What should be the actual role of the HR Department?

What does it take to actually get this beside the fact that you just read it? Loads, loads of restless nights, a fucked up sinking business and stress. Yeah, sound harsh but look around you until this doesn't happen I don't think that many out there will get it.

 

HR isn't just about administration who does the payroll, deals with the hiring and firing process and has the clue which file is where in the cabinet.

 

If you want to have a successful business I believe I am not overreacting when I say you really need to get your HR department straight. Straight in the sense that they need to understand that they are for the people at each company, be it about a new starter, about a current or a former employee, or be it even about the Managers or CEOs. HR is there for the people.

 

This departments is the internal customer services department of every establishment. They are/ SHOULD BE  the ones who know, get and provide the information about every human being that's collaborating with your firma to make things happen and bring dreams to actions. They should be the one who if I ask since when this person is here and doing this and whether they have the right skills or not for a certain task they should know it.

 

 

Sounds a lot hah? Well guess what, it is a lot, but they don't have to deal with the business strategy building, the quarterly finance plans, marketing campaigns and  that sales targets are met or not.

 

Your HR people should build the department which besides doing the HR related administration, equally planning and dividing the tasks between each colleague working in the "mess" (because the bigger the messier it can become if you don't step on top of it in time), who actually are aware of who is doing what and where, do the training if needed for people to gain new skills (eg. how to communicate, how to not misunderstand everything that's pointed out and it is not clear, HOW TO INTERACT) and impartially listening and coaching others as and when required.

 

 

Yes, I know HR people have a lot on their head. Well guess what? Others too, but that's not an excuse not knowing what my job is and doing it to the best of my knowledge with minimum supervision.

 

And one more thing: if an HR person, especially and advisor tells you that you are wrong without explaining and further clarifying a situation until everyone is happy with the solution provided and on the same page, please fire that person because they are just taking the space up 50% of their working time and if they have no clue how to use common sense now, they won't have a clue later either, EVER.

 

 

Having an HR qualification or 20 years of experience means most of the time nothing but by the time you realise this they have milked your bonuses to their section and your ship is already on the bottom of the ocean.

 

Good luck!

 

 

You've got: a dead parrot

Many times throughout your career whether it is as an HR representative, consultant or a business leader you come across your way with people who work... And that's it, just work...

Now as we all know people who just work they do it either for the sake of working or for the sake of money but in no way for the sake of your business.

If people like "just do the job" land between your awesome or perhaps less awesome team you  definitely need to spot this and ensure that person either changes his attitude towards his/her role or leaves your company. First option is more cost effective if:

• there is still spark in the person
• you see that in the specific role someone after the first couple of coaching session within a 6 months period can achieve greater things s/he did before
• you are not a lazy "boss" who requires just results and as soon as they show up you leave things loose

It is very very important to have consistency in your work and requirements, if you don't sooner or later you will fail. If you see people using the word "consistency" too often yet their work is not improving be it on a single or group level then you have got a dead parrot on board.

The reason why I use the term of "dead parrot" is because if you think of dead parrots they look kinda kreepy (just like your employers who "just do the job, kreepy but beautiful in their own sense of meaning) but they will remind you (at least me) of a parrot that's hanging upside down in it's cage on the swing, his claws and toes rigidly sticked to the swing and the only way to get it off is to cut it down (either by the claws or at the swing, first one seems too messy for some and let's face even the thought of it awful, but second one causes more "damage").
Now if you think how this looks like in real a context: first time when you see it, you get shocked but as you have never seen something like this before it seems cool and you might think your parrot (that's dead - ok anatomically we all know that their paws will open once dead, so let's not get into this but instead think...) is just pretending. You think it is extraordinary so leave it a bit longer there to hang with the hope that soon it will wake up and let everyone see it this performance he is doing. Well... Face it... It won't revive and unless you take it off, soon it will start stinking, rotting and poison the air around it...

OK... Let's put this in the context of a company not knowing who they have on board. Well actually, good ones always know, or at least use their common sense to spot it, stupid ones think it is cool and wait that the person who is like this dead parrot "wakes up", and if you leave it too long it will poison the air around it.

Believe me that's not good, really not good. If you don't believe me just wait and see, usually 6-8 months is enough to see results that will ensure at least a 25% drop in your performance, or not grow at all, so calculate that now over into time and money. Let's see some of the results: You'll loose out on an average of 30% of your great performing staff ( simply made: they will get an other job somewhere else or they'll become "just do the job"ers), you'll have to start from zero in most of the departments in many role (zero in the context that even though you hire a person with wast similar experience, that professional still needs get used to the new company culture, needs to learn that things work differently not as before and the concept of the new role is not the same as in her/his previous one, needs to get to know new people and the list could go on. So basically if you add this all up even with a great new professional with 10-15 years of experience you'll need to start from zero if you want the person to progress and grow your business as you wish for).

Now calculate: is this worth for you? Is it worth loosing out on the best at your company or you'd better shoot that parrot that's dead so that everyone hears it and as soon as possible try reset that hopefully little loss and return to the path of growing? Now comes the part when you ask: ok but what about the image of my company (specially if you fire a manager in a high position). Well guess what: you can f* your image if this person is rotting everything around him/her.

There are always ways you can go around if you prefer to take smooth but firm steps and don't be afraid of taking them, as if you ain't then just bear the consequences these bring upon you and start planning your closure.

How not to turn your office into a playground

I am totally for work life balance, totally for team work and totally for tasks and actions that build the team to act as one and help the company to prosper.

 

But there is a fine line which should be kept if you want your teams and the whole company to grow in the right direction instead of becoming a kindergarten playground in the middle of the office.

 

 

 

Rule no. 1:

If you really want to organize team building activities then do it so that everyone takes part in it on a rota basis or better don't do anything (believe me, it is f* doable, if you can't then either 1. don't deal with it or 2. learn to do it, or simply leave the job for someone who can do it)

 

Rule no. 2:

Assign people to deal with team building activities who:

1. Are good organizers

2. Have common sense

 

3. Don't always pick their preffered ones for activities and leave out others from games just because they don't like their hair color for example (a very good example that this person still belongs to kindergarden)

4. Can make difference between activities that just are fun at work (basically waste time) and activities that develop staff on a personal and also professional level

 

Rule no. 3:

Don't lie to people about obvious facts (ex. you have no clue why you do what you do) and honestly just simply do a plan for the whole year for the sake of team building activities in which you detail what, how and why you do and when of course.

 

Rule no. 4:

Make everyone and most importantly the team builder one thing to understand though the activities help them to relax and enjoy time on a personal level but it is there improve them on a professional level.

 

Rule no. 5:

There is nothing more demotaving than sitting in offices or at workplaces where the only thing you see that everyone is running around as a headless chicken, pretending of doing something useful and actually not making anything just hanging around at the work place under the cover of: "SERIOUSLY THOUGH ORGANIZERS THAT WANT THE BEST FOR EVERYONE" and let's face the facts, actually don't give a shit.

 

Now back to my usual saying: "The more places I work at" the more I realize that actually half of the team is useless, the other half though having the skills and drive has no chance to change anything because the power lies in hands of the first halves. 

 

Welcome to the 21st century, the century of the headless chickens who lead most of the companies and have no clue what's happening around them, or "better", don't care...

 

 

 

Please do something about this and change if you can, before in the mainstream your company becomes one of the worst voted for and sinks with your playground...

How to hire the best?... or just simply don't...

Whether you need someone now or you were looking to fill in a role in the past I am certain that you faced this question already: "Is this applicant the right person for my company?".

Well the only way to decide this beside the facts that "time will tell" is follow: PRIORITISE YOUR COMPANY'S NEEDS AND ACT ACCORDINGLY. 

The more interviews I took part and the more companies I dealt with the more I realised that most of them have no clue what they want except: "I wan't the best person to fill that job". 

Now I am asking you: until you (as a manager or a company owner) are not clear with your company's needs and from those which one needs to be met first in order to achieve fast and effective your long term goals, why do you expect from others to be top notch in a role, to be able to prioritise and to actually know the word "PRIORITISING" from day one?

Well actually the above is NOT THE ONLY issue JUST THE MAIN ONE. Beside that in London you can see many companies (who actually can afford) not wanting to give candidates high salary because they "aren't English" (basically they discriminate) but also on a long run they don't wish to invest in the applicant either to support them in their professional development. 

And the list of expectations for the BEST CANDIDATE:

• Run all the errands with professional manner and ensure tasks are delivered as required ("do what I tell you but when shit hits in be the first to be blamed for")
• Take responsibility for actions and use own initiative ("but please, not without my approval")
• Support team spirit (but don't forget "I as your manager must like it only") 
• Have qualifications from one of the best high education institutions (no one actually cares, but at least "we can show others that you came from a great uni so WE ARE COOL") 
• Capable of handling pressure (THIS PLACE is a stress nest filled with literally nuts people so candidate has to be min. ok with that)  
• Take part in a week full time unpaid training (because "we don't trust applicants, why to waste money on them?" so guess what, they won't waste their time on you either. If your budgeting system is really that s* I don't even know why you want the best on board)
• To provide and deliver tasks as and when required by superiors (OK, here I don't want to be mean, but when they write this that means the applicant is dead and believe me, some companies will put them there to clean the toilet... Have seen it...) 
• Have 2+ years experience (sometimes even in a role that no one actually did before, or was just invented by your company and is so easy to do that even a child with no experience can sort)
• "Don't forget how great it will look on your CV that you worked for an award winning establishment" (yes, sadly this is reality and it's pity, specially when your company thinks that this is the winning quote of the day...) 
• Are happy to commit on a long term ("even though the candidates goals aren't met, our company's one should be", right and I am Mother Theresa...)

AND THE LIST COULD GO ON and is massive believe me...

Also loads of managerial/ directorial roles are filled with incompetent people (no skills, no brain, no face and at the end no number to reach them on and discuss any work related matter, because they can -and your staff can't - do that...)

Now back to the main point if you want to hire the best on board, be clear of your NEEDS!, PRIORITIZE!, PLAN and ACT oh and one more thing: TRANSFERABLE SKILLS ARE CALLED "TRANSFERABLE" WITH AAAA REEEASON!!! :D

The train won't wait so just get on and start doing whatever necessary and DON'T BE EGOISTIC but REALISTIC INSTEAD! 

Good applicants know what they want and they won't settle on a long run with shitty deals so either you be quiet and continue with the shallow way you did till now or you provide a fair and great option for everyone and make great deals. 

Best & fast of luck to your new employee/s!

This is actually what most of the time is going on when you have problem "not getting" the best ones (which you might already have but you are too "busy" to realize it... zorryyy... ) 

Importance of Communicating Clearly & Effectively

No, this isn't about Carbon Copy. This is about this: people are not that stupid as you think(you might meet perhaps some who think slowly but hey...)  and if you teach someone s/he might learn quicker as you'd imagine. 

Every single time I deal with a personal or business field related matter there is no single day going by when I wouldn't realize that there is someone who just doesn't get it:

YOU DON'T COMMUNICATE NEITHER CLEARLY NOR EFFECTIVELY! 

On these two things can your company either fail to succeed fully, or it will take you ages instead of months/ couple of years to achieve your goals. 

I'll keep this short and simple. Learn to speak to others, and learn to improve your bad habits of thinking that you gave the orders in an effective way and manner. Get it: people aren't mind readers and specially new staff. They won't have the slightest clue that your eyebrows will kick right when you want them to move left, unless you tell them! 

How many times you see people coming to you and complaining that this is not going that is not going though you explained them what to do and how to do it in order to reach your aims well? A lot of time, I guess. If so follow this simple strategy: Your staff messed it up once? Fine. Explain them again, but see who is listening and ensure them you are there if need arises (again). Messed it up again? Explain it again but this time also pay attention to and examine where things went wrong and how it can be avoided to happen again. Messed it up three times? You messed it up somewhere and perhaps you should involve someone who has the gut to tell you that something is rubbish in the way how you communicate. Or perhaps you confuse humans with robots and that won't work out, sorry...

Do you have self confidence issues or perhaps you are scared that you might fail? Well, guess what everyone does, but some just get on with it and still try and believe that they'll succeed (and they actually do). The worst is to deal with people who bully on the top of the fact that they can't tell you clearly what your job is, how to do it properly, if needed whom to ask for help and defo they'll watch every single step of you looking for mistakes. 

How to avoid this and have a successful team watching your back? Well: 

1. Respect your staff and get it: at the end of the day you are there to sink or arise together.

2. Tell everyone what their role is, how to do tasks and keep it simple as possible, and give extra 5 minute of your time for individuals if you have the slightest feeling that it will be more effective.

3. Practice makes the master so don't expect from anyone to be Einstein from day one. 

4. Learn and also teach them to take responsibility for their deeds and don't be an ars who just gives orders and when shit happens you are nowhere to be seen, and your next thought is whom to blame.

5. Your person is one as in point 4. well teach them manners. How? Do you remember how it was in school having the worst teacher teaching you, someone who was hated by everyone but at the end of the day that teacher was actually the one who treated you all in the same way, bad or good? Now... Be like that. 

6. KNOW YOUR PEOPLE!!!

Learn to manage your time and teach other how to do that too. If you can't find a solution for a matter with 5 people at one place within one hour, you'll never, so always ensure you tell things as they are straight forward, in a polite way and with heads up. You can't do it? Off you go, you are on the wrong place. 

Never involve personal matters in any kind of work related conflict, issue and also clearly communicate that's not tolerated. If you treat people with respect and dignity they will treat you the same way, those who don't let them go and wish them best of luck. But if you see even the tiniest spark in someone try to collaborate to make things work. Don't lie, that's for kids and at the end of the day people won't take you serious... 

Admit your mistakes ( I am not saying make it a Vouge's cover story, so just don't get me wrong) and understand that once a while others can make mistakes too. So instead of blaming and showing who the boss is, give support, gain trust and ensure staff that they can collaborate with you.

If there is a way to explain someone something in a shorter and better way (only if these two facts are there at the same time, then do it!) do so, rules of giving instructions or techniques of training staff are there for a guidance and you can't always apply it on everyone. 

And one more thing, at the end of the day there will be things of which everyone should know, specially if you are a small company growing steadily so don't keep it only for one or two person instead involve others too, share the thoughts and ideas with them and let more eyes see and more solutions flow in. Are you scared and paranoid of ideas being sold to someone? Sign a bloody confidentiality agreement. 

What goes around comes back again, so if you can't communicate clearly and effectively now, later that will kick in your but, and believe me, that will hurt. 

So good luck, open your mouth, smile, explain things more time if needed, plan ahead or just simply consult others to help you put the jigsaw puzzle together. 

If issue arises be witty and never take decisions fast in matters that are serious. Instead take a break, have a Kit Kat and after talk... 

National Minimum Wage vs. Living Wage in UK

Imagine when  you sit down to a table and have a chat with a 10 years old little chap and he tells you to look into the London Living Wage and I go like : "What's that?"

Guess what? At some point my dreams come true and frankly it is nice to so that there are actually companies who apply these guidance rules, but it is shocking that I can be surprised in such a way by someone much younger than me and I even love it :)))

So let's first of all clarify what I am talking about when I speak about Living Wage. Yeah, sure it is clear as sun, but it isn't the mandatory National Minimum Wage!!! and guess what it really should be implemented in your business' life if you want to prosper on a long run, and actually feel what it means to have happy, more motivated and loyal staff, and a #successful business.

So shortly the Living Wage is calculated sort of to balance work and life situation, and  well... if you are honestly honest, frankly I don't see the issue why your business couldn't prosper and you wouldn't be able to afford to pay that amount out. 

According to Living Wage Foundation these amounts are calculated and set independently according to basic cost of living in the UK. 

• The current UK Living Wage is £7.85 an hour
• The current London Living Wage is £9.15 an hour

How much difference does these amounts make?? A LOT... and I wish more companies would join this track and keep the good things up as well. The only thing perhaps that I am bit concerned about is that some might use this out so I hope there is a tough procedure worked out to keep this kinda under control, because if someone is money hungry they'll never learn, and just keep exploiting others to get rich as mad. 

Well... Happy looking, learning, developing, Easter and more success to take the steps to a better future and stop being stingy! :P 

Watch the below short video: Peter Cook from CTS Cleaning Solutions Ltd. who tells as it is and he seems to get the point (frankly for me he seems to be an upfront person, and as he talks, I don't think he is as most companies on the market: rubbish and non sense, hungry for money and loosing the sense of the whole success of their business, life, staff etc.)

http://www.londonlive.co.uk/news/how-can-a-business-afford-to-pay-above

(Nodding as a sheep on the other side of the table is never a solution and won't save your ass either:D) 

PS: No matter where you are around the globe, get one thing: You can do much better and will do much better as a business, if you understand that there is a better life above minimum wage and specially if you are the one who pays the salary, just plan, implement, check and keep things moving, what goes around comes back around again (even good things ;) ) and is/ will be worth it.

How to motivate your staff?

Have you ever seen the movie Hangover? Now that's how some people would love to feel at work, full of actions, that might lead to not remembering anything after a day or week, but you love every bit of it. You have loads of fun with tough and easy scenes, and make your staff feel that yes, they did it, they can sort it out! Ensure that everything works out well and at the very end of a project you provide them the opportunity to look back and get shocked or piss themselves off from laughing but certainly and most importantly: LEARN THE LESSON FROM ALL WHAT THEY DID IN A CONSTRUCTIVE WAY. Can you do this? I believe yes, but if you read this article it's more likely you haven't done it yet ;).

The title is a well known question with so so many answers and point of views that a week discussing it full time wouldn't be enough for this topic.

But let's just keep it short and simple.

What do we understand under motivation? Well, guess what, I am not going to use a dictionary, instead I would like to describe it in a way, that hopefully will hit the nail on the head.

Let's compare staff motivation at work with learning a new language in school. In both cases the aim is to achieve something great (either by doing your job in a way that satisfies you and you perform on a very high level, or speaking the language fluently for example) by doing processes that are versatile, fun to do and changing, though perhaps they teach/ show you the same way that you knew already but a bit spiced up, and most importantly always filled with new information.

One thing that needs to be cleared people are the same, but still different. In jobs and their lives as well they want to be appreciated, respected and acknowledged  for what they did and they do, but still they all view and live it from different perspectives.  If you don't meet these criterias, you perhaps own a crowd of zombies hunger for money or just simple people who have nothing else to do than just hang around and well let's face it, this isn't your aim (ok money too at the end, but after hard and good work that will come too). 

You want people who work for/ with you to improve not just their own lives (1st standpoint for them) but others' too by selling products or services that promote a state of well being or a state of belonging somewhere good. (E.g.: owing an Apple phone. The person who sold me seemed to love his job. The product I've bought, made me feel cool, because I could afford it, plus he made me feel good by owing something that is maybe unnecessary in my life but still can afford it and the thought seems waoo :)) )

Let's say you have a shop selling first class rugs for every home or institution. You are  a well known company and well if I need rugs, I certainly will go to you to buy them because you have great reviews. You are good not just because you offer something good and well known but also because your products are high standard (last long, keep their colors longer, pattern design is mind blowing), you can fit orders to personal needs and provide the best customer service all the way through, for a price that covers not just your cost, but also brings a nice sum of profit (this is your secret). You say you are a small company and can't afford this? Look at your employees I bet they can ( when it comes to action, really good colleagues/ employees achieve even the impossible, but only IF YOU DESERVE IT). 

Rule No. 1: BELIEVE THAT YOUR STAFF CAN DO IT and act accordingly!

If you don't have the faith in your staff that they can do the job, better don't waste your time hiring anyone and don't ask others either to bother with it. Why? Because you will screw it up. Yes, sounds harsh, doesn't it? It is just reality. On a long run if you don't believe in your staff you will always complain, worry about their mistakes, problems, that perhaps might be minor ones, but still you will just make them appear major, too too much... 

Provide necessary tools, authority (responsibility) and be there if needed. If not following can happen, easily: your 5* employees will actually believe they are bad and start to perform that way, or they'll just leave the job asap and you'll find it out in the last moment. And tataaaam, you'll be like: "What?? Why? Nooo!". Then one day after the other your company stops growing, starts stagnating or worst case it will start declining. This is such a well known scenario for so many companies and yet... they still don't get it. 

Rule No. 2: TIME IS MONEY, for your staff as well!

So whether you like it or not, pay for the services they do for your company/ yourself and leave the bullocks of "How grateful I am for your great work!" 

Sounds familiar? People who have faith say "God pay you back" for every good deed, but there is an other say: "Help upon yourself, and God will help you too!". If I see that people just always thank for me working my ass off, to bring the company alive and progress, but I get only "Thanks" and "Good job", plus nothing worthy actually happens or in worst scenario my colleague/ boss takes the merit for something they have nothing to do with, sooner or later (and I bet sooner after such a case) I'll just move on and start new somewhere else. So take that cheque out and be reasonable, or promote the person (oh and lets just start there that overtimes should be paid!) You don't have to pay a fortune, because at the end of the day you aren't a millionaire (or who knows), specially if you just started up. Believe me, using out someone to get the job done (?)... well... it will cost you one way or the other, so think of it what price you want to pay for it? People with brain and dignity won't ask for your money they will just tell everyone how rubbish you are and won't care if your establishment  floats or worst case drowns... 

Rule No. 3: ASK FOR THINGS THAT ARE ACHIEVABLE, by you too!

Whether you are the head of HR/any department or simple the owner who has just a small company, don't ask your staff to make you millionaire by tomorrow. That won't happen! The same way as you hired someone to sort something out, the same way you should understand that you have humans on board (even if sometimes they act like animals :D) with limits! If you are a start up because of limited resources sometimes you must hire people to sort out more than one thing, which is fine, but if you give someone to deal with 10 things, without the necessary tools and authority, well that's not fine. 

Nothing can be more demotivating than working on more than 3 things at the time with the same priority and hearing constantly why is this or that not done yet? Be realistic and fair enough, to understand, things need to be planed in advance, and everything has to be sorted accordingly. In case things don't go fast, roll your sleeves up and jump in, you'll have time later to find out why someone wasn't performing, after the job is done and deadlines or project targets met. Show your staff that they can count on you and don't tell them to do something that you actually don't have time to focus on or don't care about.

Rule No. 4: TEACH AND LEARN (Learning & Development for the faint hearted), no matter what!

I love people who love to teach, but also who are happy to learn too. Throughout my career in non/commercial fields I've met loads loads of people and frankly I've enjoyed the most working with those who were ready to learn and not stubborn to ask for help or even the ones, who were so professional and good they taught me new skills without the unnecessary "OMG, how is that you don't know this?". A person - no matter for how long s/he is at a company, or in a specific role -  will/ should always learn something new, progress and develop as a professional in order to keep up with the trends on the market and by targeting the best spot on it, customize offers accordingly and get the most out of everything. Here one thing to add: TECHNOLOGY, keep up with that too, it can save enormous time and money on a long run, in your HR department as well.

Rule No. 5: Don't dream, instead understand the reality of human needs @ work!

What most companies spit themselves in their own face with and the people who they get on board as well (this is btw. the worst joke of the 21st century) is the way how they are looking for the right candidate/ company. Good caliber people always want challenges, to constantly learn/ improve/ develop and have fun in their jobs too. Now what happens most of the cases? Well your company wants the best as always, but frankly you are lying of how many things you can offer, and why you actually are worth every breath... To this comes the cherry on the cake: clever candidates will do everything to get the best jobs, yes... even to lie in their CVs or give you fake references. I guess this isn't shocking to anyone, but this can be: How many of your employees whom you've hired until now, have told you the truth? 

If after 6 months you or even your employee realize/s that this isn't working, move on. Be professional, it is hard to digest that you weren't meant for each other but hey, it is not the end of the world. Yes, yes, but are you asking what about the money you invested in that person? Ok. But what about the time the person invested in your company? And what about the facts that it turned out that your offers you promised at the very beginning didn't even happen, or perhaps more than half of it were just lies? Hmm.. Tough case but you just be calm, carry on and stop dreaming and instead start acting, don't even try to take your revenge on your staff because that is stupid and childish to do! If you have a great company people won't turn their backs on you, unless they are spies or from personal reasons they want to screw you over. And the money you invest in someone to train? Hmm... It wasn't that much and job was done too otherwise you wouldn't kept that person for such a long time (yes, 6 months is a long time, specially if that job/ company isn't meant).

No one wants to sit in one position or even at a company till the end of his/ her live! OMG. Yes, no one (this is humans' nature, they love changes even after 20 years). 

Look around you. People who are in an age that you prefer no to hire (this is discrimination just to remind you again) might be the best options to keep for the long run. "Very young" (under 25) ones can learn quickly and adapt fast, plus you can mold them with persistence. "Older" (over 40) generation can have priceless knowledge and wisdom. What about the people in-between? They are clever, cleverer than you'd think... Here, the only thing I'd like to add, plan ahead and be realistic.

Golden rule: no matter what people say, your employees are humans too, so treat them in a way you want to be treated!

Relax and let your employees enjoy their time too - even if it is once a year at a big company gathering, either on a nice fancy party or at a healthy dinner (don't ever try to take them to McDonald's or do a BBQ in your garage, frying frozen chips with chicken nuggets just to keep the costs low - better organize potlucks!)

ALWAYS THINK ON THE LONG RUN and TRY TO WALK IN YOUR EMPLOYEES SHOES FOR A BIT (OR VICE VERSA) if you want to be successful with them. 

Hope these tiny rules were easy to digest and will bring you clarity to you too, but most importantly show you that you don't have to get out of your way to get the best on board. Who knows, you might already have them, just look around you.