The challenge: what makes for satisfaction? The answer: opportunity for career development through education, meaningful work and appreciation, 360 degrees of communiation, consistent performance expectations and consistent accountability, and work/life balance.

Pay is easier and quicker. Creating a culture for satisfaction takes time, prompts internal analysis, and leaves long-term positive results on bottom line. Don’t tie pay increases to only rank and power. Work at getting away from notion that you have to move up to make more. Remember that front line people hold customers in their hands. Shouldn’t they be among most well-trained and well-paid people on your staff? Reward people for what they know and do, not how long they’ve been on job or how many people they supervise.

© 2000 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.

Family Familiarity: Leaders are accessible, approachable, and caring. First name-basis becomes order of day. Amazon.com mirrors this on their web site that literally calls a customer by name and outlines suggested purchases based upon customer’s buying history. How might you move beyond a web connection to create a higher form of conversation?

Family Honor: Management trusts employees. Time clocks are rare; remote work common. At Miller SQA, a division of Herman Miller, factory employees keep their own hours on honor system. At AES, a utility organization, cross-training is so prevalent that employees trust each other to perform a task when called upon.

Family Fairness: Pay for performance, evenhandedness, promotions from within and merit-based rewards. An example is Custom Research. This company won a Malcolm Baldridge Award. Only 50 employees could attend a celebration in Florida. The organization—from president down to clerical—drew names to see who could attend.

Family Fun: Humor is shortest distance between people. Families play together. At SW Airlines, they have ice cream parties on spur of moment. Malaysian Airlines offers dance and music concerts staffed by employees’ talent. The options are endless. Customers are also included in “the fun”.

The trust test is passed or failed on a daily basis. Retaining employees and customers are more likely if retention becomes a family affair.

© 2000 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.