How to Attract and Retain Good EmployeesLisa Constance: Hello and welcome to sbtv.com Im Lisa Constance and Id like to introduce to you to Susan Benjamin, Marketing Expert, author and host of here own radio show “The Greater Voice.” Susan thank you so much for being with us today. Susan Benjamin: Glad to be here Lisa.Lisa Constance: Great. Well Id like to talk to you about the topic of one of your latest books its called the Managers Answer Book. So what is the book about and why did you write it.Susan Benjamin: The book is about the questions of some managers have that they need to get answers to and they couldnt get from anywhere else. So you know what I go. I come but they need to hear whether they like it or not.Lisa Constance: Well so give me some examples of what you have found that make a good manager.Susan Benjamin: I would say quite honestly, a good manager is a good communicator. What you find a lot of times to set managers are trained how to use certain technologies and they trained how to do product management. Slow charts and so on and so forth when they have an employee whose difficult or they have situation thats difficult or they have a lot of work that they have to pile on somebody. No they have to talk about it. No ideas how to get people to be part of the team as suppose anxious to leave the company all together. So that is the biggest issue communications.Lisa Constance: I can see that I mean when your small business owner entrepreneur your probably really passionate about what it is that youre doing but you know being a manager and managing people is totally different and one of the things that you cover on the book are the differences and management style between man and women.Susan Benjamin: Yes, I do and the reason is that more and more women as you probably know are raising the rings of organizations and the women style of managing is really different from on men style of managing. In some ways you could take everything that you want to say the women and men in the work place and apply it to a marriage. If you think about the difference there youll know how did you get alone in dont get along and how difficult it can be for the employees to really figure out what is that women manager saying to me or the other way around for women in place to get to what men. The male bosses, one thing to be thinking and doing and so on.Lisa Constance: Now what about – what are some of the best methods to encourage employee group.Susan Benjamin: Well thats a really good question. Its funny because most people think the best method is to offer carrot and give rewards and give better parking spaces and those can be nice but they really and theyre not the real deal and I tell you the real deal is its something thats endemic to the work that theyre doing. If you can get the employees to see the value of what theyre doing not only to the company in its profit margin, it maybe even less that in more, how theyre helping people within in their organization community within the community be on the business, how theyre helping each other recognized that and keep their eyes focused on the mission that is maybe and ethical mission, a value mission, something that really gets employees to feel like, you know something I spend my time well here. That can be incredibly motivating.Lisa Constance: I would think so and you know now times might be tough for businesses to offer races, or other perks. Some are having even not to be able to offer health insurance or benefits so what do you think are some of the ways that managers can retain their top employees and make them feel appreciated.Susan Benjamin: Okay thats an excellent question and I want to get back to your previous questions about men and women. Women tend to be better at the solution Im going to give you the man and that is to build a really strong community feeling. Get the employees to feel like they belong to this organization and because its a small business even that in a non financial way they own it because they had a real taken it that there opinion matters and that in the sense here theyre investing their time and the outcome that will happen slowly now and quicker later on. So I say that and that means that you have to be inclusive in decision making to some extent, it will have to be willing to have more gathering of employees, and as I said, its easier for women than for men.Lisa Constance: Well thank you so much this has been great information.Susan Benjamin: Good Im glad.Lisa Constance: Great, great and thanks to you for choosing sbtv.com for your small business Susan for your information for more stories on managing your business, visit our management general. For sbtv.com Im Lisa Constance.