COMMENT
your staff happy W
How to keep So your business has fi nally got the staff you think it deserves – the
ultimate dream team to really go places in these fi nancially hard times. But, Tony James asks, how do you hang on to them?
hat you pay is important, says Bristol management consultant
Tim Price. “But you won’t keep top-class staff in the current business conditions simply by throwing money at them. “T ey want to be appreciated
but, above all, they want to have fun. And this is something really new. Expecting to enjoy yourself at work was almost unheard of even 20 years ago!”
Indeed, an increasing number
of consultants are confi rming that making work fun is probably the best way of keeping down your ‘churn rate’ – the current jargon for a high staff turnover. In fact, one country-sports
footwear manufacturer links a 30 per cent drop in profi t with the fact that 40 per cent of sales staff were leaving within 15 months. T e company has now brought in human-resources consultants in an attempt to provide a happier working atmosphere.
The right environment “It might seem obvious that
the best way to keep valuable staff on the payroll is to create a supportive, blame-free environment that makes workers feel good about themselves – an environment that they enjoy being in,” Tim says. “So why doesn’t everyone do it?” Someone who does is Charlie
Blakemore, operations director of armoured-vehicle manufacturer Alvis Vickers, whose light- hearted but eff ective innovations
have cut production costs and lead times by up to 30 per cent. T ey include regular works
forums and novel ideas like treating workers to bacon sandwiches when they meet targets and bottles of wine for keeping workshops clean and tidy. “Everyone takes part and has
a laugh. It really does generate motivation and team spirit – and that’s what a rewarding, fulfi lling job is surely all about,” Charlie explains.
www.tandgmagazine.com 29
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