general wellbeing; treats people as people not as numbers on a payroll; and sets joint goals and objectives so that employees know what is expected of them,” the BEC report says.
Tips for good staff retention are:
Regularly communicate to your staff your plans, expectations, problems and opportunities; Show recognition for work well done; Lead by example; Encourage suggestions and ways to improve the organisation and involve employees in decision making; Delegate responsibility and foster initiative; and Set realistic targets and use a review system so employees know where they stand.
As a resource manager it is important to set the stamp on what type of culture you want your
workers to be ingrained in.
Managing Organisational Behaviour, published by John Wiley & Sons states there are a number of shared elements of strong corporate cultures.
These are a widely shared philosophy, a concern for individuals, a recognition of heroes, a belief in ritual and ceremony, a well-understood sense of the informal rules and expectations and a belief that what employees do is important to others.
