Tag: HR Strategy

As business becomes more and more competitive, simply filling open positions isn’t enough. You need serious talent. And you want serious talent that will stick around.

Increasing employee retention is becoming more and more difficult. In fact, a MetLife survey found that only 66% of employees are looking to be in their same job in 12 months.

So how do you win those coveted, quality candidates? And get them to stay?  

Here are 10 steps to building and maintaining a winning team:

1. Know what drives them— Make sure that your employees have at least one part of their job that gets them fired up. Discover that passion and encourage its pursuit. In doing so, you’ll create a situation that is fulfilling and rewarding. And hard to walk away from.

2. Challenge them intellectually— Smart, creative people love solving problems and trying new things. Take away these things and they can become bored or uninspired. Create an environment filled with a healthy dose of challenge to keep your team engaged and inspired.

3. Give them ownership— Hard-working employees love making an impact, and being empowered to make things happen. Staff will get way more excited about something they helped create than something that was simply dropped on their desks.

4. Develop their skills— The best talent isn’t happy standing still. Or falling behind. These employees crave career development. One study showed that 46% of employees said limited opportunities to learn new skills was the top reason they were bored in their current roles.

5. Listen— Those with the strongest talent may also have the strongest opinions. It takes a confident leader be comfortable giving their employees a legitimate voice. Allow this to happen in your company and you will have the admiration of everyone in it. This doesn’t mean you make every decision by consensus. It just means you need to listen before you decide.

6. Get to know people— Take a genuine interest in each employee. Get to know what makes them tick. Learn what motivates them, and what makes them feel bad. See your staff members as people first and employees second, and you will earn their respect, appreciation, and loyalty.

7. Reward their efforts— This means more than just not taking employees for granted. It means taking the time to actively acknowledge the hard work and effort your team puts in every day. It also means accepting that not all recognition is created equal. What works well for one person may not mean much to another (see #6 above).

8. Be fair— Nothing destroys loyalty faster than favoritism. Employees want to know that everyone is being treated equally. Create a culture of fairness and consistency. Whether you’re talking about company rules or rewards, make sure your policies are applied evenly to all.

9. Follow Through— Trust is critical to your ability to cultivate talent and build loyalty. To earn it, you’ve got to have integrity. Do what you say and say what you mean. Be honest. If you make a promise, keep it. If you make a mistake, take responsibility.

10. Be a leader— No matter how strong their talent, most people are hesitant about going somewhere new on their own. If you have the courage to take your company (and your employees!) to new places, your team will follow you almost anywhere.

 

Photo by WAYHOME studio

 

Providing employee benefits is expensive. So is employee turnover.

If you’re thinking of both of these things as two giant, financial burdens that are sucking the life out of your business, maybe it’s time to shift your perspective.

Instead of focusing on the “unavoidable” costs of both of these things, start looking at how investing in one area could positively affect the other.

Raising the ROI

Research is showing that employee benefits are more important than ever.

According to MetLife, 73% of employees believe that employers have a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees. And get this… 82% of employers agree.

This study also revealed the following:

• Nearly 60% employees said that health and wellbeing benefits are important to driving job loyalty— and that they would be more loyal to their employer if offered these benefits.
• 75% of employees said they would be likely to accept a new job if they were offered the ability to customize their benefits to meet their needs.
• 52% of employees said they would be willing to pay more for the cost of benefits if the benefits met their needs.
• Over half of employees agreed that achieving financial wellbeing through benefits impacts their productivity at work.

The right benefits plan has the power to drive employee satisfaction, retention and productivity.

Now, just imagine if you put together a custom benefits solution that met (or exceeded!) employee needs and expectations. You’d be well on your way to a happier, healthier and more loyal workforce.

Even better, in addition to reducing the high cost of employee turnover, you may even be able to reduce your overall benefits spend.

Sound like a pipe dream?

It doesn’t have to be.

We know there are plenty of insurance brokers out there who will insist that healthcare costs can’t be contained, and that you should expect to pay more for less every year. But there are also a whole lot of dedicated employee benefits consultants who will tell you that’s hogwash.

A new wave of benefits advisors is emerging, and they aren’t interested in simply quoting policies and collecting commissions. These advisors are as fed up with the broken healthcare system as you are. Many of them are business owners themselves, and they understand the struggle between wanting to provide for their employees and needing to find business solutions that work.

They personally know people who are struggling to find coverage. They’ve seen friends, family members, and colleagues rack up astronomical medical debt. And every single day, they’re out there talking with employers who continue to fork out more and more to provide less and less.

These innovative brokers are putting together creative solutions to help employers manage their costs and take care of their employees, such as:

• Self-funding options for groups large and small
• Cost reduction strategies for known high cost drivers such as prescription medications and surgeries
• Family medical care designed to manage chronic care, reduce emergency visits, and proactively manage individual health
• Guidance to hand-hold employees as they navigate the complexities of the system, both in finding and evaluating care options and in managing the ensuing bills
• HR and technology solutions that both HR and employees can get excited about

Keep your employees, lose your broker

If your current agent isn’t coming to you with new ideas and strategies to help you accomplish your business goals and impact your bottom line, it’s time to start looking for a trusted benefits consultant who will.

Want to talk with a consultant who is interested in helping your business thrive? Contact your Q4iNetwork broker for help with creative, cost-saving solutions. Need help finding one? We can help you get connected.  

 

Photo by Edgars Sermulis