To recruit and retain staff, be a good boss and leader

With the personnel market in Kelowna being what it is in the local economy the often asked question is “How do I find staff and how do I keep them?”

My answer is to develop leadership skills. It seems Kelowna has a lot of young people looking for work, but most are unskilled.

The office climate has changed drastically since I came up through the ranks.

It used to be quite an ordeal to go through an interview and convince your prospective employer what you could bring to the company. Now, the tables seem to be turned and it becomes a case of what can the company due for the employee’s life balance and goals.

Disappointingly I have found that many young people I have interviewed no longer see a job as the pathway to a career, but rather as just a job.

There no longer seems to be the buy-in to the company’s goals. So how do we develop that in an employee and how do we determine if the people we hire are actually on a career path?

I suggest that we really use the interview process to try to get to know the prospective employee. We need to develop questions that will indicate what the employee would like to do with their lives and also to develop questions to determine, without a doubt, whether or not the interviewee is at least able to accomplish three main skills to get the job done.

If a prospective employee can do at least a portion of the work without intensive training, then the company’s training costs can be cut in half.

The traditional method of finding qualified staff has been advertising in the paper and on the Internet.

However, due to the shortage of qualified staff, the method of finding employees now seems to be by word of mouth or by company reputation.

Some corporate executives ask their accountants, lawyers or close personal friends for leads to qualified staff.

Current and previous employees can be great salespersons for your company’s products and also can help to find staff. If they are happy working for you, then when asked by prospective employees they will most likely praise your leadership skills.

There are several excellent works written about leaderships skills such as What Got You Here Won’t Get You There; The Speed of Trust; Know-How; Go Put Your Strengths to Work; The Carrot Principle; and Words that Work.

Most speak to how we treat ourselves and our employees and explain that people are visual, so the most success in retaining staff is to be a good example and to follow your own advice.

Managers need to show integrity and consistency in their behaviours with their employees and also with their customers and suppliers.

Here are the behaviours that need to be developed as listed in the book The Speed of Trust by Steven Covey:

Talk straight. Declare your intent and speak so you cannot be misunderstood. Do not withhold information, use flattery, manipulate people or distort facts. Be honest and call things what they are.

Demonstrate respect for all instead of showing fairness, kindness, love and civility only to those people who can do something for you.

Create transparency. Be real and genuine, telling the truth in a way people can verify. Be open and authentic. Don’t have a hidden agenda.

Right wrongs. Don’t just apologize, make restitution, demonstrate personal humility and be able to admit when you are wrong. Do not deny or justify a wrong because of your ego.

Show loyalty. Give credit when due, don’t speak about people behind their backs and don’t steal anyone else’s credit.

Deliver results. Define what you will deliver and then do it. Be on target, on budget and on time without excuses.

Get constantly better. Improve by learning, growing and renewing yourself and encourage your staff to do the same. Develop confidence in your ability to succeed in an every changing environment. Don’t’ be afraid to make mistakes, but learn from them and don’t repeat them.

Confront reality. Take tough issues head on. Promote open discussion and don’t ignore problems.

Clarify expectations. Always discuss and reveal expectations and never assume they are clear or shared. Never be vague.

Practice accountability. Hold yourself and others responsible, don’t point fingers.

Listen first. Genuinely understand another person’s thoughts and feelings before diagnosing or advising. Don’t presume you know what matters to others and be willing to change your opinion of other people’s attitudes because they will change as their situations change.

Keep both family and professional commitments as a matter of honor.

Extend trust in your employees and co-workers. Don’t give people responsibility but no authority or resources to complete a task. Don’t undermine people by following-up behind them and micro managing. Make them accountable for their work.

Gabriele Banka is a Certified General Accountant and the owner of Banka & Company Inc. She can be contacted at 250-763-4528.

info@bankaco.com.