When Seattle-based work-force consulting company PeopleFirm was first recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the state, all employees received iPads engraved with a personal thank you. The newest team members, some of whom had only been with the company for a month, were shocked.
But this was all about rewarding the team for their outstanding efforts. Tenure, role, or level didn’t matter. Being part of the PeopleFirm team is what counted.
PeopleFirm believes in building a people strategy, which defines what is needed to drive business success and outlines where to find the people needed to drive business results: whether the company is going to build (train), buy (hire new employees), or borrow (hire consultants or temporary staff).
For companies looking to better manage their people, PeopleFirm offers the following tips:
- Know what you do and what you don’t do. To augment your services, use great partners.
- Empower your team members, and they will rise to the occasion.
- Be open about results and decisions. Share the good and bad news with the team so everyone knows what is happening. Otherwise, secrets cause unnecessary churn.
- Set a few annual goals that the team drives toward. Don’t measure the business to death, but do include critical metrics.
- Surprise your team members. They will remember a thoughtful gift rewarding performance much more than an extra $100 bonus.
