Go fish and keep good staff on the hook

However, conscientious and diligent employees continue to be in demand despite the glut of job-seekers.

As Spinnaker’s Phil Parry points out in this month’s Staff Retention feature (Page 16), it’s not that there is a shortage of positions available; there are plenty of vacancies, the issue is filling them with the right calibre of person.

So, despite the appearance of a dire job market, there is still a strong case for nurturing those ‘A’ class workers to stop them jumping ship. And in this respect the little things can mean a great deal.

I won’t go so far as to say it’s the thought that counts, but you certainly don’t have to throw money at good employees to keep them from straying. One cautionary tale of a shipping company that took away the daily basket of fruit and what that did to morale shows just how small those gestures can be.

One company that has taken the value of staff empowerment to heart is PSA. At a recent meeting with the company’s HR and Corporate Affairs guru, Caroline Lim, I was intrigued by her approach to improving the corporate culture. Some years back, Caroline championed the implementation of the Fish! Philosophy throughout the business.

The philosophy is a workplace management system created by John Christensen, inspired by the work culture at Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market.

It’s a philosophy based on four key concepts: play; make their day; be there; and choose your attitude. PSA has taken on this philosophy with gusto, using it as a common language to create a great workplace, focusing on bond-building, teamwork, camaraderie, excellent customer service, and personal ownership to adopt an engaged and positive attitude.

They’ve taken complete ownership of the scheme, sending ‘fishes’ to colleagues if they have done something to help another and workers with the most fishes get treated to an all-expenses paid trip. They even have fish-tanks as screen savers showing them how many fish they have.

For the cynics, it’s easy to deride such a scheme, but if the end goal of contented staff and customers is achieved it matters little what the path to that is.

Of course, workplace management systems do not need to be as in-depth as Fish! but to be successful there has to be a belief in them and that means from top to bottom. And there has to be a champion who will inspire and encourage every step of the way.

Pull it off, and the worries of keeping your best staff will disappear; they will stay because they value their job beyond monetary means. And that’s something you can’t put a price on.