Luckily there are two sides to a coin. As there is bad news, there is also good news! While there are companies reducing their staffs, there are also companies doing things to help ensure their employees stay with the company.

Companies often hit a plateau that requires a paradigm shift in thinking and planning. One way some companies have responded to this thought process is by cutting back on expenses through reduction of overhead through personnel and other areas.

Another response was to look at what they were doing that their employees liked and wanted more of. It has long been recognized that happy employees respond better and production flourishes. This is a process of developing customer loyalty in many companies. Think of the concept that we are all each other's customers. Applying this concept is the right mode of thinking for keeping valuable employees.

Successful companies are addressing five major areas that are strong contributors to this process and for employee retention. These areas are simple and yet require strong commitments from employers and major changes in management thinking.

If survival and growth are paramount, it must happen.

Before we get into the five retention areas, let's look at a basic foundation important to the five things employers are doing. This foundation sets the stage that almost everyone lives by. When you tap into this basic foundation, you'll reach people where they live.

There are four primary elements to this foundation.

There are:

1. Security
2. Involvement
3. Recognition
4. Compensation.

   Security deals with how secure we are with our personal life, our business life and ourselves. If we're secure within ourselves, then we relate to our job security. If that's uncertain, we're uncertain. If a company is strong and shows growth and direction, and employee concern, most employees will feel secure.

   Next is involvement . Most people do not feel involved with decisions that affect their lives. We can't really control taxes, death, or the government. We are also at odds with keeping up with the fast pace of technology and other areas of change. This can directly affect their security.

   Now we have recognition. When we do get involved, we would like some sort of recognition for our participation. We've all heard the comment from someone who said, " I gave them the suggestions they wanted and they never even said thank you." Recognition is the other side of the coin similar to Please and Thank You!

   Finally, we have Compensation . Compensation does not deal primarily with money. It's the intangible element that makes people happy. There are many people who are very content with the security, involvement, and recognition they receive in their company and who work for very little money. Schoolteachers are a great example of this. We also know employees who make huge salaries and are very miserable because security, recognition or involvement is lacking.

   While money is a strong consideration that pays our bills, getting the top three elements is more important for many employees. It's how we feel that makes a difference in our attitude and performance.

   This foundation leads us to the top five things companies are doing to keep employees. Once you understand what employees want, it's easy to see how providing it would make a dramatic difference in employee retention.

   The top five things companies are doing are:

   1. Training
   2. Information
   3. Involvement
   4. Empowerment
   5. Flexibility.
   Each element is simple enough. However, when they are applied with respect to the basic needs and desires of employees, they become formidable tools to develop and maintain quality employees who are willing to do even more.

   Let's look at training and how it affects security, involvement and recognition. When you invest in an employee, it makes them feel secure as an employee the company sees worth that investment. An employee who feels that they don't know how to do their job properly will definitely feel insecure and training will show them how to do it better as well as making this person feel a part of something that recognizes them as an investment.

   Next is information . Everybody wants to feel part of the group. When things happen around us that we are not involved with, our security level drop and we feel left out of the loop. This doesn't mean that employees have to be involved in everything that happens, but if they're provided information on a regular basis about things that are happening, they will be involved through being aware. It is also an excellent way to control rumors. It provides a flow of information that the company is taking a direction and the employees are part of that process. It also opens doors for ideas from employees that might help in this process.

   At the company level, many employees feel that they are not involved in important decision-making aspects of the company they work for. While they don't have to have decision-making powers, they can be involved in the discussion and information portion of the process.

   Exactly how much should be shared is a question answered by careful evaluation of the variables involved regarding employees, the company, the nature of the business, and the direction being taken. Common sense and good business savvy should prevail.

   Now let's deal with recognition . This is a very important area that must be addressed. We all love a pat on the back for a job well done. Yet the minimal effort to say thanks is often forgotten. When we began our education, we learned to look forward to the little gold stars or the A's on test. This excited our learning and achievement growth. As adults we still want the recognition and when it's not there, right or wrong, we tend to believe that no one cares about our performance. Part of recognition is being thanked for our ideas and contributions through our work efforts.

   It's been proven that actions that are immediately rewarded are immediately repeated. If you want ideas for growth, savings, or improvement, and you provide immediate recognition, you'll get even more.

   Now comes empowerment . When the company empowers an employee to use their own judgment in acting on behalf of the company, you'll find an employee who is secure, involved, recognized and very, very happy. When an employee can make decisions without having to go to the next in line person, it's a win-win for everyone.

   Customer service is a major causality of this lack of empowerment. We have to go through the sales clerk, the assistant manager and perhaps the store manager just to return an item. Why can't the sales clerk be empowered to do what the managers would do anyhow? They all have common sense and they know the routines. This process alone would eliminate having to run customers through needless hoops.

   Many companies have recognized the value of this empowerment and they have made concerted efforts to train and educate their employees to know and support the company goals. Employees are taught the parameters that all must work within and they are given the power to act on behalf of the company. They eliminate the middleman. Nordstrom retail stores are a perfect example of empowerment.

   Flexibility is another important factor. Some examples are flexible work hours and days; flexibility to work from home through the use of computers, modems and fax machines; and working in an informal atmosphere is another example. Helping employees through flexibility creates a relationship where the employee will also be flexible and loyal. This is an excellent return on a minimal investment.

   The concepts are simple and yet profound. When companies and employees realize the true values of these concepts and intermesh them into their environment, the realizations for success are amazing. From the basic foundation that we all build on to the five simple things that companies are doing, we all can

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