Outplacement;

 

Nobody likes to lose a good employee, but let's face it: sooner or later, some of your best employees are going to outgrow your company. The danger is that they may leave for one of your competitors. What's the alternative? "I try to get them better jobs with vendors," says Judson Beamsley, founder and president of Tek-Aids Industries Inc., a $24-million distributor of microcomputer products, based in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Beamsley says that he encourages employees to talk openly about their job aspirations. "If someone wants to leave, I'll give him a recommendation." He estimates that, in the past eight years, he's helped 25 employees find new jobs -- which is a lot, considering that Tek-Aids employs only 42 people. By playing such an active role, Beamsley not only keeps good people away from his competitors, he also builds a network of company alumni who tell him about developments in the market. "If I didn't already know what my competitors were doing, I could find out very quickly."