There is a fairly well-known article from the 1950’s which advises wives on the various ways in which they can successfully look after her husband and be a good wife. You have probably seen it on email before your IT department started blocking these things. There are 14 points in all, but some of the more interesting include:-

 

·         Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

 

·         Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

 

·         During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

 

·         Be happy to see him.

 

·         Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

 

·         Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.

 

·         Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

 

·         Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

 

·         Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

 

·         Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

 

·         A good wife always knows her place.

 

 

Fortunately time moves on (for some of us) but whilst the ideas outlined above belong well in the past, the intention is as relevant today as it was in 1950, 1750 or 250BC; how to keep hold of someone you value.

 

Retention of staff may not be the focal point that it was three or four years ago, with press reports implying that for many firms the main consideration is finding the most economical and cost effective way of cutting headcount. However with improving economic figures in the UK implying that the darkest days are behind us there will be again a point where firms need to look at keeping their key staff happy and prevent them looking elsewhere. Departing partners who are key client relationship managers can directly impact turnover and PEP in a very short period of time.

 

The firms who have handled the recession and resultant downsizing poorly will find that their staff are susceptible to approaches about other opportunities, particularly as the market comes back. Having watched a number of their peers being let go and realising that one more set-back could yet see them moved out of the firm, a competitor who can offer a happy ship and work of a comparable or higher quality will seem an extremely tempting option.

 

So how do you avoid losing your staff as the market starts to recover? Well, let’s revert back to the 1950s:-

 

·         Plan ahead:- Everyone needs to know that their organisation is being led by management with a clear vision of how to take the practice through economic turmoil and back to profitability.

 

·         During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Short of cranking the heating right up you may struggle to recreate that ‘fireside’ scenario or a “haven of rest and order”, but attempt to limit internal bickering. Make the firm a shelter from the storm, not the eye of it.

 

·         Be happy to see him. Value your staff; pats on the back cost nothing but can mean the difference on a bad day.

 

·         Listen to him. Listen to all of your staff; by adopting an ‘us’ mentality you are more likely to come through this as a stronger unit and be far harder to break up.

 

·         Don’t greet him with complaints and problems. There’s a brilliant quote in Saving Private Ryan where Tom Hanks explains “There's a chain of command. Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, so on, so on, and so on. I don't gripe to you. I don't gripe in front of you.” If you are unhappy with the decisions of the senior management at the firm tell them, not the trainees and assistants you are supervising .

 

·         Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Your staff are out networking to bring in new business – leave them alone. In fact, you should have been out there too.

 

·         Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. That’s just silly. This isn’t all relevant you know. However if it is............actually let's not go there.

 

Whilst it may seem like a long way off at the moment the fight for the best talent will sneak back up on us very soon and in a field such as law which is notoriously short of high calibre staff those who do not wish to have to pay through the nose to attract the ‘mercenary’ lawyer may need to look at what they are doing to keep the present incumbents happy.

 

 

To discuss keeping ways in which to improve your staff retention as the market improves call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094