In the course

of my life I've been an employee and I've been an employer. I have made

mistakes as both. As a pastor and priest, I've watched literally thousands

of people over the years that fit into one or the other of those roles.

But one of the curiosities of that observation has been that many employers

have a great deal of difficulty keeping top-notch employees. Many of them

make a point of finding, recruiting, hiring, and training the best and

are later disappointed and even bitter that those top performers have

left them.

In the February

2002 edition of the newsletter "Executive Leadership," a publication

of the National Institute of Business Management, Michael McLaughlin gives

four reasons why organizations lose their best people. His observations,

paraphrased, along with my own comments, follow:

1) Employers

fail to let employees know where they stand - either good or bad. A number

of years ago, I worked for a man who seldom passed out compliments. His

approach was, "If you're doing a good job, you don't need to be congratulated."

While there are some very few for whom this is true, most people operate

best when there is an equitable system of both rewards and consequences.

The military has learned that commendations, ribbons, and medals mean

more to the soldier, sailor, airman, or marine than an increase in pay.

For some, an increase in responsibility is more important, Justice Oliver

Wendell Holmes, Jr., said, "The reward of the general is not a bigger

tent, but command."

2) Employees

get frustrated when employers give raises across the board without due

consideration for merit. Every employee knows who the non-performers are

who, they feel, get paid mostly for just showing up. While all men may

be created equal, it is a mistake to assume that all employees should

be paid equally or than when raises are given that all employees should

share equally in the cutting of the financial pie.

Some employees

are more valuable than others. Top performing employees know that they

are more valuable than those who perform minimally and occupy space. When

they fail to get rewarded, they look for a place where their talents will

be appreciated. Not all leave because of pay issues. Some people leave

the organization when promotions or advancements are slow.

Organizations

who hire the best must realize that these people will be ambitious and

will expect to move into positions of greater responsibility, if they

perform in an outstanding manner. Hitting the ceiling is, for them, a

sure sign to move on.

3) Employers

who fail to plan for turnover will lose even more people. Interestingly,

in my experience, employers who lose good employees tend to blame the

one who left. They often refuse to accept responsibility for the well-being,

morale, and contentment of the employee, and, when the employee finally

leaves, they appear to be caught off-guard. Their immediate solution is

to simply shift the work load to other employees, who resent the extra

work, while they look for a replacement. They do not see the need to look

within themselves or the organization to discern why people are leaving.

The other employees will begin to lose confidence in the ability of the

employer to lead effectively, thus setting up future withdrawals.

4) Employers

who misunderstand the "loyal opposition" do so at their peril.

The best ideas may come from employees who want desperately to see the

organization succeed. There's a difference between whining and constructive

criticism, although many employers fail to see it. If there is a better

way to do something, the employees are more often in a position to grasp

it.

Some time ago,

I taught a supervision and management course at one of the police academies

in Georgia. The most frustrating thing was to realize that these police

supervisors, at least the majority of them, had no intention of listening

and learning. I discovered that many of them supervised officers who would

suggest different ways of doing things only to be rebuffed and labeled

"whiners." And, because I was a minister, even though I have

had many years experience in dealing with people, many of them felt that

I had nothing of any value to say. Employers need to learn to listen to

their employees or some other employer will.

Like it or

not, employers are responsible for the morale of their people. Napoleon

said, "In war, everything depends on morale." Frederick the

Great said, "A battle is lost less through the loss of men than by

discouragement." And, in his book, "Soldiers," Lt. Gen.

Bruce Clarke said, "The morale of soldiers comes from three things:

a feeling that they have an important job to do, a feeling that they are

trained to do it well, and a feeling that their good work is appreciated

and recognized."

The employer

who intends to keep his best people should learn these lessons well.

[The Reverend

Canon David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church

which meets in Peachtree City Sundays at 10 a.m. in the chapel of Carmichael-Hemperley

on Ga. Highway 74. He may be contacted at [email protected] .]