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It’s likely that one of your company’s biggest assets doesn’t actually appear on a balance sheet or in a property portfolio. To see this invaluable asset,
look no further than your employees. In a business that inherently involves dealing with people and making quick, educated decisions, a well-versed employee is an invaluable asset. With this in mind, there are many measures you can—and should—take to do everything in your power to keep good staff onboard for the long haul.
1. Stay on top of market salaries.
Carefully research the going salary for comparable positions in your region and make sure you are at least matching it. While everyone wants to keep their overhead as low as possible, trying to get “bargain” employees will rarely work to your benefit in the long run. You’ll either end up losing employees to companies that are willing to pay higher wages or end up with an inferior staff. Consider that according to Entrepreneur.com the average cost of losing an employee is 38 percent of the departing employee’s annual wage and it’s readily apparent that it’s financially savvy to make sure good employees remain on staff.
2. Be diligent about goal-setting and annual reviews.
Goal-setting and annual reviews may elicit a few groans from your staff, but don’t be swayed—they’re essential. Goals offer a clear-cut method of tracking employee progress and ensuring that both you and your employees have a good idea of where growth has been achieved and, alternatively, where training may be necessary. Additionally, goals and reviews instill a measure of accountability for staff and provide both you and your employees with a built-in opportunity to take stock of where they stand and to make adjustments as necessary.
3. Promote from within.
Whenever possible, promote from within. Although this is not always feasible in cases where specialized positions need to be filled, if you are never promoting from within this likely means it’s time to evaluate your management style. A good employee-manager scenario should involve training and, subsequently, consistently increasing employee responsibility.
4. Delegate responsibility as it is earned.
Even in the absence of an official promotion, make sure your employees’ responsibilities are consistently increasing (this is, of course, assuming, that they are earning such increases). The more ownership of and investment in your company employees assume, the more effort they will extend on your business’ behalf. As boss, you also want to ensure that you have as many capable hands pitching in as possible. Everyone wins when employees are empowered.
5. Recognize milestones and outstanding achievements.
Everyone likes to be recognized. Pay attention to what’s happening around the office and reward employees who go the extra mile. Even when money is tight, a $25 or $50 gift card to a restaurant or local shop will be well worth the expenditure. Remember, you’re in a high-touch industry—you may be able to negotiate a trade with local vendors wherein you offer advertisement opportunities (e.g., including coupons for their product or service in new tenant packets) in exchange for gift cards that can be put toward employee incentives.
Finally, remember that maintaining staff morale is not an “extra” task to tackle when you have more time or increased profits. By then, it may be too late. Maintaining good staff is nothing short of essential to good business.
Check out the Buildium Blog for more property management resources.
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