By BOB HUDSON
bhudson@thespectrum.com

ST. GEORGE - Larry Jones, a consultant in employer-employee relations, began his presentation to the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday with a question.

"I understand employee retention in this area is a bit of a problem, yes?" Jones asked.

However, he said, the problem is actually an opportunity in disguise.

Using Fortune magazine's Top 100 Companies to Work For List, Jones explored ways to keep employees engaged and loyal.

Jones noted the top company on the list is Wegman's, a food distribution company in the Rochester, N.Y., area. He compared Wegman's to a similar company, which is no longer in business, but once had a multi-million dollar contract with Kmart.

He noted that agents from Exit Red Rock Realty expressed their credo that they "treat people the way they want to be treated" and said that was one of the key elements of engaging and retaining good employees.
Wegman's success, he said, is the result of its leaders including employees in the decision-making process through empowerment.

After briefly describing Company X's stress-filled management style, he said the big difference between it and Wegman's comes down to the way they treated their employees.

"Wegman treats them like people and it works," Jones said. "Company X treated their people like things."
As Jones began describing three basic tenets for maintaining employee loyalty, Troy Atkin pulled his Personal Digital Assistant from his pocket and began taking notes.

Atkin, a local businessmen who has been involved in companies with as many as 70 employees and as a corporation within himself, said, "I've always been told that money is a satisfier, but high wages isn't what retains employees. It's a lot of what (Jones) is talking about."

Jones said employees want three basic things from their employer - a clear understanding of expectations, timely feedback and appropriate consequences.

He said a clear understanding of their mission in objective terms helps make them comfortable and more productive. He suggested a measurement system toward that end added to the equation.
"When people do what we want them to do, what happens?" Jones asked. He recommended noticing the small incremental improvements.

"Treating people like people means that management by exception doesn't work," Jones said. He described that management style as singling people out for their mistakes rather than their accomplishments. "Notice when people are doing things right over time. It builds trust.

"The biggest mistake is not recognizing that people need to be treated differently than things," Jones concluded.

He is president of the Performance Edge, based out of Austin, Texas, but has recently relocated to St. George, where his company does business as Larry Jones & Associates.