by thepeopleplan | May 31, 2012 | Uncategorized
My maternal grandfather often told the advice of his father (a second generation business owner of a lumberyard on the banks of the Erie Canal): “you should have a job where you whistle on your way to work and whistle on your way home.” (I believe this was even before the dwarves in Snow White sang something similar).
The type of work we do and how it makes us “feel” is an important reward for employees, and one that greatly impacts engagement with your job.
There are several elements that impact our perceptions of our work and a sense of satisfaction (which impacts engagement):
- Achievement: A sense of achievement is the #1 factor for positive job attitude. Do I feel that I have accomplished something at the end of a week?
- Meaning or Purpose: Does the work I do make a difference to the organization or to others? (See story below).
- Challenge: Does this job use my talents and abilities, are my assignments challenging without being overwhelming?
- Variety: Is there enough variety of the work to keep me from being bored? (People have different standards for what is too repetitive or monotonous so a job fit match is critical here).
- Minimal frustration: Several “hassles” are key factors that impact retention. Employees expect the necessary tools and resources to do their job and a reliable workgroup, or they find a new job with fewer constraints on their achievement.
What can you do to add to the sense of achievement and purpose for your staff and co-workers, and to minimize their frustration?
Story of Purpose (3 laborers):
There once was a traveler who journeyed all over the globe in search of wisdom and enlightenment. In the midst of one village, he came upon three laborers.
He approached the nearest laborer and asked, “Excuse me; may I ask what’s going on here?” The first laborer replied, “Can’t you see? I’m busting rocks. It’s unpleasant dirty work but it’s a job.”
The traveler approached a second laborer and asked the same question. The second laborer replied, “Can’t you see? I’m earning a living to support my family.”
The traveler then approached a third laborer and posed the question a third time. With a broad smile and a gleam in his eye, the third laborer replied with great pride: “Can’t you see? We’re building a cathedral.”
Clearly the last laborer was engaged in his work. It became meaningful to him because he had a larger purpose – the cathedral.
PS Grandpa decided that he would not be whistling on his way to the family lumberyard, so he became a pioneering heart and lung surgeon. He passed this advice down to his eight children, six who became business owners like their grandfather.
Image courtesy of Robert Cochrane at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
by thepeopleplan | May 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
Benefits work best as a package that complements your compensation program.
There is no evidence that a “rich” benefit package provides engaged workers as long as your organization offers something similar to other employers in your area. There is some link between your health care coverage and retention, especially if your organization drastically lowers the coverage or raises the employee contribution.
Two benefits are important to attract candidates to take your job offer—health care and retirement. Most organizations contribute more than 50% toward family health insurance and at least 3% of pay to a defined contribution retirement account. If you offer less than this then you may have a hard time encouraging top candidates to leave their current position to join your firm.
Flexible hours or at least the flexibility to occasionally leave work to address personal needs is greatly appreciated as many workers have either children or parents that need assistance (or both).
Time off is also somewhat important to attract employees. Employees also expect a reasonable amount of paid time off – if you do not allow any vacation for the first year this may not be attractive to a new candidate.
The solution:
Offer a competitive benefit package for your area and industry, and focus on the big three: health care, retirement and time off.
Contact us for a summary of benefits offered in WNY and USA
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
by thepeopleplan | May 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
Compensation (base pay) is the most expensive reward you offer employees yet it is not very impactful in retaining or motivating employees. (It is in attracting new employees and a factor in their decision to take your job offer). Your pay practices can also become a major de-motivator if employees feel that they are not paid fairly compared to other workers.
The problem:
- Surveys find that about half of employees do not know how their compensation is determined.
- Many organizations say that they “pay for performance” yet a top performer might receive a 4% raise instead of a 3% raise—not exactly providing a meaningful difference to reward extra effort.
- Incentive plans often create unintended consequences of discouraging teamwork, encouraging behaviors that do not serve the customer, or become an expected entitlement and not a motivator or perceived reward for great performance.
The solution:
Many theories of motivation and business authors (Dan Pink, Brad Ham) share the philosophy of Total Rewards—provide fair and market competitive wages and then provide the other Rewards to engage your staff. (See our series on 13 Total Rewards in the Rewards category of our blog).
As for incentives (variable pay), these plans need to be carefully designed and communicated so that they align individual effort with business goals and then share a reasonable part of the gain. Give employees an upside when they and the organization does well and you protect your bottom line for the lean times.
Contact us to learn more about the WNY Compensation & Benefits Survey to benchmark your organization to others in the region.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
by thepeopleplan | May 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
Seth Godin- post 3/26/12:
Unhappiness compounds. Unaddressed, it compounds into frustration.
And frustration is the soul killer, the destroyer of worker and customer relationships, loyalty and progress.
The solution is pretty simple: address the unhappiness. Change the system or talk about the problem or acknowledge it if that’s all that can be done.
None of this can happen, though, unless there’s communication. Most open door policies are window dressing. Most, “is everything okay with your dinner?” is rote.
True communication, actual intention (and action) in digging deeper, is difficult work. If it doesn’t feel like you’re working at it, you’re probably not doing it right.
Link to Seth Godin post “Speechless”
Is there an employee who is clearly not happy at work? Do you have two peers who are not getting along?
Ignoring the issues will not make them go away—at some point one or more employees will decide to leave your firm (and possibly a great employee).
We know that co-workers can be irritating at times and that differences in opinions occur – it is how we communicate and resolve those differences that matters to your organization’s climate.
Contact us to find out more about a framework to uncover the issues and resolve them in a positive way.
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
by thepeopleplan | Apr 26, 2012 | Uncategorized
If pay were the only reason employees worked, only the highest-paying employer would have staff and no one would work at not for profits!
Employees look at more than just compensation when they consider a job offer or when they consider leaving your organization—they look at “Total Rewards”.
These are all the rewards elements of a job that impact an employee’s satisfaction with the job, and the key to find, keep and motivate more Right People on your staff.
The “Best Places to Work” are rated this way because they provide a Total Rewards package that employees find favorable.
A flexible and customized Total Rewards package allows your organization to attract, retain and reward top performers – which provides a competitive advantage for your organization.
Don’t just take our word for it!
According to Aon Hewitt’s global Best Employer report “research reveals how organizations differentiate and achieve a competitive advantage through their people. The benefits of being a Best Employer are well documented, from improved retention to increased productivity. Best Employers are distinguished by high levels of employee engagement, which results in lower turnover, larger talent pools, and better financial performance.
Organizations with high levels of engagement to outperform the stock market index with returns 22% higher than average; companies with low engagement had returns 28% lower than average.”
Link to full Aon Hewitt report on Employee Engagement
Consider more than your base pay: 
Employers often look at compensation as the main (and most expensive) element to achieve employee satisfaction—but there is a multitude of research that the quality of manager- employee interaction is far more important to employee satisfaction and retention (among 11 other rewards).
For example, according to a recent study by the Total Rewards organization World at Work, recent college graduates rate pay as #5 in importance, behind opportunity, flexible work hours and a friendly work environment.
How do you find out if employees are satisfied with your Rewards—you ask them! The best way to measure changes in employee satisfaction and engagement is to conduct an annual Total Rewards survey. If you have different locations or shifts the results can be summarized to if there are any meaningful differences among groups of workers (there usually are). This allows you to provide a flexible Total Rewards package that appeals to different types of workers with different interests.
Contact us to receive a free article on the Total Rewards model, and process to identify employee needs and develop a custom and flexible Total Reward program for your unique organization.
Image courtesy of scottchan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
