Team Part 2

A guy I know that owns a commercial construction company recently told his employees that he was changing their salary structure. He said that now that they would be making more money more would be expected of them. He also said that this would make their jobs "coveted".
Not the best choice of words, in my opinion. When you tell your employees that their jobs are coveted it implies that there is someone waiting in the wings to steal the job. While this may be the case, saying it doesn't exactly help to build employee morale.
But what does help to build morale, yes what does make your employees feel like their job is "coveted". The following list is a continuation of the things mentioned in the last TEAM article.

1. Pay! Ok, this is obvious so I wanted to get it out of the way quickly.

2. Stability. No matter how much money you are able to pay your employees it won't matter if it doesn't last. For example, in the HVAC business you might have your guys working 60 hours a week in June, July, and August. But in order for them to really value their job they have to know that they are going to be able to get at least 40 hrs a week in October and April. This means that you will have to be proactive and step up your advertising and marketing game to find work for them to do in these months. You might be able to live off of your profit from the busy season but come October all of that overtime money that they made in August is spent.

3. Appreciation. A little of this goes a long way. My favorite customers, believe it or not, are not the ones who pay me the most. While the high paying customers are necessary in order for me to stay in business, the best ones are the ones who are appreciative. The same goes for your employees. Yes, all you really OWE them is a pay check. But if you throw a thank you in there every now and then it won't kill you and it won't cost you anything either. As a matter of fact, it may motivate them to work harder which will make you money.

4. Dignity. Allow your employees to have some. No you can't write it off on your taxes but its still a good thing to give away. Give dignity and respect to your employees by allowing them to have some input, even if very limited, in business decisions. If you hire intelligent employees and you allow them to think for themselves and come up with their own unique ideas, they will exceed your expectations. However if you treat them like idiots and never allow them to think for themselves or have input then they will forget how to think for themselves and will act like idiots.

As the kids say "don't get it twisted!" Just because you own the business doesn't mean that you are the smartest one there. Usually the old guy with the leathery hands and the beard that you pay ten dollars an hour can out think and out work you any day. He just has a gambling problem and that's why he has never been financially stable enough to open his own construction business. But if you can put your ego aside and listen to what he has to say he can help your business make a lot of money. I used to work for this guy who owned a construction and land development company. He didn't know very much about construction or land development and he admitted this to all of us one day at a company meeting. However, he was a very good at finding talented smart people who did know a lot about construction and land development. As a result he spent most of the day in his office playing solitaire or on the golf course and he is a millionaire.

Your company is just like a TEAM. You are not the star player, you are the coach. Be good at recruiting talented people, treating them with dignity and respect, and getting the most out of them and you will make a lot of money!