We live in a fast moving world with lots of uncertainties as written in every newspaper. The biggest fear of employees is unemployment where as for the entrepreneurs their biggest fear is losing their firm. One would say they both are after the same goal, maintaining business, but in reality obviously they are not. An entrepreneur never starts a business to create work, he creates profit, opportunities for new investments. Depending on his business his assets will consist out of products and / or human capital. The later is absolutely the case for consultancy companies.

The value of a consultancy firm is defined by the value of the people related to that firm. Unless a consultancy company developed a unique concept, an application or methodology it loses that value when employees leave the firm. Keeping your most knowledgeable employees is as important as keeping your customers.

Unfortunately some companies have all the trouble in the world to keep their business running. This often brings them to take drastic measurements like making people redundant, decrease salaries, introduce part-time workers and a salary increase stop. Non of these measurements are favorable to keep your employees satisfied. They may accept all your measures out of fear to get unemployed, but in the long run you are creating a time bomb. Once the market picks up, they will be the first to take of to other horizons. A good employee makes his mental switch now about his decision to stay later in better days or not.

According to a survey done by the job site Monster, people would rather give in on salary to keep other colleagues on board than having to see a colleague go. But is this really the case? The answer on the survey is hypothetical and it tells something about the fear for unemployment.

Let us be honest, solidarity has his limits. Such decisions are only made in panic situations. Mother Theresa died a long time ago! You may be certain that the colleague who had to hand in salary is watching your moves and those of his colleagues very closely. They will start calculating unnecessary company expenses and get demotivated. If you really think that a salary reduction will benefit your business, consider firing one resource instead. You may think it is worse for your reputation but the impact on the organisation may actually be less. The gossip about the news of firing employees lasts no longer then about 3 days. The impact is big for the members of his team, but towards the global organisation it is not vital. The frustration derived from a salary decrease will however haunt your company for as long as the employees who had to hand in part of their salary are working in your organisation.

If you really consider a salary reduction then think it through. The big benefit in reducing on gross salary is saving on tax and contribution towards social security. To the employee it means at the end of the month that he has less money in his bank account. Offer him a bonus plan that will provide them with more than they have lost when the market picks up. Add realistic performance monitors in the plan, make the goals achievable but let them work for it. Does this sound like a contradiction to you? Reducing salary to win extra money and paying an higher bonus on the other side? True of course but you will save on taxes in short term and the bonus you will only pay in the long run when your employee achieves his goals. As an added benefit, this will motivate your employees!

Of course employee satisfaction is not only about money. Most consultants are looking for a challenge and engagement. They are looking for respect and deeper values in their jobs. One of the biggest complaints of consultants towards their company is the lack of recognition for their contribution to the global organisation.

A friend of mine resigned from the company he worked for. He had been unhappy with a few organisational issues. Several remarks he made to his boss, never resulted in a change. One of them was the lack of respect for his technical knowledge in combination with his low remuneration which made him look for a new employer. He found what he was looking for in a company that believed and respected him for his knowledge. The salary increase came without discussion. The company gave him an increase of 20%. Once he resigned from his job to start on his new challenge, his old boss got everything together to worship him, suddenly the sky was the limit. What do you think my friend thought of his former employer? Exactly! That he had been laughing with him, gaining a big profit on his behalf for all these years as suddenly all was possible.

What is the message this boss sends out to the rest of his employees? That there is always room for exceptions. Needless to say that amongst the consultants in that firm the way of 'asking for a raise' changed into 'I'm resigning, what do you offer me now?'.

It is important to keep in mind that your employees represent your company at your customers. In this sense employee satisfaction is strongly related to customer satisfaction. That is why you should be careful with the measures you take. It takes a while before you notice a frustrated employee that informed his customer about the bad working conditions in his firm. Believe me, this does happen!

In these days where lots of companies are cutting down in their marketing budgets, your employees are your best publicity! Keep them motivated! If it is not with money, try using respect for a change, acknowledge their capacities, challenge them and do not stop working on their future!