With constant change a given in today's employment market, it might be time to take a closer look at things that make a real, positive difference in the profitability of your staffing and recruitment business. And, while it might seem strange for me, the marketing manager of a staffing and recruiting software company, I won’t talk about software.

Instead, I’ll talk about how keeping your best employees (both internal staff and contingent or contract employees) has a strong, measurable impact on your bottom line. More importantly, I’ve got ten tips for keeping those profit-making resources around.

First, I want to tell you that NOT retaining your productive employees is costing you money. According to surveys by the American Staffing Association and Staffing Industry Analysts, turnover among staffing and recruiting firms runs an average of 50 percent — higher for high-pressure jobs such as sales. And you know from experience that every time someone leaves your business, you take a hit on the bottom line in terms of lost business, recruiting a new staff member, training, and more. Of course, your contingent employees turnover is dramatically higher and may be 300 percent or more. Yet, while your investment is lower in contingent employees, your long-term employees — while a small percentage of those on your payroll — contribute significantly to your bottom line.

So how do you keep your internal staff members and contingent employees?

The real key is not money. The real key is employee satisfaction. And satisfied employees not only stick around, they more productive and are more loyal to the business. It is vital then that you design and implement an employee retention program for your staff and contingent employees based on increasing satisfaction.

Anything that you implement as part of your employee retention program should be geared to eliciting one response from your employees, “The pay ain’t bad, and they treat me great!” Most of the following tips and techniques aren’t rocket science. They are based on well-proven and documented successes in the business world. Here are some tips based on the work of Bob Nelson, author of “1,001 Ways to Reward Employees”:

1. Pay employees fairly and well — then get them to forget about money.

2. Treat each and every employee with respect. Show them that you care about them as persons, not just as workers.

3. Praise accomplishments and attempts

• Both large and small
• At least four times more than you criticize
• Publicly and in private
• Verbally and in writing
• Promptly (as soon as observed)
• Sincerely

4. Clearly communicate goals, responsibilities and expectations. NEVER criticize in public — redirect in private.

5. Recognize performance appropriately and consistently:

• Reward outstanding performance (e.g., with promotions and opportunities)
• Do not tolerate sustained poor performance — coach and train or remove!

6. Involve employees in plans and decisions, especially those that affect them. Solicit their ideas and opinions. Encourage initiative.

7. Create opportunities for employees to learn and grow. Link the goals of the organization with the goals of each individual in it.

8. Actively listen to employees concerns — both work-related and personal.

9. Share information promptly, openly and clearly. Tell the truth with compassion.

10. Celebrate successes and milestones reached — organizational and personal. Create an organizational culture that is open, trusting and fun!

Coming up with a plan that works for your unique staffing and recruiting firm may seem a daunting task, but the payoff is worth it! If you have some ideas to share, let us know.

Oh, by the way, a great staffing and recruiting software package can help you improve both staff satisfaction and contingent employee satisfaction. Want to find out how? Give me a call and let’s talk about it.

Sorry, couldn’t help it.

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At Bond International Software, we are deeply interested in what makes your recruiting and staffing efforts more effective and profitable. You can follow us at: http://www.bond-us.com/blog/