“The best advice I can offer on how to keep your best employees is this: Be willing to let them go. It’s no surprise that every manager wants to keep his or her best employees. But a good manager doesn’t hoard talent; instead they develop their employees by investing in them, building on their strengths, and providing opportunities to innovate.”  John Ambrose, Sr.VP of strategy and corporate development at Skillsoft Employee retention is a key element in making 2016 a prosperous year for your precision manufacturing company. MPS Technical has put together 9 invaluable tips to help you hit a home run with your employees and secure their long-term participation on your team. Take time to understand what motivates your employees: Today’s worker isn’t focused primarily on stability. They consider their work an opportunity to build their own future while making an impact on the world. They thrive on transparency, growth, and personal fulfillment. If you want to keep them, then you need to give them exactly that.  Give them a voice in strategic direction: They want to make an impact. Share the company vision. Engage their interest and give them the freedom to participate in strategy. We’re pretty darn sure you will be surprised at what they have to offer. Give them freedom to be innovative:  Yes, sometimes their ideas will fail – so did some of yours, but the fact is, often what we learn in a failure paves the road to future success. Appreciate the lessons learned when innovation takes a downturn and celebrate with bells and whistles when it soars. Don’t run from healthy conflict: It’s a sounding board. Employees who feel safe sharing their thoughts and debating the fine points with both coworkers and management will give their all to the discussion. In the end, many a great idea was the result of a compromise between multiple perspectives. Ditch micromanagement: Give your employees the level of responsibility that matches their skills and attitude – and then give them the authority that goes with it. Focus on the final product or project outcome – not whether they completed the job in one specific manner. Be upfront with constructive criticism: On the other hand, have checkpoints. And if an issue needs to be addressed – then address it. Give your employee the respect of being upfront, honest, and straightforward. If they’re a good employee, they’re someone who grows from constructive criticism. Knowing you trusted them enough to be real, builds confidence. Invest in their development as leaders and as people: Put them in the driver’s seat. Ensure that additional training and opportunities are available – on the job, online, and at other locations. Take time to understand each employee’s unique competencies, as well as their desire for the future. Provide a mentor program to help them along the way. Sure, you will occasionally lose an employee to a better position elsewhere, but in the long-term picture, your company will grow. Match compensation and benefits to their role: Yes, we did say that changing their world was more important to today’s worker than job stability. Making a difference does mean more to them than hard cash, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to be paid and paid well for what they do. Ensure that your whole package – wages plus benefits and perks matches the position they fill – the role they play in your company’s bottom line. Finally, be generous with appreciation: Make a habit of verbally expressing your thanks. Take time to give a written thank you. When appropriate, include a token gift – or a significant one. When a team finishes a project on time – celebrate. When your weekly quota is met – bring in the pizza. When it’s holiday time, plan company events for the whole family. Employees who feel valued, value their employers – and stay. Searching for employees who are likely to stay? Connect with MPS – the deeper end of the talent pool. For more than 20 years, MPS Technical has been connecting the best precision manufacturing companies with the best candidates for every position at every level. Contact us today. Connecting the best companies with the best candidates is what we do . . . best!