High-performing employees are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs than low performers but one in five are still apt to leave within the next six months and more than half aren’t content with their position, according to recent research by the Harvard Business Review.

The study revealed that two criteria are essential to keeping high performers happy and many are not getting these from their current managers and companies.

The single biggest contributing factor for high-performing employees’ satisfaction is base pay and bonuses. It was important that yearly raises and bonuses be measured against the individual’s or team’s performance rather than tenure. The range of a typical annual raise of 2 to 6 percent, for instance, was not significant enough to keep people in place who had other options in the workforce. Adding more variation to the bonus structure, such as removing the cap on the best performers, was found to be an indicator of success for the overall company along with better retainment.

After compensation, the strongest employees want more feedback and options for company-led development and training. Respondents wanted at least one monthly conversation with their boss to discuss performance and goals, but only about half of the group were able to do so, and as a result, they showed symptoms of under-appreciation. Similarly, two-thirds said that they weren’t supported in formal training by their manager despite already being willing to learn and grow on their own.

There are likely many reasons for this lack of engagement around retaining high-value employees and sometimes they are merely a victim of their own success, according to Forbes. For example, managing superstars can be more stressful for a boss and can lead to resentment if employees are seen as a threat to their own job.

At the next open house you attend, Rex the Real Estate Robot might be the one answering your questions.

Robotics are just beginning to enter the real estate industry, but they are already showing homes to prospective buyers.

REX the Bot looks a bit like a rolling kiosk topped with an interactive touch screen. It is one example of robotics that can save agents time in showing homes, answering questions and collecting data. Instead of making multiple trips to homes they list, agents can talk to potential buyers through the robot’s screen. The robot can answer up to 70 questions about the property. Buyers even get access to the homes through a pin number texted to them when they arrive at the property.

It’s already in use in California, where busy agents with high-end listings are using it to save time on crowded freeways.

Another player in the real estate robot world is VirtualAPT. These robots do not greet customers and, in fact, customers never see them. Instead they are deployed inside homes before the listing at 50 cents per square foot. The robots take measurements, create floor plans and shoot 3-D video, according to The Wall Street Journal.

But will meet-and-greet robots play well in an industry in which the human touch means everything?

Time will tell, but REX robots don’t work for free. They charge a 2 percent commission on sales.

The best team players have three virtues: humility, hunger, and smarts.

According to Patrick Lencioni of management consulting firm The Table Group, these traits are sometimes inherent in personality, but more commonly they show themselves through how a person reacts to life, work, and personal development over time.

Humility allows a person to drop their ego and put a team ahead of themselves. Humble people recognize the contributions of others and don’t step on others to get to the top. If a team member lacks this characteristic, they will not be able to build trust and work through conflict over time.

Hungry people are always trying to learn more, improve themselves, and achieve more responsibility and recognition. This drive will propel them to work with a high level of self-motivation and see that projects are completed quickly and correctly. Their ambition will keep them moving upward towards the next opportunity. A person that isn’t hungry will have a hard time getting the desired results and will likely only perform at the bare minimum required.

Smart team players understand how to talk to other people. Listening, asking the right questions, and engaging the team in conflict resolutions are all qualities that a smart person will bring to the table. People without this emotional intelligence will tend to create interpersonal problems that require constant mediation from others.

Lencioni suggests that these virtues should permeate interviews, performance reviews, and even personal introspection to help identify the best way to hire, retain, and coach employees. Deficiency in even one of these areas can cause problems for business, and it can take time to correct a culture problem caused by weak team players.

Avoiding high payment fees in a small business
Only 11 percent of shoppers used cash during 2016, according to creditcards.com.

For small businesses, this means lots of credit card processing fees are coming out of each sale and that can be expensive.

According to small business financing blog Nav, there are three ways for a credit card processor to charge fees: flat, interchange plus, and tiered pricing. Flat fee providers, such as PayPal or Square, use one rate for every transaction no matter the price or volume. Interchange plus models use a flat percentage fee along with a small charge for each sale, such as 30 cents. Tiered pricing applies three different rates depending on what type of card is used; such as debit, credit, or rewards, and is more expensive when manually keyed in.

It is easy to see that a per-transaction charge of even 30 cents could be devastating to a business that sells a high volume of cheap items, such as a dollar store. In these situations, it is entirely acceptable to list a minimum purchase amount for credit processing to make the sting of a per-transaction charge less painful.

As such, The Simple Dollar recommends that small business owners do their research and shop around for the best rates that their business can command. Those currently using or considering a tiered pricing structure, for instance, have reduced the complexity of their accounting and found savings by switching to a flat rate service. While an online search can be helpful, reaching out to other local businesses can be a great resource to see what works for those in a similar situation.

When it comes to equipment, purchasing a credit card terminal can save money over the long run compared to renting it each month so don’t be lured by the promise of savings from the credit card company. Additionally, many of the newer options such as Square provide a free scanner that can be used with any smartphone or tablet to act as a digital register both in a store or on the go.