Happy Employees Equal Happy Customers

I'm sure you've heard the saying "If mom isn't happy then NOBODY will be happy!" Well that also applies to your business. If your employees are not happy, they will not do a wonderful job at making or keeping your customers happy. When you really think about it, no one really wants to work for a living. No one wants to sit behind a desk or counter all day dealing with other people's issues, answering the phones, and having to deal with "problems" day in and day out. Right?

In a perfect world we'd all have plenty of money were we'd never have to work. Picture it: You'd wake up on your yacht in a new part of the world every other day. Today it may be St. Tropez and the next day it may be Italy. Who knows! Everyday would be an adventure and we'd all have no cares or worries. Who wouldn't love that type of life style? I know I would! The reality is most people may not even know where St. Tropez is, and may never have an opportunity to go there. All they have to look forward to is their crummy job where the boss is always gone, where the tension is so intense that you can cut it with a knife, where they can barely afford to pay their bills with what they make and the benefits; if they even have any; are almost non-existent. As small business owners we think that's about the best we can offer. Well, that's not true.

Over the summer Oprah Winfrey took her entire staff of 407 plus their families (more than 1000 people total) to Hawaii. You may not realize it but Oprah's company Harpo, Inc. is considered to be a small business. And even though this should come as no surprise, she has an excellent retention rate. Most of her staff have been with her from the start. Why? Well this trip probably was not the first thing she did for her staff to show then how much she appreciated them and their hard work. Maybe you can't fly your entire staff to Hawaii but there are certain things you could do to keep them happy.

Tip # 1: If you can't take them to Hawaii then bring Hawaii to them! Several years ago we had a Christmas party for our staff at our home. We wanted a Hawaiian-themed party so we played island music and put a lei around their neck when they came through the door! We served tropical drinks. Ate foods that had island themes. We had a blast!

Tip # 2: Everyone loves a good meal. Especially when it's free! Once a month we would take our staff out to lunch for our meeting or if the schedule was too tight we would

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