Workplace

Retaining your best employees is especially important in a bad economy, said Jena McGregor in BusinessWeek. “Even amid a hiring freeze or a workforce reduction, there are ways to engage top workers.” Home Depot, for one, recently extended stock grants to assistant store managers, and lowered the sales and profit targets that hourly employees must meet in order to earn bonuses. Other companies are creating “discretionary bonus pools to reward poachable stars.” A few are even considering repricing or exchanging underwater stock options.

Of course, such gestures won’t mean much if employees are too worried about losing their jobs, said Adriana Loeff in Forbes. Money alone can’t keep top talent from going elsewhere if the opportunity arises. “What motivates employees is how they feel about the work itself,” says Jon Katzenbach of management consulting firm Katzenbach Partners. Bosses need to remind employees of their value to the company and keep them in the loop on news—even if it’s dreary. Don’t under­estimate the importance of small gestures, such as taking the team out to lunch. Ease office angst, and you’ll help employees focus on doing their current jobs instead of finding new ones.

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