Studies show that more than eighty percent of people who lose their jobs are let go because of poor communication skills.

Remember to consult with new employees on a weekly basis to find out their needs, concerns or questions. This lets them know that you care about what they think and feel and it makes a new employee want to work even harder for you. No matter how long an employee has been with you, you should always show them appreciation for their work. The biggest desire in the human consciousness is the craving to be appreciated. According to the Challenger Outplacement Council's recent survey, recognition and appreciation are the number one motivator for employees. Independence and status are second, followed by the chance to contribute to company goals. The last on the list of motivators for employees was salary.

Important Tip - Interview great employees that may already work for you to find out what makes them tick. Find out what personality traits they have and write profiles of them. Then you can use the profiles as a guide to hire new employees.

Almost, invariably, you will find that they have great attitudes about the work that they do. Southwest Airlines "hires for attitude and trains for skills." The corporation requires employees to have a sense of humor. During their interview process, they ask candidates to give an example of how they used humor to work through a difficult situation.

All the job candidates are typically brought together in a room where each person is asked to make a presentation. Of course all the candidates think that the person who is speaking is the one being evaluated. Actually, it is the people in the audience that are being looked at. If they are attentive and supportive, the company knows it would be getting someone who has the ability and disposition to care about others. If a person looks self-absorbed or bored and has no empathy with the person up there struggling, then that is a strong signal to not hire that person.

Important Tip: Ken Blanchard observes that telling job candidates they can have "fun" at work has not been historically high on the list of recruitment tools. However, large companies like Sony, Sun Microsystems, Lucas Arts and many more are now telling highly qualified recruits that it is more "fun" to work for their company than for competitors. Make sure you consider this tool when you are interviewing a candidate that you would like to have in your company. It is sometimes challenging to find the "right" people for your business team. Talented job candidates are very much interested in fun being a hiring perk. It should be a part of your company culture.

Studies show that having fun at work not only boosts productivity but it also helps people to adapt and react much more quickly to change. People organize important information better and are more creative when they are in a good mood. One company has everyone bring in a baby picture that is posted on a bulletin board. The sign above the bulletin board says, "We all have different roles in the team but remember, everyone here started out as a baby." All of the business team members feel "bonded" to one another and have close camaraderie as a result.

Lao-tzu, a sixth century Chinese philosopher, wrote of leaders:

A leader is best when people barely know he exists,
Not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
Worse when they despise him.
But of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,

They will say,
We did it ourselves.

Lead with passion, compassion and positive attitude and you will never go wrong with team members.