Leadership and innovation: You have to give your employees good reasons to pick your company over your competitors as a place to work and two great ones are outstanding leadership and relentless innovation.

Understanding: The best employers are those who spend as much time as possible listening to their employees. Understanding what they like and dislike about their jobs, what they would do to improve their experience and work environment. Too many managers hinder this understanding with corporate offices separate from the stores and they rarely interact with the frontline employees.

Creating an exciting, memorable experience: This is not only done by listening to employees, but by making the workplace fun and giving people exciting projects to work on or goals to meet.

Communicating your story: If you can’t sell it on the inside, you won’t be able to sell it on the outside. What was the idea that sparked the creation of your organization? What is its history? How has it grown and changed? What is its mission and values? Do all your employees know your story?

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

I recently read an article by a “millennial expert” on ways to keep that generation happily engaged and on-board.

I have a lot of concerns about her take on generational differences as well as the quality of the list (which included free snacks or meals, on-site fitness centers, and cell phone stipends). I believe it’s by far more effective not to generalize and recommend that instead of “one size fits all,” you ask your employees what they want and/or value so you can customize your perks, rewards, and incentive programs to meet each individual’s exact needs. (An easy way to do this is to get your people to complete our “Employee Data Sheet.” For a complimentary copy, email lhamel@humetrics.com with EDS in the subject line.)

Like my blog? Why not forward this to others who would find it useful too?

Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Here are some questions you can use to “work backwards” and hone in on how to hire and retain STAR employees*:

1. What kind of person thrives in our environment and culture?
2. What are the strengths necessary to do the job well?
3. What values must an employee embody to be happy and successful in our culture?
4. What qualities and attitudes must employees have to succeed here?
5. What competencies are necessary for the job to be done right?
6. What kind of support do your employees need and do they get it?
7. What makes our employees happy?
8. What causes our employees to tell their friends that our organization is a great place to work?
9. What are the values that need to be present in the company to create the kinds of employee experiences we seek?
10. What kind of person doesn’t work well in our culture?

*With a tip of the hat to Joanna Brandi.

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Most jobs require employees. The right employee gets the job done and an inferior one doesn’t do it right or leaves it undone.

There’s a spectrum of cost though. Employees require different levels of expense. If you use a cheap employee, you might end up with nothing. Use the right employee and you get the desired result.

Because the cost of employees usually fills out a linear scale from cheap to expensive, we can be lulled into believing the results are also on a linear scale. But that’s not true.

You’ll need to spend enough to get anything at all. Less than that is a total waste of time and money. Better to use an employee who costs more than you expected than to use a less expensive one and get nothing in return.

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Great employees don’t jump ship; they are pushed overboard! The question is what did management do that made things so bad they had no recourse but to jump?

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Before you complain about your crew, ask yourself a few tough questions:

• Who recruited them?

• Who hired them?

• Who trained them?

• Who gives the tools they need to do the job?

• Who coaches them?

• Who supervises their work?

• Who holds them accountable?

• Who keeps them on the payroll?

D’OH! That’s right … YOU are the answer to all these questions.
For a great primer on how to turn things around, consider my bestselling title, Hire Tough, Manage Easy…

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Before you interview your next candidate, ask yourself the questions below and think about how you would answer. Even though no applicant may actually ask you these questions, these are the ones they really want the answers to. So, when a promising applicant doesn’t ask, tell them these are questions you often get and give them your answers. It’s a great way to sell them on the job and the company.

1. Why should I want to work for your company?

2. Why would I want to work for the person who will be my boss?

3. Why would I want to work on the team I will be working with?

4. What will I need to do in order to meet my manager’s expectations?

5. How will I be rewarded if I exceed those expectations?

6. Why is this position vacant at this time? What happened to the last person in the position?

7. Without giving me a name, tell me about the worst employee on your payroll, what they do or don’t do, and why they are tolerated.

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Could you reduce the pain from today’s record turnover by getting some of your very best to come back?

It is often possible because studies show “72 percent of past employees would return to the company if the opportunity arose” and “almost one quarter regret their decision to leave.” Turns out, the top reason for their regret is that “they miss their boss and their coworkers,” so, a simple call from a former manager or colleague urging them to consider coming back may be enough to stimulate a boomerang rehire.

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

When was the last time you evaluated your employees’ workload or looked at your own workload and evaluated if they/you are spending time on the right things (those with the highest pay back)?

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com

Are you giving more work to your best employees because you know they’re the ones who will get things done on time and correctly? If so, make sure you also recognize and/or reward them for the extra effort. It doesn’t have to take the form of a raise or bonus, though you might want to consider those options. At least be sure to give them the positive recognition and acknowledgment they deserve — not just the additional work.

Need a great speaker for your next meeting? Give me a call; let’s talk!
Mel Kleiman, Founder & President
Humetrics
(713) 771.4401
info@humetrics.com