The importance of offering benefits to current and new employees

MCS Influencer Randy Chaffee says that retaining employees goes beyond giving them a simple pay raise.

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of an interview between our Multimedia Manager, Megan Ellsworth, and Owner of Source One Marketing, Randy Chaffee. You can listen to the interview or read the transcript below.

Megan Ellsworth: All right, recording is started. Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth here at MetalCoffeeShop.com, chatting with Randy Chaffee today, one of our metal influencers, and we're gonna be talking about employees. So, hi Randy. How you doing?

Randy Chaffee: Hi, Megan. How are you? Great to be here, as always.

Megan Ellsworth: Yay, glad to have you. So, this month's question is, what are some best practices for attracting and retaining employees?

Randy Chaffee: You know, in today's environment? That's a great question, isn't it? Because we know how tough that is right now to, to get and keep employees. And so I think the first key is to make it important. You see too many times, I think as employers probably go back and used to the old days where you just put out a wanted sign or help wanted sign, and you had more people than you could ever get. And if you didn't keep somebody, you didn't worry about it. You just found somebody new. things have changed for the good or the bad, whether that's a good news or a bad news scenario. It is what it is. And I think we have to respond to potential and new employees in, in a way that makes them want to work for us because that thing has changed a little bit.

That's shifted a little bit. And so I think the first key is go where they live. If you wanna look for new employees, social media, we've talked about this before. You know, I'm a big believer in the, the force multiplier effect of social media, right? It's a great spot to let customers know, or excuse me, customers too, but to let potential employers, employees know that you're hiring. Or if you keep an ongoing conversation with people out there about what your business is, talk about your people, talk about how you treat your people, talk about the food cart that you brought into the plant, all those sort of things. The little weekend deal, all that develops that image over time that I kind of wanna be with these people 'cause it's a little more, and I'm gonna use air quotes here. I never a family atmosphere right in, in a place I wanna be because I'm a little old school.

But I still believe that it's not all just the money. That's an important part of it. And it's not just the benefits important part of it, but it's do I feel part of the, the group? Do I feel like I wanna go to work and be with friends and people I enjoy every day? So I think the more we let people know what we do on a regular basis, that has the real benefit of playing into the customer's hands too. These are the kind of people I wanna deal with. So it's, it's kind of a crossover. But if we do that and remember the, I don't know, this probably I wanna say a golden rule maybe, right? But treat others the way we wanna be treated. We just have to take care of our employees and understand that, that and I think Gary Vaynerchuk or somebody once said this very well, and if it wasn't him, sorry, Gary, take it anyway.

Like he needs any more cred, right? But is that if you if, if you don't or employees, I guess where I'm trying to go with this is employees are never going to be as excited about the workplace as you are if you own the business, right? They're just not. You can develop scenarios where they wanna be there and they enjoy being there and they enjoy coming to work, but if it's this is your baby, there's nobody gonna love it as much as you love it. So I think we have to be cognizant of that too. We as employers may be willing to work 70 hours a week, 80 hours a week, work in the evenings, do the thing, don't matter because it's our business. we gotta, we have every right to expect they do their job and they do it well, and they respond to our needs of overtime or whatever.

That's, that's a very acceptable expectation, but they're not gonna love it as much as we do. So if we put all that pressure on them to love it as much as we do, you, you're gonna drive people away. And I think you, so that talked about maybe getting people, but I think one of the I saw, I saw something, an article or a blog or something here a while back, I thought it really made sense, and I won't get it exact, but they talk about all of this new hire bonuses and sign-on bonuses and all those things, which are good, probably needed in times. But the the blog or meme said, what about bonuses for people staying who, who stayed through the tough times, who stayed through the hard times? You know, it's like we forget about taking care of the people that have been with us for a long, long time.

And I think they are equally, if not more important because I everything correlates, I correlate with as a sales rep, right? So looking for new employees is prospecting for employees, not customers. But if I'm prospecting, it's important to get new customers, but not by giving up on existing customers. That's been with me forever. And if I've got a choice today, and I think this falls into the place, same way with, with retaining employees. If I got five minutes right now, I need to make sure I'm doing something to retain a good employee rather than trying to find a new one that may or may not come, may or may not work out. Right. You, you gotta, you gotta remember to keep the people you have if they're, if they're taking care of you and, and, and, and it's working. So that's a long-winded way. I got cranked up there, didn't I? 

Megan Ellsworth: That was good. It's always so great to hear what you have to say on these topics because I, I love that that what you said about kind of relating it to customers, it's the same way. I mean, treat your employees like you would treat your, your customers, you know, so they stay and, and also treating them like family. I like how you said that too. That's Well, it is so true. It's,

Randy Chaffee: It, it is important. And, and if you, if it really comes into, it's all relationships. Everything's relationships, sales relationships. When you wanna hire new employees, you are selling, you know, the old statement right, is, is everybody's in sales, whether you have the title or not. Everybody's in sales. I don't care what you do if, if you got a girlfriend or a boyfriend, probably 'cause you did a sales job on 'em, right? I mean, we're all in sales in one shape or form. So if you want to get and maintain good employees, you've gotta sell them on the fact of why they wanna work with you and the benefits of working with you. And then when they are working for you, you wanna sell them consistently daily on why I wanna stay with Megan or with Randy or with whomever as opposed to leavingright? Because there's opportunities for employees to leave every day just like we do in sales. Again it, I wanna, I need to re I hate the word sales, but to use the lack of a better term, I need to continue to sell you as a customer every day on why you should stay with me, right? Yeah. Every day I need to be proving to you why you need to stay with me. And it's equally so with the the employer employee relationship, I think.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you so much. That was such great advice. I think everyone should be taking notes while you're listening to this and noting all this down because Randy, you're full of wisdom. Really appreciate it.

Randy Chaffee: Well, I'm, I'm full of something. I'm also old, so I got a lot of gray hair. So one or the other could be a combination of both.

Megan Ellsworth: It's a combo of greatness.

Randy Chaffee: I'm gonna write that down and use it with my wife later.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I'd love it. Well, awesome. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Anything, any last words to add? 

Randy Chaffee: Just thank you for all you guys do at MetalCoffeeShop and RoofersCoffeeShop. I think you got CoatingsCoffeeShop now too, right?

Megan Ellsworth: We do, yep.

Randy Chaffee: You got coffee shops coming everywhere and, and I think one of the things I really love about you guys, just the fact that I just love you guys is that you got Coffee Shop in your name and you know I love my coffee.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah. We love our coffee here too.

Randy Chaffee: I just appreciate being part of this and love talking to you every month about a new subject.

Megan Ellsworth: Likewise. Well, thanks so much for chatting with me and we will talk more next month.

Randy Chaffee: You got it. Sounds good. Cheers, my friend.