Hiring can be a challenge. People have different qualifications, backgrounds and schedules. Pay can be an issue, too. Find the right employee and then keeping him or her often feels like a full-time job. Here are my tips, as the CEO of an employment firm, to keep long-term employees.

#1. Be detailed orientated. Employees don’t like when the directions or general expectations are unclear. Happy employees are long-term employees. If you set aside time to discuss long-term goals and expectations with an employee, he or she is likely to conform to your big picture and stay with your company longer.

#2. Request insight. Employees love to be appreciated. We all do. Ask for their opinions on potential new hires, schedule changes and company decisions. Not only will the employee feel more loyal to your company, you may obtain some creative and cost-saving advice!

#3. Don’t constantly threaten punishment or lay-offs. I know this sounds obvious but thousands of employers use this tactic and daily. Would you want to work under constant threat of a lay-off or a write-up? Of course not! Treat employees with respect. It really is THIS simple. If you’re worried about budgets and lay-offs then employees will think of your company as unreliable and unable to keep them long-term. Or, if you’re constantly sending out memos predicting mistakes and already dishing out what the punishments will be- you’re setting people up to fail and promoting a negative company morale. Be positive, correct mistakes with employees as they happen and try to promote from within.