Tips for keeping your employees happy

Most business owners agree that employee turnover is time consuming, disruptive and affects the bottom line.

The two most commonly asked questions regarding employee turnover, are “Why do employees leave? Do financial rewards work to keep good employees?”

Although rewarding employees financially is important it is not the only answer to keeping employees. Furthermore, it is important to understand that rewards do not always have to be monetary in nature but rather intrinsic rewards like treating people well, making them feel valued and an integral part of the business, carry equal weight.

So here are six proven techniques used by high performing organisations that if correctly put into action can not only save you money by reducing turnover but more importantly can transform your workforce to outperformance.

1. Review your hiring practices.

Nearly a quarter of employee turnover occurs in the first 45 days of employment.

Ensure that the people you hire not only have the skills needed but also fit into the company culture. Employees who connect well with their team and whose values and goals align with the company’s they are less likely to leave. “It’s the people that keep me here…..” is a statement often bandied around.

Ensure that you have clearly defined the role at interview and upon commencement so that there are no misunderstandings. Ensure you don’t oversell the role.

Engage new employees quickly. Have the employee’s workstation set up. It makes a big difference to walk in and have the computer, phone. desk and email set up and working. Introduce the new employee to relevant team members. It makes the new employee feel welcome and feel like they can jump into work straightaway, feeling productive and motivated. Make sure you focus on the “hygiene factors” such as confirming when the employee will be paid?

These tips seem quite obvious however you will be surprised how many new starters spend the first week sitting around feeling frustrated. At the end of the day, people just want to contribute and be valued.

2. Create a positive work environment in which people want to work.

A positive work environment will increase morale, reduce stress, increase job satisfaction and ultimately improve performance.

Create an environment where friendships are cultivated. Socialisation plays an important part in making people feel they belong.

Create an environment where employees feel supported by management and employees.

3. Foster employee development.

As employees gain knowledge, they become experts and as experts they often become more invested in the company.

Development doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. The 70:20:10 development model is effectively used by some leading organisations. The model is based on the following:

70 % – based on the job training for current and future roles, coaching, cross training for role sharing,

20 % – based on project work, shadowing a more senior member, acting roles,

10 % – based on formal programs, study reimbursement, workshops

Remember to promote within whenever possible.

4. Offer employees competitive salaries, benefits and perks.

Whenever possible, offer your employees industry competitive salaries and bonuses directly linked to performance. Otherwise, if this is not possible, offer other attractive benefits and perks.

Benefits might include, flex time, regular performance salary increases, remote working opportunities and working part time.

Provide other small perks such as a weekly fruit box, sandwiches on a Friday, a monthly desk massage, coffee on Mondays, a fancy coffee maker, a pet friendly environment. These may all seem small or insignificant but you will be surprised what a difference these things can make.

Use contests and incentives (movie tickets, wine,) to help keep employees motivated and feeling rewarded. If done well these programs can keep employees focused and excited about their jobs and build relationships while having fun.

The key is matching the benefits with what your key employees value. Put together an attractive package that employees will be hard pressed to find anyplace else.

5. Ensure your workplace is employee centred.

Managers should not treat employees as though they are lucky to have a job, rather they should be treated as though the company is fortunate to have them. Treat them like a valued customer. Work with them to understand why they come to work there, why have they stayed, what would make them leave, what are some of the non-negotiable issues?

Research has shown that there is a strong correlation between strong customer service and high employee engagement levels. Simply put, happy employees are very good for business.

6. Practice communication.

Communication is critical to strong employee engagement.

Ensure lines of commutation are always open on any topic and in doing so use communication to build strong employee/manager relationships. As the old adage goes “employees leave managers not companies”.

Here are some ideas to strengthen communication in your workplace:

• Share company information such as vision and goals. Feeling connected to the company’s goals is one way to create engagement.
• Provide recognition for a job well done. Praise that is sincere, timely and specific goes a long way to boosting morale.
• Equally, provide timely and specific constructive feedback.
• Ask for input before making decisions that affect the workplace.
• Hold regular meetings where employees can offer ideas, ask questions, information is shared.
• Have an open door policy that encourages employees to speak frankly with their manager.
• Communicate with your employees about their goals and aspirations and how you can help them get there. Understand what makes them tick.
• Communicate what is expected of them. It may seem obvious, but some employees don’t know exactly what their jobs entail and what you need from them.

In summary, employees want more than a pay check. In fact, most employees are motivated by developing their skills, a strong sense of community, relationships and job satisfaction resulting from being able to contribute and be recognised.

Interestingly most of these suggested ideas cost nothing or little to implement and according to research on turnover and engagement, the impact can be significant. So whilst employee turnover is costly, some powerful and effective solutions are not at all costly.

The overall objective is to create a workplace employees will not want to leave. Create a meaningful employee experience. Treat them like your number one customer.

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Gabby Skene and her business associate, Angela Godfrey have been helping business leaders manage, motivate and optimise performance of their staff for over 20 years. They have gained experience as internal HR professionals predominately in financial services and have consulted to sectors such as education, telecommunications and professional services. Should you require HR consulting or coaching, please contact Gabby Skene.

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Tips for managing under performing staff.

One of the greatest challenges for managers is dealing with employee underperformance.

Limited skill in managing such situations can create angst, frustration and procrastination in managers and can also create a negative effect on other employees and ultimately client service.

To effectively resolve such situations is critical. Here are some key ideas to help cultivate this highly valuable management skill.

Common reasons why employees fail to meet expectations.

• Lack of clarity around what they should be doing
• No clear objectives or timeframes
• Mismatch between skills and the role they are required to perform
• Lack of feedback resulting in underperforming employees mistakenly believing their performance is satisfactory
• Low workplace morale
• Lack of personal motivation
• Personal issues including stress, alcohol problems, mental health
• Not being rewarded or recognised for good performance
• Lack of engagement with goals and the greater purpose of the business

Tips to help business leaders proactively manage underperforming employees.

Identify the problem. Once you have a clear idea of what the problem is, you can then work to understand the underlying causes and reasons for underperformance.

Analyse the issue. How big is the issue? How big is the gap between performance and expectations? How is it affecting other staff, the team, the business and clients? What’s the overall impact?

Meet with the employees. Set up a meeting to discuss and resolve the issue. Give them warning so they too can adequately prepare for the meeting.

Some things to remember in the performance meetings:

• Discuss the issue without getting personal. For instance, instead of using personal statements such as “you have no concept of time, you always run late, you are hopeless in managing your time,” chose to describe the behaviour and the impact. For example, “when you turn up late to meetings you miss out on vital information that impacts the client service report. Incorrect data contained in the client service report then results in your fellow team member’s providing incorrect information to our customers. This impacts how your team mate feels and impacts the customer who may become disenfranchised with our business. Loss of income eventually results in loss of jobs.”
• Clearly outline the issue and the impact. Provide specific and detailed examples.
• Ask for their feedback and remain open and objective. Be sure to assess your own performance as a manager and your management style.
• Explore and work together to understand why it is occurring.
• Ask plenty of open ended questions. Remember this is a two way process. Also remember that the purpose and intent of the meeting is to solve the problem and turn performance around.
• Collaboratively identify opportunities and solutions to improve the situation. It is advised to let the employee contribute to the solution, as they are more likely to act on a solution in which they had some input.
• Agree on a way of moving forward.
• Organise and agree on a method of monitoring the employee’s performance to ensure they remain on track with the agreed targets.
• Set up regular feedback and coaching sessions.
• Document all discussions.

In some circumstances no matter how skilled the manager or how great the combined effort may be, the employee’s performance may not improve. If this is the case and more formal, serious action is required including further counselling, issuing formal warnings and ultimately termination of employment, expert advice is strongly recommended. As an employer you need to comply with Fair Work Act laws and disciplinary procedures.

In summary, although challenging and uncomfortable, employee underperformance needs to be promptly addressed by managers. There are many reasons why employees may be underperforming in their role. The ability to clearly and concisely pinpoint “what” the issue is and “why” it is occurring and “how” it can be improved are critical factors in turning performance around. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes or guarantees. However, underperformance delicately addressed with the right management skills can certainly go a long way to optimising performance. These suggested management strategies can help cultivate those important skills.

By Gabby Skene – www.angelagodfreyandassociates.com

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Gabby Skene and her business associate, Angela Godfrey have been helping business leaders manage, motivate and optimise performance of their staff for over 20 years. They have gained experience as internal HR professionals predominately in financial services and have consulted to sectors such as education, telecommunications and professional services. Should you require HR consulting or coaching, please contact Gabby Skene.

The post Tips to managing underperforming employees appeared first on AdviserVoice.