(Do your hiring forms really help you screen in the best and screen out the rest? To preview the efficient and effective employment application, structured interview, and interview rating forms Humetrics has perfected over the past 20 years, click here.)

“…management can, and will, ignore this list, and all of the additional items people have added in response. The punchline to the old joke is true at every level – you don’t have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the other guy.
In this instance, I don’t have to do a better job at retaining employees than my competition, I just can’t be any worse at it. Since my competition all does it really, really poorly, then really, really poorly, will be good enough for me as well.
What I find most frustrating about this is that at the employee level, there is absolutely no incentive for me to do work that will truly make a difference and, more importantly, I learned fairly early on that trying to do so will actually earn you enmity and a reputation of having a “bad attitude.” Instead, when you’re surrounded by C players, you are actually encouraged to do B- work – just enough to let people know you’re better than the majority of folks around you, but not so much that you are pushing those folks to perform at a higher level.”

(For everything you need to know about recruiting, selecting, on-boarding and retaining the best hourly employees, visit: The Humetrics’ Bookstore.)

(To read an excerpt from Mel Kleiman’s 100 + 1 Top Tools, Tips & Techniques to Recruit Top Talent, click here.)

“If you fail to take proper care of your guests, you WILL get your volume DOWN to a level where you can handle it!”

My take on it: If you fail to take proper care of your employees and customers, your business will get to the level where your employees will have the time to take care of the few customers you have left.

(For a complimentary copy of our special report, Why the Wrong People Get Hired, visit The Humetrics’ Free Knowledge Center.)

(Could you use a good chuckle? Take a look at part of Mel’s fun, pre-presentation slide show.)

Are we now supposed to assume applicants don’t tell us only what they want us to know when they take our tests? When did testing become infallible?

Tests are simply another way of collecting information from applicants; they are another form of interview. They may have less bias, ask more questions in a shorter amount of time, and eliminate emotional involvement, but they are still just another interview.

How many great people have not been hired because an assessment said they have the wrong values or personality?

We all hear stories of the person who FAILED THE TEST, was hired anyway, and the test was right. How about the stories  of the person who FAILED THE TEST, was hired anyway and became a real asset to the organization?

What opportunity do you give to people who did not do well on your test, but who have a great work history?

(For a complimentary copy of our Employee Commitment Card, go to www.KleimanHR.com and click on the “Members Only” tab. If you’re not a member, it’s free and only takes a minute to join.)

In the selection process, focus on determining the 3 C’s:

Competence - Can they do the present job and grow into other jobs?

Compatibility - Are the job and the person a good match?

Chemistry – Will they fit in?

(For a complimentary copy of How to Hire Tough to Manage Easy in Today’s Turbulent Times, click here.)

Ask most business owners and managers how they plan to improve profitability and they’ll often refer to promotions, marketing, or social media. In other words MORE SALES.

Sure, the preferred way to grow profit is to attract more customers and more repeat business, but often, the quickest, easiest way to improve your bottom line is to take a hard look at lowering your costs.

For example: • reduce staff and cross train to improve productivity • renegotiate credit card processing fees • shop insurance policies • shop waste removal services • tie management compensation to labor costs and profitability • reduce or eliminate some types of advertising • convert to new sources for electricity and phone service • get lease concessions from landlord • renegotiate terms with vendors.

While many have positively impacted profitability by lowering expenses, obviously there’s a limit. Never slash costs indiscriminately.

Always consider how a proposed cut will likely impact your two most essential functions: 1) retain current customers 2) attract new customers. Any change that could diminish your customers’ experience or their perception of your business is probably NOT worth the potential savings. However, reducing appropriate costs and expenses is a necessary part of smart business management and can be the quickest way to pump up profitability.

BOOK REVIEW: “Mel Kleiman’s new book, The 5 Firsts, is a must read for every manager. So many books are focused on theory, but short on practical steps that can be implemented immediately and with little cost. Once again, Mel has hit the mark, providing an easy five step recipe to help new employees feel respected and valued from the moment they walk in the door.” —Monique Kahkonen, Director, Human Resources. To order, click here.

(Do your hiring forms really help you screen in the best and screen out the rest? To preview the efficient and effective employment application, structured interview, and interview rating forms Humetrics has perfected over the past 20 years, click here.)

To read an excerpt from Mel’s “classic,” Hire Tough, Manage Easy, click here.)

Top 10 Ways to Guarantee Your Best People Quit

10. Make your onboarding program an exercise in tedium. Employees are most impressionable during the first 60 days on the job. Every bit of information gathered during this time will either reinforce your new hire’s “buying decision” (to take the job) or lead to “Hire’s Remorse.”

9. Treat everyone equally. This may sound good, but your employees are not equal. Some are worth more because they produce more results. Some prefer hands-on management while others would rather take the ball and run with it. The key, then, is not to treat them equally, but to treat everyone fairly and with respect.

8. Have dumb rules. I did not say have no rules, I said don’t have dumb rules. Great employees want to have guidelines and direction, but they don’t want to deal with rules that get in the way of doing their jobs or that conflict with the company’s stated values.

7. Don’t recognize outstanding performance. Remember Psychology 101 — Behavior you want repeated must be recognized and rewarded  immediately.

6. Don’t keep your people informed. You’ve got to communicate not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. If you don’t
tell them, the rumor mill will.

5. Don’t develop an employee retention strategy. Employee retention deserves your attention every day. Make a list of the people you don’t want to lose and, next to each name, write down what you are doing or will do to ensure that person stays engaged and on board.

4. Tolerate mediocrity. A-players don’t have to or want to play with a bunch of C-players and they will come to resent having to carry the load created by those who do just enough to scrape by and collect their checks.

3. Don’t do employee-retention interviews. Wait until a great employee is walking out the door instead and conduct an exit interview to see what you could have done differently to keep them on board.

2. Don’t have any fun at work. Where’s the written rule that says work has to be serious? The notion that work cannot be fun is actually counterproductive. The workplace should be fun. Find ways to make work and/or the work environment more relaxed and enjoyable and you will have happy employees who look forward to coming to work each day.

1. Do micromanage. Squash creativity and innovation in the bud by telling them what they need to do and exactly how to do it. Don’t tell them why it needs doing or why their contributions are important. And, above all, don’t ask for their input on how it might be done better.