Today’s #1 concern of most business owners is not when the next recession will arrive, or, what their competition is doing. It’s not even how much business Amazon may be taking from them. Most business owners and managers will tell you their #1 concern is… finding good employees!
Ask yourself this question, “If the perfect person walked through my door today and was looking for a job, what would I do?” Would you ADD this new-found superstar to your team or is there someone on your team that you would “offer an opportunity to find a new career”, i.e. replace them!
The cost of emotionally disengaged employees is staggering, and the number of disengaged employees is huge. In America, a Gallup Research Poll found that 70% of employees would consider a better opportunity if one was presented to them. They also found that 51% of employed people already have a resume put together and are actively looking for their next job or career.
One consistent sign of any great company is the longevity of its employees. Smart business owners understand it’s a far better investment to pamper, reward, recognize, support, train, pay your current employees well and keep them, than it is to continue to hire, train, and rehire unengaged employees.
The things employees want most vary from survey to survey, but they include flexibility, opportunity, defined responsibility, attention and recognition, autonomy and purpose, to name a few.
As a business owner, it’s difficult to gauge or rate the level of your employees’ happiness. A quick way to do this is to have each employee take a simple survey. This simple, non-threating exercise will answer nearly everything you need to know about their level of engagement, and whether or not you need to put the HELP WANTED sign out front of your business.
Consider asking your employees these two powerful questions to find out if they are happy, or if they are part of the 70% that would consider a better opportunity:
1) Do you feel like your supervisor cares about you as a person?
2) Do you feel like there is an opportunity for you to grow here?
Caution: DO NOT have your employees put their names on the survey. I can almost assure you that you will know who they are by their answers.