By By Jolie Logan, Jennifer Pingolt and Melanie Jackson
HR On-Call

Thousands of business owners every day are reading books and magazines, attending workshops and conferences, all looking for as many ways as possible to make their businesses successful. Too often, and actually most often, the business owner ends up throwing cash, time and effort at exactly the wrong thing.

Look at the bottom line. Who has the most impact on how your business performs? If you have employees, it’s them.

Your employees are the key to making your business a success or making your business not a success. “Of course!” you say? So why do companies spend so little resources on providing employees with what they need and want? How aware are you of what your employees really want from you as an employer? If you think it’s simply more elaborate perks, you are probably overlooking their more pressing desires.

So, what do they need and want? They want crazy things like being able to bring their pets to work, huge bonuses, company cars, unlimited expense accounts and catered lunches every day. Right? Wrong!

Realistically speaking, it’s unlikely that an employee would actually turn down any of those perks, but they are not at the heart of what employees want in a job and from an employer. In fact, what employees want usually is quite basic in nature. In a recent job satisfaction survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, the top five most important factors related to employee job satisfaction were fair salary, benefits, job security, work/life balance and workplace safety.

In the area of job security alone there are many ways employers can improve upon the satisfaction of their employees. In order to feel secure within their positions, employees need important work, a good relationship with their manager and opportunities to improve and grow.

It’s not coincidental that the things employees really want are the things that will also make the company more effective. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had a company full of employees who knew how important their work was to the success of the company, effectively communicated and worked with their manager and were taking on new challenges to help move the company forward?

According to Ken Carrig, executive vice president of Sysco Corporation, “The best performing organizations have a common understanding among employees and commitment to the business strategy and goals. Employees also have to understand how they, as individuals, link to the vision and mission of the company and how their contribution affects business results.”

There is no better job security in the world than knowing what is expected of you and meeting and exceeding those expectations and, in the process, being recognized for your efforts.

How else can an organization increase overall employee satisfaction? By being an employer of choice. “Employer of choice” can certainly be considered the HR buzzword of the moment, but it really isn’t.

Look at some of the most successful companies; it isn’t coincidental that many of them also end up on the “great places to work” lists each year.

Companies such as Microsoft, Nike and Southwest Airlines are all considered employers of choice. What these companies know, and what employers across the globe need to understand, is that when someone truly wants to work for your company, you reduce all kinds of expenses: recruiting is practically done for you; there is no need for expensive ads or headhunter fees; and your turnover is reduced. What about the impact unmotivated or unhappy employees have on customers and quality? A happy employee usually makes a happy customer.

To truly be an employer of choice, provide the things that are most important to your employees, including a fair salary, benefits, job security, work/life balance and workplace safety. You win because you attract the cream of the crop, you don’t lose them once you have them, they are motivated to perform to the best of their abilities and they have a desire to see your business succeed.

In the book, “How to Become an Employer of Choice,” authors Roger E. Herman and Joyce Giola summarize the benefits to an organization willing to work towards being considered an employer of choice. They write: “In the years ahead, workforce stability will be a company’s competitive edge. In these turbulent times, exacerbated by a tight labor market, employers will be continually challenged to locate, attract, optimize and retain the talent they need to serve their customers. The most successful employers will be those who legitimately inspire highly talented workers to join them and stay with them.”

What kind of resources are you putting toward being the employer of choice in your industry?

Jolie Logan is founder and president of HR On-Call, which was formed to help small business owners take the guesswork out of human resources issues. Jennifer Pingolt and Melanie Jackson are client service directors at HR On-Call.

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