*The strategies which Schaefer Wholesale Florist (SWF) deploy need to be taken into consideration as this essay is presented from the lens of a family-owned business.
5 Strategies to Increase Employee Retention:
#1: Creating an Emotional Connection—Product-to-Purpose
Jumping right into the heart of this matter, pun intended, successful employee retention can be had by emotionally linking products to purpose. Every several months the company is pull together where I reiterate SWF’s core value- Emotional Intelligence.
I remind the team why we are in business through a message that resonates from our brains to our souls. The rhetorical statement I make supports our core value and drives deep into our emotions; it promotes employee value and gives focus to how and why we move forward every day.
#2: Hiring the Right People for the Right Roles.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Make sure you’re not hiring just to put people on right bus but that you are hiring individuals for the right seat on the right bus.”
It’s the responsibility of the organization to have a clearly defined job description and open conversation with potential new hires. Within the fresh-cut wholesale space we must clearly define the environment (a few are listed here):
- Fast-moving, hands-on
- High seasonality
- Cold coolers
When we hire with open dialog around culture, environment, and job responsibilities, we hire with clear expectations. New hires know exactly what they’re walking into and they’re far more likely to stay.
#3 Strengthening the Family-Business Culture
To increase employee retention, exploit what you have to work with. Whether operating as family-owned, private equity or publicly traded, we all have a culture— whether we define and exploit, that is a whole other topic.
4 Culture Points:
- Communication: SWF thrives as a Bottom’s-Up organization; therefore, weekly check-ins with internal key stakeholders keep the organization fluid and efficient. As we pull-in closer to peak-demand those check-ins happen daily.
- Recommended models for these meetings:
- Steven Covey’s Time Management Matrix
- S.M.A.R.T. Goals
- Respect for staff’s personal life: During low-demand seasons we offer a flex-schedule.
- Recognition for effort: Verbal and social media marketing around star-performers.
- Taking time to see and recognize people is a powerful thing if it comes from the right place.
- Recommended models for these meetings:
#4 Professionalizing the “Family Feel”
Another employee retention strategy is balancing SWF’s family feel with professionalism. By offering up clearly defined SOP’s & tech that promotes efficiencies, the aim is consistency.
Consistency promotes confidence while reducing frustrations during those chaotic, challenging peak seasons.
#5 Customer Satisfaction
There are many models and thoughts behind measuring customer satisfaction (both internal and external customers). The model I’ve come to find the most useful for both employee retention and external customer life-time value was created by Dr. Noriaki Kano.
The Kano Model classifies “Needs” and offers insight on individual employee, teams, & customer.
Here are the 5 variables that Kano classifies & assesses:
- Basic needs
- Performance needs
- Excitement needs
- Indifferent needs
- Reverse needs
Don Sprenkle
Schaefer Wholesale Florist
