I'm at a cross roads and need ideas. I have an employee who has been with me for over three years. She is a great worker both with production and shooting. I have given her periodic raises and commissions on work she has brought in. I have also bought her her own camera as a Christmas bonus. Now here's the catch. Business is booming. We are busier than ever and we are both feeling the crunch. There are times now that we can go a few weeks without a day off. I'm finding that she is getting a little more irritable at the after hours time things are taking, especially since she as two small boys. I know I have to keep her happy monitarily, but how do I get her to take a vested interest in the business so she sees the fruits of her labor instead of the inconvenience of the too much business? Do I just keep giving raises or do I have to offer a stake in the business? What do you guys do to keep good employees happy?

I'd recommend hiring a second assistant to take the load off the first one. It sounds like your reaching the point where one person can't do all the work.

Ditto the advice to hire someone else.

If you think she's able and willing, hire an assistant (even if it's just a seasonal person) for her and make her a supervisor/manager.

Karen

I don't have any advice for you but I did want to say kudos to you for noticing her efforts and caring enough to reward her for them.

Sometimes people appreciate thoughtful gifts rather than money. The camera was a great idea, perhaps buy her some accessories for it. Also try to think of non-monetary gifts, such as a "No questions asked day off."

I'm sure she's anxious to spend as much time with her family as possible, but it also helps to make the work environment a little nicer. Bring in some nice snacks occassionally. I don't know anyone that wasn't happy to see some free cookies at work. I often worked late on the promise of a free dinner, even though I knew that dinner cost less than $10.

I can't disagree with hiring an assitant either. In my area there are a lot of college age kids willing to go the extra mile for near minimum wage.

I think given what Steve said in his original post, this is a good idea as a bonus, but I do think that a regular, permanent solution needs to be found. Steve said specifically:


I honestly would get irritable, too, if I was suddenly finding myself working weeks w/out a day off - and I *don't* have two small boys. I would really be pissed off after a while, to be honest, no matter how nice or supportive my boss was. There comes a point where the employer has to understand that the employee is NEVER going to have the same level of devotion and commitment to the business that he does - because it's not *her* business. For her, no matter how much she loves her job and her boss, it's still a JOB and she still needs to be able to accommodate her home life and her kids first.

You need to find a way to give her back her home life. A week of overtime is one thing. Even a couple of weeks, if it's planned for. But weeks and weeks at a time simply becomes an unacceptable burden on the employee - having to find babysitters, having to juggle dinners and bedtimes and baths ... not being able to do things with her kids because they're in bed when she gets home. Etc.

Solve that problem (and I still think adding a seasonal employee is a strong option), and you'll have a happy employee again.

Karen

Seems to me like you have two problems here: how to keep a trusted employee satisfied and dedicated AND how to handle an excessive but perhaps temporary workload.

The immediate problem is the workload. Employees may LOVE their jobs and may even think of it as more than just a job, which is why she's willing to work so much overtime in the first place, but at the end of the day, if they have no say in the decision making nor reap a share of the profits... pretty soon they'll be looking for a better quality of life. GET ADDITIONAL HELP! Get an assistant for both of you. Someone who can help out in the studio as well as take care of some of those things you're both probably letting slide on the home/life front. Making sure groceries are done, meals are cooked/planned, and house cleaning are out of the way can leave her quality time with her family.

In the long run, it sounds as though she's become an essential part of your business... and she's proven her dedication, then make HER investment in you permanent... give her a share of the business - let her buy in. This however is best negotiated when you're both well-rested. Clear communication is key here... if you trust her enough to think of giving her part of your business, then you should be ready to talk to her about what she thinks might make the quality of her work life better. She might just have the perfect solution in mind.

Quality of life is more important than quantity in the long run. Find out from her how you can invest to make her life better.

Why not asking her what will make her happy? Then try to find a solution accordingly.

Ciao