Is Your Grass the Greenest?

I really liked the information in this piece. Here is the link to the entire article – Is Your Grass The Greenest? 16 (Cost-Effective) Ways To Grow A Company Culture That Helps You Keep Your Keepers.

And here are some of my favorite excerpts –

• Employees matter. No, they really matter. In fact, as the forces of globalism and the proliferation of technology relentlessly level the proverbial playing field, it's safe to say that the men and women who work for you are everything…….
• Clearly, preventing "greener pasture" syndrome must be top priority for today's leaders. And while it may sound self-evident, the best approach is to make your pasture the greenest………… But in the short run, it means making your company a place employees truly want to be-and "lip service" won't do the trick.
• Seed #5: Give praise where praise is due. If someone does a great job, let him know. It's that simple. And then let his co-workers know. And then let his customers know! Recognizing a job well done isn't an expensive proposition, but it will mean the world to your employee.
• Seed #14: Rid your pasture of weeds. The weeds in your figurative pasture are those poor performers and negative employees who stifle the good attitudes and high performance of their fellow employees. If you're not pulling out your weeds, then it's likely their counterparts won't stick around and keep working with them. They'll choke out your best performers.
• “Striving to keep employees happy and engaged is not just a nice thing to do," says Sujansky. "It's the right thing to do if you want to create a successful business.

So what do you do to keep your employee owners happy and engaged?  Sure, the existence of the ESOP is a great start but it is just that – a start.