The Tough Economy Makes Retaining Key Employees More Important Than Ever. Here are Some Ideas About Ways You Can Keep Them.

Losing a top employee­—especially to a competitor—is tough. Taking time to learn what they value can help keep them on your team.

By Leonard Toenjes

Q: We had a project manager who was a virtual expert on university and school construction. He left because it was a long haul from his semi-rural home and family. It’s a year later, and it was upsetting to learn that he took a job with a company we compete against for jobs. Our only security measure is to have employees sign a document promising not to disclose our company’s secrets. That strikes as a little flimsy, but I cannot think of too much more we can do. What else do you recommend we do? I am thinking about this issue more as the economy goes down, and competition for jobs goes up.

A: Retaining key employees is one of the greatest challenges for construction firms as we live in this shrinking marketplace. The value of the construction services that can be delivered by any construction firm is only as good as the people who compose the construction team. Smart employees know that there is a lot of upheaval in the marketplace right now and lots of movement in the workforce. A non-disclosure agreement should certainly be part of your overall retention plan, but on its own it will not produce the results you are looking for.

As the construction market becomes more national and international, this is a problem that will continue to grow. Companies are increasingly following a market niche rather than a geographically centered market. As we move into this market, there will inevitably be increased turnover of qualified people. Including an element of turnover in your human resource planning as you move into more distant markets needs to be part of your ongoing strategy.

Leonard Toenjes is the president of the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis. He can be reached at 314-781-2356 or ltoenjes@agcstl.org. Visit the organization’s Web site at www.agcstl.org.

A large part of retention is based on the culture of your company. People value the nature of their work and the atmosphere of their workplace as much (or more) than the compensation and benefits. The instance you site is a case in point. The employee left due to family reasons.

There are several things you can do. Anonymously poll the key employees who are your star performers and ask them a couple or questions. Why do they value working for your company? What do they enjoy about their work? With all things being equal between your firm and a competing firm, why would they stay with your company? What type of activities could be added to your firm’s overall structure to help keep them with you? What would they change about their work atmosphere?

Reach out to a local construction university and ask some of the top students to complete the same questions. These are your employees of the future.

Money can’t buy you love. That being said, take a close look at your benefits package. Are there things you can add that could create some ‘golden handcuff’ type scenarios to help retain key employees? In retirement planning, 401k plans have become popular due to the risk allocation and portability. Perhaps a defined benefit plan with some time eligibility requirements may help retain some additional employees. Work with a good investment planner to see what type of options you could put in place that may create some financial incentives for people to stay.