Productivity Hacks

Tips for Employee Retention & Increasing Productivity

The task of employee retention is one of the many problems that people face as business owners and managers. If you are good to your employees, you will find yourself having a stronger business than your competitors. The health care industry, for example, loses 1 out of every 5 employees each year. Allowing for your employees to leave your company is not only a financial burden, but it hurts the morale of the remaining workers you are leading.

Financially, losing an employee does not work out to one’s benefit. There are a few costs associated with employee loss that most management does not think about. The first unexpected cost is the cost of the company while there isn’t a person in that position. Assuming that this was a necessary position, it is going to cost cash if there is no one there to operate it. In some cases the other employees will need to be paid overtime. Secondly, there is the cost of advertising for the replacement. Assuming that this isn’t a ‘help wanted sign in the window’ type of job, money will have to be invested to find a new worker. Finally, there is the cost of training your new worker. Training is not typically a cheap endeavor. These, along with some miscellaneous other costs, are all things that can be avoided if the originally hired employees are retained.

Even with the twenty tips for employee retention highlighted below, there are some circumstances that are not avoidable. Occasionally the retention of your employee is out of your control. It may be a life emergency, or a planned change, but whatever the reason you need to accept that some things cannot be changed. However, for the situations that you have control over, here are a twenty tips on how to keep the employees you hired.

• People need reliable equipment– It’s nearly impossible to work to your full potential if you have to constantly worry about the computer you are working on crashing, or the air conditioner in the office going out. As a manager it is your duty to make sure that your employees have the necessary supplies to get their jobs done.
• An orientation program is a must-Making sure that your staff is familiar with the different departments is something that is often overlooked. Assign your newbie a mentor that they will feel comfortable with. Starting your employee out knowing the basics will ensure that they will not be blindsided by something in the future.
• Promote knowledge in the workplace-Always allow for an opportunity to learn. There are many programs that someone can take to better their knowledge on a specific subject. Encourage your employees to broaden their skills, and make such programs an option for them.
• Keep the tasks fresh-Make sure that your employee knows that they are needed in more than one area. Assign them tasks that differ from their mundane daily assignments.
• Allow for some down time-Even though your main priority is work, it’s important to remember that you need to make room for some fun. Allow for office birthday or holiday parties. Keeping the spirits up in your office will benefit you in the long run.
• Encourage teamwork– Encouraging teamwork will not only increase your productivity, but it will create a better working atmosphere. A great way to do this is to involve your employees in the office decision making process.
• Assign someone the job– Make it someone’s job to keep that turnover rate low. When you have someone paying specific attention to it, it is easier to find where the underlying problems are.
• Allow for promotions– Having advancement opportunities will ensure that your employees will have something to work for. Not all people are motivated by money, some need the incentive of a promotion to put in 100%.
• Make sure your frontline workers are well trained– If the people who are watching over the employees don’t have effective management skills bad things may arise. By making sure that your management team is well-trained you will be able to avoid unnecessary issues.
• Do not be stingy– If your pay is not competitive, then there is always the chance your employees will leave to find a company who compensates correctly. Be sure to know what the going rate for the business you are in is.
• Don’t forget about benefits– You won’t always be able to out pay your competitors, but you can tack on some nice benefits to the job. Benefits are almost always looked at by employees, and they make a job seem much more doable.
• Don’t be vague– If you start out by clearly identifying responsibilities you will not leave much room for error. Setting out the roles and duties will help them to know what is expected of them.
• Offer bonuses– Most companies offer a sign on bonus, however offering a retention bonus is a bit wiser. Offer bonuses for 5,10, and 15 years!
• Ask your employees– By conducting employee satisfaction surveys you will be able to see how they feel about the company. Sometimes it’s even better to make the surveys anonymous.
• Promote efficiency– Try not to have your employees spending their days filling out needless paperwork. While some paperwork is necessary, filling out paperwork that is tedious and mindless will enable your workers to lose motivation.
• Mission statements are your friends-Writing down a small statement of goals for your employees will allow them to see the bigger picture. Having a mission statement encourages teamwork and efficiency.
• Be open– Employees like to know what is going on with their company. By having some of the companies issues out on the table the employees will feel as if they are a part of a team.
• Flexibility is appreciated– So often employers think that their issues are more important than the ones of their staff. As a manager you need to remember that emergencies do happen, and you need to be flexible when they arise.
• Get help when needed– Hiring assistants and aides to help your employees get their work done is not a bad idea. If an employee can get a little assistance they are less likely to get overwhelmed.
• Show your appreciation– Working in an atmosphere where you feel appreciated is typically on the top of most job seekers lists. That is why it is imperative to always show your employees how much they are valued. You can do this by bonuses, incentives, or even a simple thank you card.

Employee Loyalty and How it can Benefit Your Business!

Building Teamwork & Employee Loyalty

Employee loyalty is very important in today’s market. Employers are competing against each other to find the best employees, and employees are wanting to work for the best employers. How do you go about creating and maintaining employee loyalty with your business? How will your business benefit from employee loyalty?

First, let’s examine how your business will benefit from employee loyalty. Loy employees benefit your business because that is less money you have to spend on searching for and training new employees. Also, loyal employees are more likely to stick up for your business if someone says something negative about it or recommend your business to their friends, family, and others they know.

For example, say you own a roofing company. If a friend of your employee’s mentions that his roof is beginning to leak, a loyal employee will automatically recommend their workplace. However, an employee who is not loyal to the company may say something such as “Whatever you do, don’t use my company. My boss is mean, you shouldn’t support him”. Such negative comments from employees can do a lot to damage your company’s reputation.

So, how do you go about earning employee loyalty? The first step is to make sure your employees are happy. Happy employees are loyal and productive employees. Think to yourself what might make your employees happy, or take the time to conduct a short survey of your employees about what would make them happy. Then, try to fulfill the wishes of your employees as best as possible.

For example, say your employees would like health benefits. If you can afford to offer your employees health benefits, you should give them health benefits. However, say your employees feel they are making too little money and want a raise, yet you can’t afford to give them a raise. In a situation like this, you may want to brainstorm a little and come up with another solution that could make the employees happy. For example, instead of giving everybody in the company fifteen cent an hour raises, you may want to give everyone a one time, fifty dollar bonus for being loyal employees. Then tell your employees that you enjoy giving them rewards when they are loyal.

Some companies are coming up with more creative ways to keep employees loyal. For example, Google is reported to have given their employees the benefit of washing machines. Other companies have given away things like free basketball game tickets. You may want to think of a unique and memorable way of your own to increase employee loyalty.

However, note that employee loyalty needs to be maintained. You cannot just give an employee a gift once and expect them to be thankful forever. Making your employees happy is something that should constantly occupy a place in your mind. Even if raises and bonuses aren’t always feasible, is morale running low again, perhaps it could be time for an office pizza party.

One more way to create and maintain employee loyalty is to get to know your employees on a more personal level. Of course, a professional attitude must always be maintained when dealing with employees, however, knowing everyone’s first name and a bit about their lives makes employees feel more like valued people instead of just nameless workers. When employees feel values, they are happy, and when employees are happy, they are loyal.

Some links you might enjoy on this topic are:

Fortune magazines “100 Best Companies to Work for 2009”

25 Ways to Reward Employees (Without Spending a Dime)

Metlife’s “8th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends”

Another technique to increase employee loyalty is on how to “Energize Your Employees and Raise Their Morale!”