The holidays mean many different things to different people, and I hope they are as joyous as can be for all of you. The last two weeks, I’ve been in the midst of a 2023 review series, but I’m going to put a pause on that for two weeks, as my colleague Anthony had a great idea. As I was telling him about the recap series, he asked, “Oh, which of your columns are you going to highlight or re-run?” I told him the recap was more of an overview of the year. Then he suggested, “It would be kind of fun for people to look back at some of the 2023 columns and see what was accurate from your predictions and what was still relevant.”

I wasn’t convinced. But knowing Anthony has far more great ideas than bad ones, I went back to read some of my columns from this past year, and lo and behold, that sonovagun was right. Thus, for this week and next week, I want to highlight some snippets of past columns that are either still relevant or at the very least interesting to consider again as we head into 2024. The other bird this stone kills is that for regular readers who may be on a holiday schedule, they won’t miss out on the 2023 recap series that we’ll continue in January.

The first piece to highlight came very early in the year as I proposed the idea that many businesses are short-staffed and that setting your projections based on what they would be were you fully staffed may be setting you up for undue stress and unrealistic goals. So, what did you do? Did you curb your expectations last year or did you set a high bar to achieve? How did that work out? Do you want to adjust in 2024? Here’s the 90% reset idea again, which originally ran in January 2023:

What if we said, let’s do 90% of the revenue we did last year? To compensate, we will be open a half-day or a full day less, which cuts our payroll expenses a bit, but it also will give our employees more three-day weekends. Is that trade-off worth it? Will the quality of the work produced be better and the work culture be healthier? Will this extend employee retention? Maybe yes or maybe no. But it’s a question we should all be asking.”

Now to clarify, this isn’t a year-over-year solution, but a one-year suggestion — you’re resetting the floor to something more realistic. Also, don’t think of 90% as a steadfast number and rather operate on whatever reduced number works for you. That may be 95% of last year’s revenue or 80% of last year — I don’t know your financials. But the heart of the suggestion is rather than goal setting for what could be made if you become fully staffed, reset the goal to what you can accomplish with the current staff if there were no additions and if you didn’t ask any of them to do the jobs of more than one person (this goes for you, too). …

Is it a great solution every year? Absolutely not. But if it gets you on a more attainable course and it keeps you and your staff from pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion, then in the long run, a one-year reset might be worth it.

The second piece I want to highlight this week is from late June when I wrote about the importance of employee retention. I had framed the story around the newest jobs report and the historically low unemployment, and I used some examples from my annual review which had happened in May. For employers looking to fill staff positions or grow their staffs in 2024, it’s good to remember that retaining a current staff member can be as valuable, and potentially more valuable, then gaining a new one. Here is an excerpt of a few simple ways you can do that:

In practice, most of us think we do retention well, but I suspect many people take the approach of “My people can come to me with anything — and if they ask for help, I’m willing to help accommodate whatever they need.” Which is great — it truly is — but employers may want to start thinking about being more proactive.

Here’s what I mean: Rather than waiting for employees to ask for a raise or a long weekend or special equipment or to sponsor an event they care about, what if the business leader brought it to them? What if you said at the next staff meeting, “Hey, team, we have $700 in the marketing budget. Which upcoming event would you like to see us sponsor with some or all of that money?”

It’s the proverbial unexpected gift at an unexpected time. Sure, an employee likes to get a raise when they ask for it, but what if you pulled them aside and said, “I’ve really noticed the work you’ve been doing lately and how much time you’ve been putting in, and I want to give you this raise.” Can you imagine what that would do for loyalty and appreciation?

Another great tactic is to ask your staff, “What equipment do you need to make your job easier or to make you more efficient?” You’d be surprised how often employees can point out one or two little changes that can improve their job performance. But they might be hesitant to bring it up. Some employees think bringing up those types of suggestions will make their employer feel like they don’t appreciate what the employer is already providing. In reality, most savvy employers want to know what they can do to make the business more efficient because efficiency equals profitability. If employers can’t afford that suggested change immediately, they can plan for it down the road. Even in that scenario, the employee feels heard and respected.

Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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