Karima Magazine May-June2107

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Pictured on Right: a Patagonia worker spending time
with his son in the company dining area.
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While, it may be hard for a small
local business to offer onsite child care
or such generous allotments of sick days
and family leave, there are things you
can do to demonstrate to employees
that you care, and, most importantly, retain
that talent!
HOW TO RETAIN YOUR TOP TALENT
Let’s start with the most obvious: Start a
dialogue with your employees. Find out
what they like and dislike about working
for your company and what they feel
could use improvement. Critically evaluate
that information. Are their suggestions
relevant or are they something you
could implement with ease?
Then, if you cannot financially
swing having a generous family leave
or sick day policy, consider focusing
more on quality, rather than time. Simply
translated, if your employees are
completing all their tasks and projects
and producing quality work, don’t stress
about them meeting the required hours
or if they need the extra hour here or
there to focus on their kids.
And sure, many companies offer
gym memberships, but thinking outside
the box and looking around for local opportunities
may lead to more positive office
morale. For example, it may be possible
to negotiate discount rates for your
employees’ children with local childcare
facilities.
Next, evaluate whether your
employees that are parents are treated
the same their non-parent counterparts.
Are they offered the same opportunities
to move up in the business or included
in outside employee get-togethers? Or
are they easily dismissed cause they are
“parents” or is it assumed that they don’t
have the time or energy? These are issues
that can lead to talent skipping out
on you for greener pastures
Additionally, consider offering
a late-start day, once a week or once
a month, where employees can come
into work an hour later. For parents, it
could really benefit them to not need to
rush to get kids ready, out the door and
to school. Just that small consideration
could really help improve the relationship
between you and your employees.
Remember: employee loyalty is priceless.
Finally, be flexible. Keep an
open mind and door, and consider if
an employee is struggling to maintain
their work/family balance. Think about
whether they have tasks that could be
done at home. If you can offer them
the flexibility of working from home
some mornings or afternoons, that is
a sure path to retaining talented employees
that will be interested in always
doing their best for the company that
shows how much it cares for them and
their families.
And just remember, when in
doubt, just think WWPD: What Would
Patagonia Do? “All of our employees are
people. They’re all human beings with
kids and families and we need to create
a supportive environment for people to
be their best and do their best,” emphasizes
Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario.
In Short
1) Dialogue with your employees.
2) Find out what they like and need.
3) Do not micro manage.
4) Find discounts for your
employees that will benefit
their family.
5) Include parents in all
company activites.
6) Consider late start days or
tele-commuting .
7) When in doubt, think, “WWPD:
what would Patagonia do?”
Karima Magazine.indd 8
5/21/17 5:07 PM