L E A D I N G T H E W A Y I N EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION

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YOU’VE SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFORE. An organization that pays top wages and offersgreat benefits loses a great employee to a competitor for no apparent reason. Ofcourse, some employee turnover is normal, but you soon realize that compensa-tion alone is not always enough.

Succeeding in an increasingly competitive economy while fighting the never-ending battle to retain highly skilled and motivated staff is a significant challengeindeed.A recent U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics study found that the average per-son born in the later years of the Baby Boom held 10 jobs with different employ-ers from age 18 to 38.And the ramifications of this trend are far-reaching.

For one thing, job-hopping bodes poorly for organizational productivity. Arecent study by the Hay Group found that offices with engaged employees wereup to 43% more productive, based on comparisons of generated revenue.

The burden of a high turnover also takes a toll on company leaders, who areexpected to achieve their goals regardless of staffing issues—and remainingemployees,who are quickly frustrated with extra-heavy workloads.

Top TipsKeeping Your

Talent in PlaceTopB Y J U L I E B O S

Competitive salaries

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Worse yet, the cost of employeeturnover is high—often twice theemployee’s salary.

Engaged employees, on the otherhand, will stay with the company, be anadvocate for the organization and itsproducts and services, and contribute tothe bottom-line business success.

“Today’s companies are struggling toreally differentiate themselves from oth-er employers,” says Emily Sadlock,mar-keting manager at Rymax MarketingServices, Inc., a full-service incentivecompany and manufacturer’s represen-tative.“It’s standard practice for employ-ees to receive benefits, paid vacationsand matches to their 401k plans; butnow they’re looking for something dif-ferent—something that really drawsthem to a company.”

But where do you start? Here aresome top tips for making sure your toptalent stays put.

Go Back to the BeginningOften times, lack of employee

engagement can be traced all the wayback to where the problem began—theinitial hire. Bringing the wrong personinto a position is a misstep that can costdearly. Worse yet, the problem is com-pletely avoidable.

“Most of the time, the new employ-ee didn’t have the right information todecide if the company was a good fitfor them, or the company didn’t get theright information during the selectionprocess to decide whether the candi-date was the right fit,” says JoAnnMcMillan, COO, Assess Systems, aBigby Havis Company. “Using theright selection process, behavioralinterviews and assessments can all pre-vent these mistakes.”

Be a More Active Partner inthe Hiring Process

To avoid hiring hiccups, wise organ-izations also seek better communicationwith candidates during the hiringprocess—choosing to not only revealmore information about themselves, butencouraging candidates to do the same.

“Companies should think aboutselection as a process, devise better waysto communicate with applicants, and

make the whole process more engag-ing,” says McMillan. “This couldinclude providing realistic job previews,such as describing a day in the life onthe job, sharing the corporate culture,providing quotes from departmentemployees, or offering online videosthat help applicants better understandthe nature of the job.”

“In return, companies can ask can-didates to make some commitmentduring the process—like taking anonline survey stating their willingnessto perform the important job duties,”she adds. “This makes them moreengaged and committed from the verybeginning—long before we bring themin for in-depth assessments to see ifthey have the right qualities and attrib-utes to be successful.”

Involve the Work TeamsIf an employee will be working in a

collaborative work team, look for waysto include that work team in the hiring process—maybe through a groupinterview or giving tours through thedepartment.

Building a bridge between the newhire and the work group early on willhelp them feel like a part of the teamfrom the start, explains McMillan. Italso makes the team more committed tothe success of that new employee.

Engaging Employees Long-Term

Keeping new-hires on board is onlyhalf of the challenge. You also need toengage and retain employees who havebeen with you for years.

For this to happen, employees needto see opportunities to grow, developand be challenged in their job. This istrue not only for professional/manage-rial employees, but also for hourly-levelpositions, as well.

“Many organizations are flatternow,” explains McMillan. “There is nolonger a path of 12 positions aboveemployees for them to grow into overthe course of their careers. Employeesare very worried about becoming stag-nant; but if you can help them grow,develop and become better at what theydo, they’ll be much more satisfied in

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C O M PA N Y P R O F I L E

Looking for a way torecognize and retainyour workforce? Whatbetter way to rewardthem than with brandname merchandise?Rymax is your source forsimple and effectiveemployee incentiveprograms stocked withmotivating merchandise.We create andcustomize any type ofrewards, recognition, orservice award programfrom start to finish. Ourexpert teams—includingmarketing/graphicdesign, IT, sales/support,merchandising,customer relations, andfulfillment—worktogether to create aprogram that is easy touse and administer. Youcan count on us toexecute your programand be there every stepof the way: fromplanning and inception,to launch, andcelebrating yoursuccess!

www.rymaxinc.com

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L E A D I N G T H E W A Y I N EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION

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their current jobs.”“The advantage of developing

internal talent is that these employeesalready understand the organizationand its culture—and are already com-mitted to it,” adds McMillan. “If youcan channel those opportunities andhelp them grow and develop, you’vegot a much better chance of retaining aworkforce that is committed to theorganization’s success.”

Use Assessments to ExploreEmployees’ Potential

One great way to evaluate employ-ees’ career potential is through employ-ee assessment tools. According toMcMillan, more and more organiza-tions are using them, and for good reason.

“These assessments are growing inpopularity because they’re effective,”she says. “They do a great job helpingcompanies mine the current work-force for people with high potentialfor certain jobs. And in the process ofopening career possibilities, they canhelp employees feel more valued andappreciated.”

Make Mentoring a PriorityCompanies that are successful at

engaging and retaining their employeeshave also learned the art of coachingand mentoring.

“In the last year or two, we’ve hadmore and more clients ask for assistancein developing their managers to be bet-ter coaches and mentors,” saysMcMillan. “Almost everyone has a sto-ry about the best leader they everworked for, and how it impacted theircareer.Today, people are trying to makeleadership more systematic andengrained in the corporate culture,where every manager and supervisor is

expected to get involved in coachingand mentoring.”

“In fact, even in managers’ perform-ance appraisals, they are being heldmore accountable for how well they aredeveloping their people, much in thesame way they are held accountable fortheir business results,” she says.

Prioritize EmployeeRecognition

Another way to set your organiza-tion apart is by demonstrating yourclear-cut commitment to the workforce.Employee recognition programs are agreat place to begin.

“Since service awards are largely athing of the past, today’s companies arefinding new ways to engage employees,”says Sadlock. “Many are turning toemployee programs for spot recogni-tion,meeting department (or corporate)goals, or successful completion of safetyprograms.”

“Many times an employee justwants to hear a simple ‘thank you’every now and again,” she adds.“Incentive programs—including salesprograms, recruiting programs, train-ing programs, safety and wellness pro-grams, as well as spot recognition andcorporate gifts—are great ways toexpress appreciation, and carry a lotmore weight when they are given out-side of the annual review.”

Widen Your Reward OptionsWhat’s the secret to keeping

employee recognition programsattractive?

“You definitely need to keep the pro-gram and rewards fresh,” says Sadlock.“If the program gets stagnant, peoplewill be immediately disengaged.”

“Obviously, employers aren’t mindreaders and can’t always know what

employees want,” she adds. “Offering awide choice of rewards is really impor-tant to employees, so they can choose areward that they really want and canuse.Think about it, when an employeeis using his incentive cookware setevery day, he’s got a daily, positivereminder of his employer and theincentive program.”

That’s another great reason to avoidthose traditional corporate gifts (e.g.,clocks, watches and plaques) altogether.Or, at the very least, freshen up thepackage by pairing that traditional giftwith something they can really use—like points that can be redeemed formore practical gifts.

Go OnlineAnother important element in an

employee rewards strategy is having anonline component—a place whereemployees can check out the latestreward incentives. Rather than relyingon a printed brochure or catalog, whichoften becomes out-of-date quickly,employees can always view the latestrewards online, which saves employeeheadaches—and wasted corporateprinting dollars.

Update Your CommunicationStrategies

When communicating your employ-ee recognition programs, don’t rely onoutdated methods.

For example, considering the rise intelecommuters and mobile employees,you can no longer count on a poster inthe hallway, copy room or cafeteria todo the complete job. Instead, pumpyour efforts into electronic communi-cation—like e-blasts and intranetpages—that are guaranteed to reach allyour employees, whenever (and wher-ever) they’re working. This strategy isalso the choice for organizations thatare going green, and committed toreducing paper waste.

When you’re crafting your electron-ic communications campaign, don’tforget to keep the messages and graph-ics fresh, to keep employee engage-ment high.

Think in Terms of ThemesSadlock also recommends using a

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Are Your Employees Engaged?Check for These BehaviorsThe primary behaviors of engaged employees are:• Speaking positively about the organization to coworkers, potential

employees and customers• Having a strong desire to be a member of the organization• Exerting extra effort to contribute to the organization’s success

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program theme.“By tying your entire program

into some sort of theme—such as asports theme or Broadway theme—you can coordinate all your individ-ual messages within that theme,while boosting employee associationand recognition. You can use a mas-cot, have a launch party or decoratethe whole building for your kickoffevent. It’s just more fun and engag-ing for employees.”

Follow Up, Follow ThroughAnother common pitfall is this: You

launch your program and get everyoneexcited, but the program falls flat dueto lack of follow up.

To avoid this scenario, considerpartnering with a company that canprovide the guidance you need. Theright partner can be invaluable in helping you create and execute yourcommunication plan—including thecrafting of the messages themselves,

the delivery and the frequency.

Take ActionNothing is more discouraging to

employees than being asked for theirfeedback and seeing no movementtoward resolution of their issues. Eventhe smallest of actions taken to addressconcerns will let your staff know thattheir input is valued.Feeling valued will,in turn, boost morale, motivate andencourage future input.

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