How to keep associates happy and build positive culture?

It is about time that companies starts thinking to retain the great employees, instead of head hunting for better expertize..

Here are some cool pointers...

1. Give your great employee the whole tool box

• Evaluate any new hire documentation at least twice a year to make sure it still aligns with your directives.
• Ask your current employees for what they wish they’d known before they started working on your team. 
• And, above all, make sure your great new hire knows that if they have a gap in their knowledge they should feel comfortable enough to make you aware of the oversight.

2. Set clear expectations

• Set regular meetings or email exchanges to clarify your priority items.
• Quickly communicate changes to strategy or new tasks. 
• Set clear expectations will more easily identify their hard-working contributions to the company.

3. Build a trust environment

• The best employees thrive in high-trust environments where they see their work as valued and necessary. 
• Build trust in your teams through effective listening, acting on employee suggestions, relating the company’s strategic direction to everyday employee tasks — the bigger picture often helps clarify the details — and by removing obstacles.

4. Recognize everyday wins

• Don’t wait for an annual meeting to recognize great work. 
• You want to keep your great employees by recognizing their day-to-day tasks and projects.
• Find the good in a project gone bad. Make it a practice to verbally praise employees whenever possible. Pass a thank you note. Have an informal weekly prize.
• Keep a “Stanley Cup”-type trophy that rotates around the team. Every day appreciation keeps great employees producing great results.

(We in our MLBullmasters (Toastmasters) Club do exactly the same by giving a trophy to the best table topic speaker)

5. Establish consistently extraordinary rewards

• Your best employee should know that they are invaluable to your team. 
• Develop a rewards program that consistently recognizes your great employees.
• Make these rewards something special with customized options for your workplace. A pattern of consistent recognition inside companies is proven to retain employees; we see it time and time again.
• You can make a difference, reduce turnover, and connect with your employees when you have a clear reward program.

(And in our MLBullMasters club, we give trophies for an extraordinary member of the month and an extraordinary employee of the month)

6. Appreciate the person

• Your great employee needs to know not only is their great work being recognized, but that they’re also being appreciated as a person.
• Be sincere and personal in your appreciation and show it often. Be sure to show your appreciation again at the 30, 60, 90, 120 day, and one year milestones.

This was originally published on the OC Tanner blog

Carina Wytiaz is a professional writer and Internet marketer, with experience drawn from her time at FranklinCovey, Borders, ah-ha.com, Marchex.com, OrangeSoda.com, and several traditional marketing and advertising agencies. She loves helping employees feel more included and valued through exuberant appreciation experiences, and helping companies realize the incredible potential of their human capital.