2018 - Page 10 of 18 - Best Money Moves

How Do You Handle Trauma in the Workplace?

by LizStevens | Jul 2, 2018 | Blog

Workplace Option’s latest survey on handling traumatic incidents in the workplace illuminates a dire need for HR to step in and create new procedures.

Employees need support and guidance after traumatic events – like the sudden loss of a colleague or a natural disaster – but only 26 percent of workers are getting it.

Most employees surveyed by Workplace Options (WPO) have worked for an organization that experienced a traumatic event. More than half of them said that a disaster recovery plan (DRP) or business continuity plan (BCP) wasn’t in place to help employees affected by the event – or if there was nobody told them about it.

DRP’s are a valuable benefit for nearly 70 percent of employees and should be a priority for employers. It’s estimated that less than half of employers have a DRP or BCP plan in place, but they’re critical for dealing with disasters.

Dean Debnam, chief executive officer at WPO, said, “Preparing for a potential traumatic event, and providing proper services for your employees if one should ever occur is hugely important to the resilience of your organization.” It’s true, between 40 to 60 percent of companies without a DRP or BCP never reopen after facing a disaster and a whopping 75 percent fail within three years, according to research from Open Access BPO.

These numbers might refer specifically to large scale natural disasters, but less extreme traumatic incidents take a toll on business too. Debnam said, “Providing education to managers and employees on available benefits leads to less risk of absenteeism and presenteeism of affected employees.”

Natural disasters, layoffs, workplace violence and sudden deaths are most emotionally stressful and traumatic for employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates nearly 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year, and that’s only counting reported incidents. There were over 19.9 million layoffs in 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Natural disasters are traumatic for the entire community. The claims process for insurable losses can be consuming and without a DRP or BCP in place employees who need assistance recovering might not get it.

It’s critical to have the right plan in place to maintain strong leadership when facing the unthinkable. Review and develop a disaster recovery plan or business continuity plan to make sure it addresses these four traumatic incidents that affect your employees most to bounce back productively while retaining top talent.

Here’s the Ticket to Employee Satisfaction

by LizStevens | Jun 26, 2018 | Blog

In the Best Money Moves Roundup, we run down the latest news on job satisfaction, communication, compensation and retention.

Believe it or not, respect drives job satisfaction more than compensation. Results from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s survey show that it was close, but respect beat salary by 4 percent points when it comes to job satisfaction.

Alarmingly, only 38 percent of employees are satisfied with how their company treats employees. To improve employee relations SHRM recommends a number of training programs.

What we’re reading:

Build employee emotional resilience. Put SHRM’s advice to practice and enhance health and wellbeing in the workplace. Try it out with these 10 tips.

Highlights from SHRM’s annual conference. It’s alright if you couldn’t make the conference this year. Check out EBN’s top 10 takeaways.

Benefit from offering above-average salaries. Offering pay higher than the industry average is a business strategy that can pay off. Here’s 7 reasons why it works.

Be proactive about retention. Job jumping is a part of the dynamic shift underway in the workplace. Use these 3 strategies to improve employee retention.

Better communication can combat turnover. Build meaningful relationships with your staff sooner rather than later. Find out why it’s so important.

Craft high-performance teams. Give them a clear company image and room for failure to start building engagement for higher productivity and retention. Learn more about all 7 approaches.

Why do new hires leave within 90 days? A candidate that leaves within 90 days might be a bad hire, but more often the relationship is salvageable if you understand employee needs. Improve your onboarding process.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

What Drives Job Satisfaction the Most?

by LizStevens | Jun 26, 2018 | Blog

What drives job satisfaction the most? SHRM’s survey on job satisfaction has the insights you need to improve the employee experience.

Alarmingly, only 38 percent of employees are satisfied with how their company treats employees. To improve employee relations SHRM recommends a number of training programs.

Although respondents rated respectful treatment higher than compensation, pay is the main reason employees will stay with or leave an organization. Only 26 percent of workers are very satisfied with their earnings, but the 9 percent drop in employees who received bonuses might have something to do with that. SHRM suggests clearly communicating compensation to avoid misunderstandings that could affect employees attitudes towards pay.

Other Job Satisfaction Drivers and SHRM’s Tips to Improve Them

Trust between employees and senior management was equally as important to employees as pay, but just 33 percent of employees are very satisfied with their level of trust towards the organizations they work for. SHRM’s solution to building trust is having an open door policy and practices that allow employees to express themselves freely.

Opportunities to use skills and abilities at work is very important for 56 percent of employees surveyed. There’s only a 12 percent gap between importance and satisfaction, the smallest of all job satisfaction contributors surveyed. It’s an important factor for retention as challenging work is more likely to keep employees versus cause them to leave. SHRM’s tips for higher satisfaction with job opportunities are for employers to conduct a job analysis and identify and train employees with potential.

Job security is another major contributor to employee satisfaction. It’s a tricky one, because it’s all about perception and emotional intelligence. An employee could be completely secure in their position, but an emotional reaction might make them feel insecure. SHRM’s report advises, “HR professionals may begin with helping employees acknowledge their feelings and evaluate whether their response is appropriate for the situation,” in order to help them build emotional intelligence and have a more accurate understanding of their job security.

SHRM’s survey results give employers an overview of how their employees might be feeling and offers reasonable solutions to improve job satisfaction. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to be productive, stay with the company and refer quality hires. Given the current labor market, what more can you ask for?

Why You Need a Remote Work Strategy

by LizStevens | Jun 19, 2018 | Blog

In the Best Money Moves Roundup, we run down the latest news on flexible workspaces, student loan assistance, and calibration committees.

Flexible workspaces used to be the stuff of startups, but companies all over the world are now adopting more flexible approaches to where people work to meet the changing needs of the workforce. And in return they’re benefiting from higher productivity, retention, and even profits, according to a recent study from IWG.

Most employees work remotely at least once a week and more than half work at a location outside the office for half the week or more. Over 90 percent of companies offering flexible workspaces are confident that their remote workers are productive while on the move and almost 60 percent agree that it improves job satisfaction.

It’s time to develop a remote work strategy that offers your employees the flexibility to get work done without having to be in the office every day.

What we’re reading:

Hulu makes bold benefits move. The streaming TV company is going to match employee student loan repayments up to $1,200 a year. Find out how it can increase productivity and retention.

Benefits outsourcing done right. When it’s done right benefits outsourcing can reduce costs and free up time for your HR and benefits teams. Here are 5 steps to success.

Build trust with employees. Research shows responding constructively to employees issues builds loyalty, but it’s not always easy. Ask the right questions.

Hold on to key software and IT Talent. Highly skilled employees, like developers, often leave a company in 2 years or less. Use these 4 tips to retain tech talent.

What are calibration committees? Calibration committees help with evaluations by limiting manager’s bias through macro-level performance review. Learn more about the process.

Not sure how to improve company culture? Take a look at how other companies got it right. What have these 10 companies done to develop great company cultures?

Handle employee termination gracefully. Termination is an uncomfortable situation all around, but it can be unavoidable. Check out these 11 termination tips.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

You Need to Focus on Improving Retention. Here’s How:

by LizStevens | Jun 13, 2018 | Blog

In the Best Money Moves Roundup, we run down the latest news including retention, wellness benefits, and sourcing parties.

There’s a lot to learn from Jobvite’s recent survey – especially with the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years.

One thing we learned: An alarming 82 percent of employees are open to new job opportunities even if they’re happy with their current position. Since turnover can cost up to six months of an employee’s salary, you need to do all that you can to find and keep top talent. Strategize your recruitment and retention efforts to create a successful team.

Here are two pieces of advice that will have the biggest impact on retention.

Company culture is key. Nearly 90 percent of employees agreed company culture is important. More than 30 percent of employees would be willing to take a 10 percent pay cut for an improved company culture. Additionally, a third of those who left a job within 90 days said it was because of a bad company culture. So, take an objective look at your company culture and ask for suggestions on ways to improve it. (Hint: Polls and prizes are your friends when it comes to generating helpful suggestions from employees.)
Focus recruitment efforts on your more successful employees. Most employees found their jobs through friends or professional connections. Less than 20 percent said they found their position through community forums or alumni networks. Ask your employees to recommend qualified people in their networks. Consider offering a gift card for successful candidates who accept an offer.

What We’re Reading:

Sourcing parties are a rising recruitment trend. Instead of reaching out to candidates directly, sourcing parties link hiring managers, recruiters, and employees to strategize collectively. Find out how it works.

How do you know if a new hire will be a good fit? Find out what motivates them and see how their personality traits fit in with your current culture. Learn more about improving new hire retention.

Open recruitment to remote workers. Fewer employees are willing to relocate for a job which limits your pool of candidates. Why it’s time to develop a remote work policy.

Where can your employees recharge? Rooms where employees can take a break from work and renew their energy improve productivity. Different kinds of ‘recharge rooms’ and why they work.

Develop a wellness program that’s worth it. Your wellness program has to be strategic for it to improve productivity and retention. Ask yourself these questions.

Self-service HR. Employees want self-service HR tools so they can complete tasks like viewing payroll information and updating personal information themselves. Give employees what they want.

Cross training as a strategy to boost retention. If you want happier employees have them work smarter, not harder. Try this simple method.

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.