The Lumber Yard, a York, Pa.–based LBM supplier with about 600 employees in 22 locations, has a full training department called the Wolf Academy. In addition to a wide array of job-specific training classes, the academy offers such courses as time management, stress management, and business writing, academy director Lori Murphy says. Plus, the company created a very popular, 10-month leadership development series, a mentoring program, and leadership enrichment classes on topics such as accountability. “We’re trying to build our bench,” she says of the program, which is designed to increase the number of employees prepared to move into upper management roles.
Obviously, not all dealers have the resources—or the need—for an in-house training center. But there are many other types of initiatives that don’t cost much at all, yet demonstrate a dealer’s commitment to its employees’ development. Big Buck Building Centers, in Racine, Wis., for example, decided in 1996 to offer its 85 employees free Internet access for their home computers, and offers its older, used computers to employees for their families. About two-thirds of the employees have signed up for the free Web access.
“It’s a quiet way of saying we believe these skills and technology are important for everyone,” says president Valerie Hansen. “We have truck drivers and second-shift laborers in the truss department using it.”
Step 5: Pull It All Together Creating a high-performance culture that attracts and keeps the best talent isn’t the result of a single initiative. According to retention experts, it’s the culmination of a host of efforts all focused on making the company a place where the best people want to work.
Boone County Lumber, for example, creates job profiles for each position to define the qualities and skills needed to excel in the job. They recognize employees at monthly staff meetings, and use the DiSC personality profile to help employees understand how best to communicate and interact with each other. They make sure that every employee knows that his or her contribution is important to the company’s success, and will adjust a person’s role in the company to fit his or her strengths and talents. An open-door management policy allows everyone to express ideas and share concerns.
That’s the kind of environment that will keep an employee from leaving when a competitor offers him another $1 an hour.
“It’s not compensation and benefits, it’s not lots of fancy perks,” Gubman says. “It’s the personal side of work. As long as the pay and benefits are competitive, you don’t have to be at the top of the market. The better the climate, the more you can get away with paying a little less. If you can pay competitively and build good warm relationships, as a boss you’ve got it licked. People will stay with you forever.”—Pat Curry is a contributing editor to PROSALES.
