Minding Your Business: Jan. 2001, Going Above And Beyond

CREATIVE MANAGEMENT MEASURES. Has an employee complained he can’t make ends meet? While you can’t provide an advance, you can assist employees with financial challenges in other ways - by helping them budget, for example. In one case, we had an employee who committed to a budget for end-of-the-month billing. He signed documents to allow us to withhold a certain percentage of funds out of his biweekly paychecks. These funds were released at the end of the month for monthly rent and utilities that otherwise might not get paid.

Our involvement might seem extreme but it paid off: The employee is happier, still gets his wages and knows his bills get paid. He no longer has to duck bill collectors and has started a savings account to save money for a car.

Along the same lines, an employer may inadvertently be pulled into a family drama, such as dealing with garnishments for child support and so on. We’ve seen “job-hoppers” who bounce from place to place in order to avoid the court system. An employee who is worth the extra effort should receive counseling about payment schedules. Offer to help him find legal representation if need be and allow him the time off of work to meet with an attorney or make court hearings.

Make it clear that the situation will never change unless the problem is dealt with, and that you are willing to help if requested. Helping employees be more responsible in their private lives will create more responsible crew members who will represent your company in a positive manner.

REACHING OUT. Hispanics are some of the most dedicated and loyal employees you can hire, but they are often hampered by a language and cultural barrier. One way to help them overcome this is to take them to a local bank and introduce them to tellers and bank officials. This may seem extreme, but your Hispanic employees are often people who are unsure of the system. An introduction to American banks will ease their fears and help them manage their money. In our metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, finding tellers who speak Spanish and will be available to help them is easy. The employees see such actions as evidence that you care about their welfare, which creates loyalty worth its weight in gold.

Another way to help employees is by functioning as a negotiator. In our case, one Hispanic employee was unable to explain to his landlord that his refrigerator was not working. So, with his permission, we called the landlord on his behalf and got him a new refrigerator within a day. This valuable employee will not easily forget that his boss went to bat for him and will return season after season.

Employee turnover can be an expensive proposition. Once a team has been established and is running smoothly, you are reluctant to replace those employees with a new hire - an unknown and increasingly rare commodity. With this uncertainty, a smaller contractor may make the decision that a little personal attention, such as the examples given above, can save a valuable employee. Workers will remember these acts of kindness when making future employment decisions.