Employees matter. As the forces of globalism and the proliferation of technology relentlessly level the playing field, it’s safe to say that the people who work for you are everything. Your competitors have access to the same resources as you. That means infinite choices exist not only for your customers, but for your employees as well. If you’re not seeking ways to meet their needs, they will seek greener pastures and your customers will follow them over the fence.


Preventing “greener pasture” syndrome must be top priority for today’s leaders. And while it may sound self-evident, the best approach is to make your pasture the greenest. Here’s how:


1. Don’t misrepresent your culture. Engaging your employees starts with the interview. Do you talk about exciting opportunities only to hold employees back from assignments until they “pay their dues”?  If your culture isn’t where you’d like it to be, talk about the type of company you want to become, how you’ll get there, and how they can help.


2. Engage employees. Present employees with challenging assignments and provide them with opportunities to grow. Help them improve their skills, perhaps, or learn a new skill they can use in their everyday jobs.


3. Embrace diversity. It takes a lot of different influences to make your pasture the greenest. A diverse workforce creates an energy that can rarely exist in an environment of uniformity.


4. Give praise where praise is due. If someone does a great job, let him or her know. Then let co-workers and customers know too.


5. Conduct “stay” interviews. Stay interviews provide an opportunity for you to compliment your high performers and inspire them to help take the company to the next level. Also, seek out suggestions on what you and the company can do to improve.


6. Create a positive environment. Allow your employees to develop and implement their own ideas. And to avoid frustration, make sure they have whatever equipment they need to get the job done.


7. Help employees with work/life balance. Today’s workforce actively seeks out companies that make work/life balance a priority. Perhaps you can provide flexible hours or enable employees to work from home occasionally, which shows them that you value the lives they have outside the office.


8. Insist on vacations. Several studies show that employees who take vacations are less stressed, have healthier lifestyles, and are even at lower risk of developing heart disease. They are also less likely to suffer burnout.


9. Create an environment of trust. Do you treat all with respect? If employees see you treating someone poorly, their level of trust diminishes. Also, remember that trust is a two-way street. It might be time to get rid of the employee time clock, for example.


10. Rid your pasture of weeds. The weeds in your figurative pasture are the poor performers and negative influencers who stifle the positive attitude and performance of others. If you don’t pull out your weeds, they’ll choke your best performers.


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.


DR. JOANNE G. SUJANSKYhas more than 25 years of experience helping leaders increase organizational growth and profitability. She is an international keynote speaker, founder of KEYGroup, and author of numerous books on leadership, change, and retention. Reach her at http://www.joannesujansky.com.

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