ReportWire

Tag: Employee Retention

  • 5 Steps to Implement the Ideal Hybrid Work Model | Entrepreneur

    5 Steps to Implement the Ideal Hybrid Work Model | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Hybrid work — a mix of in-office and out-of-office work — is not a new development. In the ’90s, we had cell phones; then, in the 2000s, we had Blackberries to easily facilitate frantic out-of-office emailing.

    But post-pandemic, “hybrid work” has taken on a new significance, with most employees expecting some possibility of working remotely, where that is feasible.

    Here, I want to take some time to unpack the different ways that an organization might introduce a hybrid work model and highlight some ways in which companies might make better strategic hybrid work decisions.

    Related: Making Hybrid Models Work Is No Longer a Luxury – It’s a Necessity

    Why go hybrid?

    Over the years, the productivity and efficiency benefits of remote work have become clear. All the way back in 2013, a controlled study led by Stanford Economist, Nicholas Bloom, demonstrated a productivity increase of 13% due to remote work; in 2021, an Owl Labs State of Hybrid Work study reported a 25% reduction in employee turnover due to remote work; finally, a new study demonstrates that an average 45 minutes of the daily time savings from working from home are invested right back into the business.

    That said, 100% remote isn’t feasible for all businesses and business functions: A 2021 Jabra study showed a clear preference for the traditional office when it comes to collaborative work, presentations and onboarding. To that, I would add that face-to-face client interaction, and specialized tools/infrastructure can be important reasons to have employees in the office at times.

    Given the benefits of both remote and in-office work, it is clear that some form of hybrid work is the way forward for many organizations. So, what’s the best way of arranging this? Below I will go through some popular hybrid work models and highlight where these have been useful to particular organizations.

    It’s worth observing that hybrid working arrangements usually relate to where the work occurs. But it is also common to combine hybrid work arrangements with flexibility about when and how work occurs. For example, hybrid work can be combined with “flex time” (employees being able to decide when they start and finish work, within reason) and “async work” (being able to work without constantly checking in with other team members and managers).

    1. Remote-first

    In a remote-first business, remote work is the default. Most employees will work remotely, most of the time. But remote-first doesn’t mean “remote only.” Many businesses that default to remote work may still allow in-office work. For one thing, many employees actively prefer to go into the office some of the time.

    Spotify adopted a remote-first model with its “work from anywhere” policy, promoting remote work, while still retaining physical office space and paying for co-working space for employees that seek to work in-office. At Horizons, we have adopted a remote-first policy as well, if employees wish. We also have regular regional meetups to bring our distributed team together. We find this provides a good balance between remote flexibility and in-person collaboration.

    Related: Is Your Hybrid Model Working? Use These Success Metrics to Find Out.

    2. Remote-friendly

    A remote-friendly business is supportive of remote work, but remote work may not be the default. A remote-friendly business allows remote work on certain days of the week, for certain teams or on a discretionary basis. Companies that have recently implemented this include Apple (three days per week in the office), and Microsoft — the kind of arrangement applied by Apple and Microsoft is also known as “split days” hybrid work.

    Remote-friendly is the preferred model for businesses that have a strong need for in-person collaboration.

    3. Split-team

    In a split-team hybrid approach, some of the workforce are permitted to work remotely, while others are required to come into the office. While this may make sense from a job-function perspective (some work is more feasibly carried out remotely than other work), it also risks creating a perception of unfairness: Some in-office employees may be upset that they have no say in the matter — according to a 2022 Gallup report, only 6% of employees who could work remotely would prefer to be entirely in-office.

    Related: 5 Tips to Make Your Hybrid Work Model More Effective

    How to make your hybrid work decision

    Given the variety of ways in which you can implement hybrid work, how should you go about deciding which model is right for you? I suggest the following steps:

    1. Make remote work flexibility the default assumption in workforce planning. No matter what the needs of your business are, the evidence is clear that employees value the option to work remotely.

    2. Decide which essential business functions, if any, need to be done in person. There is an element of subjectivity to this. Companies like Apple have decided this is crucial for the creative element of their work. For others, it may be about responding to a clientele that expects in-person meetings.

    3. Work out the best way of dividing work between in-person and remote elements. Split-team or split-days are possibilities, but it is also possible that primarily remote work with semi-regular in-person meetings/events will suffice.

    4. Incorporate your approach to remote work into a written remote work policy that employees have access to. This ensures that there is transparency and that a fair approach is taken.

    5. Check in regularly with employees to see how current hybrid work arrangements are working out. This should occur both in organization-wide employee wellness surveys and one-on-ones with team leads.

    There is no one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid work, and most of us adopting hybrid are, by necessity, experimenting as we go. While the benefits of hybrid work are clear, every company needs to look to its own business needs and processes and find the appropriate balance between flexibility for employees and in-office efficiency.

    [ad_2]

    Antoine Boquen

    Source link

  • How to Lead With Emotional Intelligence in 2023 | Entrepreneur

    How to Lead With Emotional Intelligence in 2023 | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With Covid-19 firmly in the rear-view mirror in most parts of the world, entrepreneurs are now developing creative ways to mold inclusive and healthy work environments for employees. Rocky economic forecasts make this even more vital as companies double down on profitability overgrowth. Stay caught up; join the wise employers who swear by leading with emotional intelligence.

    What is emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability or quality that enables leaders to confront challenges with patience, insight and control. Through emotional intelligence, leaders achieve a higher level of problem-solving in the work environment. The ability to identify and monetize opportunities is also improved through emotional intelligence. Here are a few ways to pivot 2023 output by leading with emotional intelligence.

    Related: Use These 7 Emotional Intelligence Tips to Be a Better Leader

    How to lead with emotional intelligence

    1. Embrace diversity:

    Diversity in the workplace is synonymous with variety in the human body. We each rely on copious amounts of biological systems, cogs and energy to stay alive and thrive. Every cell in your body varies slightly from the next, and so does the workforce. Each employee is different in their unique way. As a leader, it is important to embrace each employee with their eccentricities without judgment or victimization.

    2. Prioritize the needs of your employees:

    The best way to create a positive work environment is by considering your employee’s needs at every step. Employees are more likely to perform exceptionally in 2023 when they feel their needs are being met.

    3. Practice self-awareness:

    Self-awareness is recognizing how your emotions impact your behavior, particularly toward your employees. Leaders who lack self-awareness often have a high employee turnover. According to a study performed by Georgetown University, the average employee lost commitment to their jobs due to low emotional intelligence displayed by leaders.

    The best way to develop self-awareness is by closely examining your behavior and attitude toward employees. How do you react when slighted? Are you calm and collected, or do you fly into a rage? Introspection will open your eyes to your flaws; if it does not work, you can always ask your employees for feedback.

    3. Keep emotions in check:

    Let’s face it, life is not always a walk in the park, especially when running a company. However, when dealing with employees, you must keep your emotions in check. A huge part of emotional intelligence is learning to identify different emotions you are experiencing. If you notice you get angry often, try and deal with the situation without reacting emotionally. Instead, employ facts and empathy to deal with the situation and see how it goes.

    4. Learn new concepts:

    Learning is a lifelong journey for everyone looking to keep growing. Learning new ways to manage situations as a leader is a fantastic way to keep your employees satisfied. Show your subordinates that you are making an effort to change, and they will be grateful and more cooperative in their daily tasks. Some new concepts you can pick to help with emotional intelligence include the art of meditating and empathy.

    5. Journal:

    Journaling is a fantastic way to express your thoughts and emotions, giving them form. Through journaling, you can identify wanting behavior and also learn about critical triggers in your daily life. Once you know where you are going wrong, you can swiftly devise a plan of action to improve your behavior for the company’s sake.

    6. Learn to communicate effectively:

    Excellent and practical communication skills are among the more positive byproducts of emotional intelligence. However, excellent communication skills can sometimes be used to achieve higher emotional intelligence. As a leader, your communication skills must always be on point. When it comes to communication, everything from the tone to how you say something matters. When it comes to communication, it is not always one size fits all, so you need to learn how to approach each employee for maximum impact.

    Related: Emotional Intelligence is the Secret to Leadership in Times of Crisis

    The benefits of emotional intelligence

    1. Reduced employee turnover:

    Emotionally intelligent people can maintain a level head in high-stress situations. They can see the reality for what it is by reading through numerous guises employees put up. In the highly competitive business industry, employers struggle to keep good talent, and emotional mastery is one of the top tools to achieve this goal.

    2. Improved output:

    A leader with high emotional intelligence can make all employees feel like they belong. When employees feel a sense of fitting in, they are more than likely to put in extra effort toward daily tasks. In the current challenging economic times, companies are placing more value on output and profitability, which makes this benefit even more valuable to your business.

    3. Better teamwork:

    Like other forms, emotional intelligence can be transferred through practice and teaching. Showing your team emotional intelligence will likely rub off and create better teamwork. People with high emotional intelligence communicate better within their teams, making them work better together.

    4. Creates a healthy working environment:

    In a work environment where leaders have high emotional intelligence, the employees enjoy a healthy work environment. Employees are also more likely to enjoy longer and more fruitful careers. A leader with a high emotional quotient (EQ) can maintain excellent relationships within the company, encouraging teamwork and innovation. Employees also enjoy growth opportunities with the support of said leaders who nurture and support the employee’s interests.

    The data is in, and the numbers strongly suggest that leading with emotional intelligence allows you and your company to identify and grab more opportunities. 2023 is the year you should add emotional intelligence to your wheelhouse, for posterity’s sake. Harness the exponential potential hidden in emotional intelligence, and make 2023 your best-performing year yet.

    Related: How to Raise Your Emotional Intelligence in 3 Steps

    [ad_2]

    Steve Taplin

    Source link

  • Why You Must Focus on Your Culture Amid Economic Uncertainty | Entrepreneur

    Why You Must Focus on Your Culture Amid Economic Uncertainty | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Amidst today’s market uncertainty, some organizational leaders feel they don’t have to focus as much on their workplace cultures now that power dynamics are shifting from employees back to employers. The real or anticipated labor market corrections suggest to them they can devote a significant portion of their time and attention elsewhere.

    They couldn’t be more mistaken.

    Economic downturns represent culturally critical times for organizations, especially those that rely heavily on their people. The threat of layoffs, compensation reductions, reorganizations and other internal changes all serve to severely depress morale. And while the anxieties that permeate such workplace events can drive some people to work “harder,” these efforts don’t usually result in better outcomes. Instead, underlying fears hinder connectivity and collaboration, preventing teams from driving value and achieving ambitious goals.

    What’s more, organizations that fall into this trap often suffer more when markets recover. Even brief cultural lapses make it extra challenging for them to engage in successful culture-building in better times, keeping them from capitalizing on new opportunities. Eventually, they lose out to the competition.

    Related: What Makes a Great Company Culture (and Why It Matters)

    The importance of culture building

    Workplace cultures — meaning the encouraged behaviors that, ideally, have been intentionally shaped to help employees reach and exceed big-picture objectives — are critical to the health of organizations. As an advisor who has facilitated hundreds of culture-building initiatives, I have seen firsthand how the strength of a business is usually directly tied to the strength of its culture.

    To illustrate, a long-time client in the highly competitive health technology space decided to invest in culture building in 2019 as a means of differentiating itself and preserving the organization’s legacy. This work helped it attract and retain top talent and instill a highly collaborative mindset, such that when the CEO explored a sale in 2021, valuations experts made specific reference to the company’s culture and put premium placement on its value.

    Simply, culture serves as an organization’s very foundation. And just like physical foundations, a culture’s real value and potential are often revealed when calamities strike.

    Related: Company Culture Is Everything

    What should leaders do?

    Leaders who are currently facing or anticipating challenges would thus be wise to keep culture efforts front and center. At a minimum, they can clearly and consistently reinforce their established mission, vision and values as a way to maintain teams’ sense of purpose and belonging. For organizations that have yet to put in place a mission, vision and values, conducting this very exercise is an ideal first step toward culture-building.

    Leaders can also embrace cultural norms that have been shown to consistently help organizations weather challenging environments. To illustrate, while every culture sits in a unique spot on various behavioral spectrums, those that lean toward greater transparency in their communications usually do better maintaining their people’s trust in challenging environments. Similarly, organizations that are more collaborative, innovative, inclusive and relationship-oriented, and those that take a longer-term view when it comes to how to measure returns on time investments, typically come out of downturns in stronger shape — both financially and culturally.

    Embracing these norms often requires leaders to give up some level of perceived or real control. It’s fairly common for top executives to seek control over not just systems, processes and messages, but authentic human responses that naturally defy top-down domination. They should consider letting go of this need and make space for their people’s messy, complex individuality in order to achieve greater transparency and build engagement and trust.

    In addition, leaders would be wise to reject any hint of the misguided notions tied to “capitalizing” on employee fears and anxieties for the good of their enterprises. This might mean bucking the emerging trend of walking back popular workplace policies, like flexible or hybrid work arrangements. Unless there’s a well-communicated strategic need to do away with such programs, employees will register such changes as calculated, punitive, traditional and unnecessary. They will impact the level of engagement and productivity teams bring to their work and inform their thinking when they have more employment options. Of course, employees are much more open-minded about in-person work when it’s directly tied to objectives such as team building and brainstorming.

    Related: 5 Ways to Turn Your Company Culture Around

    Rise to the challenge

    Rising to the challenge of organizational leadership requires top executives to constantly wrestle with the tension of doing the best for their people while doing the best for their organizations, keeping in mind opportunities and consequences that can impact both individuals and the collective. This means placing real value on team members’ high performance along with their humanity, accepting the challenge of prioritizing both simultaneously even in challenging times. While leaders might need to make difficult decisions, which, of course, can include letting people go, they must not lose their sense of empathy and compassion in the process —and not just because it represents poor corporate citizenship. It’s also a strategically bad move that will prove unwise sooner or later.

    The more leaders rise to this challenge, prioritizing their people’s humanity alongside their high performance, the more they’ll see their culture improve and serve to brace their organizations against whatever lies ahead.

    [ad_2]

    David Eaton

    Source link

  • Entrepreneur | How DEIB Programs Can Help Solve the Biggest Challenges in Employee Management Today

    Entrepreneur | How DEIB Programs Can Help Solve the Biggest Challenges in Employee Management Today

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Following a year marked by the “Great Reset,” 2023 is bound to bring even more employee management challenges, from spiking attrition to falling morale amid the economic downturn. As these challenges compound and priorities continue to shift, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) programs can serve as a hedge against these trends.

    The companies that make a concerted effort to establish equity and work-life balance for their employees will see tangible benefits in the year to come. DEIB programs are central to retaining the best talent, but it goes beyond programming, too: Between its role in upholding work-life balance guardrails to avoiding burnout, DEIB is an important effort to create a strong company culture that can power through tough economic times.

    Here are some of the top employee management challenges that companies face today, and how DEIB programs play a part in solving them:

    Related: The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion During Uncertain Times

    DEIB as a critical tool against today’s challenges

    Companies across industries are experiencing rising employee disengagement rates. Even as economic patterns shift, the issue prevails, with some studies estimating that as much as half of the U.S. workforce are “quiet quitters.”

    With many quiet quitters driven by burnout, DEIB can play a role in reversing this pattern. Why? Psychological safety is powerful — so much so, that people bypass extra money and better benefits in exchange for feeling safe at work. It’s human nature for people to want to stay in a place where they feel they belong and where their opinions and needs are valued. One study found that employees who feel a strong sense of belonging demonstrate a 50% reduction in turnover risk, a 56% increase in performance and a 75% decrease in sick days. Employees are more likely to stay at companies that see diverse perspectives as a business imperative — and DEIB programming helps build and nurture this sense of belonging.

    On the other side of the coin, despite economic headwinds, many companies are continuing to hire for priority roles and compete for top talent. Companies that historically haven’t been able to match large salaries from Big Tech can compete by creating a culture where all people can thrive. In fact, 86% of job seekers rank a company’s DEIB approach as a motivating factor for them when looking at their next role.

    Related: 7 Ways Leaders Can Level Up Their DEI Workplace Strategy

    Securing the buy-in to make it happen

    To see the above results, it’s critical to build a well-resourced and data-driven DEIB program. As recession fears prompt budget cuts across organizations, maintaining well-resourced DEIB programs should be a priority for leaders. Even so, securing buy-in from the top can be a challenge.

    Diversity roles are in high demand – “diversity and inclusion manager” was the second fastest-growing job title this year, according to LinkedIn. But DEIB role tenure, especially in the C-suite, is alarmingly short. That’s because underfunded teams can only do so much, and DEIB leaders aren’t immune to burnout themselves. DEIB leaders need continued resources to preserve and grow their efforts and effectively hedge against market conditions.

    Communicating the business case and outlining thorough plans can help DEIB leaders convince other stakeholders to join them in championing their missions. I’ve found that having honest conversations with an open mind and asking questions to learn more about where other stakeholders are coming from has helped me make my case to leaders throughout my career.

    Data is also central to DEIB — in both getting programs up and running and in iterating for improvement. Hard numbers are an effective way to secure important resources and support from leaders. Data also helps “lean” DEIB teams understand where they must focus their time and resources to make a meaningful impact. It also helps teams predict trends and anticipate needs and gaps ahead (recruiting, turnover, engagement, etc.).

    All challenges have solutions — and when it comes to solving “people problems,” DEIB is the answer. As economic uncertainty continues, these programs are not the place to cut. Good company culture is a boon right now, and DEIB plays a critical role in building and maintaining it.

    [ad_2]

    Jyl Feliciano

    Source link

  • Entrepreneur | How to Hire, Retain and Optimize Gen Z Talent

    Entrepreneur | How to Hire, Retain and Optimize Gen Z Talent

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As the oldest members of Generation Z enter the workforce, business leaders are faced with a new set of challenges in attracting, hiring and retaining this demographic. Gen Z is expected to make up 20.7% of the workforce by 2025 and 33.4% by 2030. This generation represents a highly diverse and well-educated cohort with unique needs and values that differ significantly from those of previous generations.

    In order to successfully recruit and optimize Gen Z talent, business leaders must have a clear understanding of this demographic and its unique characteristics. Below are some insights on Gen Z and a few tips on how to recruit and retain Gen Z talent:

    Related: 7 Things to Know Before You Manage a Gen Z Team

    Who is Gen Z?

    To effectively understand Gen Z, it is important to recognize the unique experiences and values that have shaped their worldview. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the most diverse, tech-savvy and educated generation to date. Gen Z is characterized by a strong sense of individuality and a desire to make a positive impact on the world. They are socially conscious and politically aware, and they value diversity and equality among different groups. They are also more entrepreneurial and are more likely to start their own businesses compared to previous generations.

    Members of this generation have grown up in a world of rapid technological change and globalization. They have also experienced a number of significant cultural and economic shifts, leading them to be practical, financially savvy and resourceful. They are highly connected, informed and inclusive, with a deep commitment to social and environmental causes. Additionally, Gen Z is characterized by a high level of ambition, drive and entrepreneurial spirit.

    Related: What Gen Z Wants Their Managers to Understand in 2023

    Recruiting and hiring Gen Z

    When it comes to attracting and hiring Gen Z talent, it is important to understand the key factors that are important to this demographic. These include:

    1. Flexibility: The older Gen Zers had just begun entering the workforce when the global pandemic hit in 2020, so these individuals have a very different idea of a “normal” work schedule than that of older generations. Gen Z is highly interested in finding a job that allows them to balance their work and personal lives, which means offering flexible work arrangements, such as remote and hybrid work, and even less traditional work hours.

    2. Technology and innovation: Gen Z is highly tech-savvy and values the use of technology in the workplace. Companies that are able to incorporate the latest technologies and encourage innovation will be most appealing to this demographic.

    3. Purpose and values alignment: As mentioned, Gen Z is highly motivated by the desire to make a positive impact on the world. Therefore, they value employers who provide opportunities to be involved in the community and support various causes. Companies that prioritize sustainability, diversity and inclusion will be most successful in attracting this demographic.

    4. Growth and development opportunities: Most Gen Zers in the workforce have never held a job prior to the one they are at. A first job is mostly about gaining experience and building skill sets so that they can move up the corporate ladder. Gen Zers seek opportunities for personal and professional growth when it comes to finding a job and want to know there is room to grow.

    Related: Gen Z Is Looking For These 5 Things in a Job and Career

    Retaining and optimizing Gen Z talent

    Once you have successfully attracted Gen Zers to your workplace, it is important to create a culture that supports their continued growth and engagement. To retain Gen Z talent and make the most of their contributions, business leaders must:

    1. Foster a sense of purpose and connection: Appeal to Gen Z’s desire to make a positive impact, and establish an inclusive workplace culture that emphasizes their values. Gen Zers want to know and feel like they are a valuable part of an aligned team, and that their contributions are appreciated. Companies should actively seek out ways to connect their employees with the purpose and impact of their work, including embodying the company’s core values into daily motivations.

    2. Provide opportunities for growth: Gen Z values personal and professional growth and seeks out employers who provide opportunities for learning, development and advancement. Companies should invest in employee training and development programs, as well as provide opportunities for professional advancement.

    3. Encourage collaboration and innovative thinking: Gen Z values collaboration, as well as being encouraged to think outside the box. Companies should foster a culture of teamwork, encourage open communication and provide opportunities for employees to share their ideas and insights. It’s also important to understand and take into account different communication styles and how they affect a team’s ability to work together.

    4. Prioritize work-life balance: In addition to initiatives such as flexible schedules and paid time off, companies can do more to prioritize work-life balance. Gen Zers value mental health and well-being, and they are especially fond of workplaces that have procedures in place to support them. This can be as simple as checking in with employees regularly for honest, non-work-related discussions, encouraging and showing interest in their hobbies outside of work and giving praise for a job well done.

    Business leaders who understand how to optimize Gen Z talent will be well-positioned to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment. By recognizing the unique characteristics of this demographic and leveraging their strengths, businesses can build a talented and engaged workforce that will help drive their success for years to come. To be successful, business leaders must have a deep understanding of Gen Z and its unique needs, values and preferences, and they must be proactive in creating a workplace culture that supports and nurtures this demographic.

    [ad_2]

    Doug Walner

    Source link

  • Entrepreneur | How to Support Employees and Improve Retention With a Strong Company Culture

    Entrepreneur | How to Support Employees and Improve Retention With a Strong Company Culture

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We have all heard the expression, “people don’t leave businesses, they leave managers.” In this time of the Great Resignation, is that really true? Perhaps to a certain extent, but I think there’s something else to consider.

    Having capable managers is critical, of course. That’s why our group spends so much time helping new managers build the key mindsets and capabilities they need to succeed. Nevertheless, a good boss can’t compensate for the most significant reason high performers move on.

    I’m talking about culture. A toxic culture will always overshadow even the nastiest bosses. In fact, some of the worst bosses exist because their culture allows them to thrive. The Washington Commanders’ two-decade-long toxic work culture that has come to light recently is a great example of this. The culture became toxic after leaders at the top level of the organization ignored sexual misconduct allegations.

    If you’ve seen a lot of people flee your company since 2020, you might have a dysfunctional culture — and I’d hazard to guess that the pandemic hasn’t caused the cultural dysfunction in your organization but likely revealed it. When the people on your team finally saw those cultural weak spots, they decided it was time to head out the door.

    So, put your energy into nurturing your culture and ensuring everyone has an integral role to play. To do that, try these retention techniques that have worked for my company and my clients:

    Related: Great Company Culture Isn’t Magic — Take These Steps to Create It

    1. Take purpose to the next level … your people

    You need to have a strong organizational purpose if you want a strong organizational culture. Your purpose is the “why?” behind everything you do. A well-articulated purpose can serve as the backbone for all decisions. It also informs people why they should come work for you as integral team members.

    You shouldn’t just strive to have a corporate purpose, though. You need to take purpose to the next level by helping each person find their own purpose and connect that to your organization.

    Here’s how this can work in practice: Our leaders regularly run special sessions for our newest joiners. The sessions help participants discover their purposes by identifying strengths, values and life-shaping experiences. Once everyone has identified an individual purpose, they can connect it to the organization’s purpose, as well as the work they do daily. The result is a team that feels motivated by and connected to a greater sense of purpose.

    2. Encourage people to name their work-life balance needs

    Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about work-life balance. In the past three years, the lines between everyone’s professional and personal lives have blurred significantly. Accordingly, your company needs to put structures and systems in place to accommodate the team’s work-life needs. You can’t do this on your own.

    Rather than dictating work-life balance parameters to your team members, put the ownership on them to develop their own work-life balance routines. For instance, you might have a group of ambitious people. That’s great, but we all know that ambitious people are notorious for filling up their plates. Your job is to assist them in figuring out how to balance all the facets of their lives appropriately so they don’t risk burnout.

    Start by encouraging everyone to talk about their non-negotiables. These are what each person needs to feel grounded. Some people might say that’s being able to log off by 5:30 p.m. Others might say it’s having the chance to plug an hour of exercise into the day. The point is for people to feel supported enough to name what they need to lower their stress levels and enhance their overall well-being. Teams can then develop workflows to accommodate everyone’s non-negotiables and foster work-life balance.

    Related: I Created a College Atmosphere At My Company. Here Are 3 Ways It Increased Employee Retention

    3. Give out autonomy like it’s candy

    Individuals feel empowered when they have total authority to make decisions. Their sense of empowerment usually spills over into higher engagement. The more accountability and responsibility you can give people, the more rewarding your environment will be — and the less reason team members will have to take jobs elsewhere. A Jabra survey of more than 5,000 knowledge workers revealed that 59% of them believe flexibility is more important than salary and other benefits.

    To be sure, your business or industry might not be able to allow tons of flexibility with autonomous decision-making among team members. Still, it’s a valuable exercise to think about ways and times you can drive decision-making in your company from the upper levels down. Based on my experience, organizations with lower autonomy and authority struggle with this mindset shift. It won’t happen overnight, but we’ve found that with purposeful intervention, you can create the right change momentum.

    4. Incorporate fun into your work

    A dull workplace isn’t one that tends to be sticky from a retention standpoint. On the other hand, a fun atmosphere can buoy everyone’s spirits and reduce the effects of inevitable challenges.

    You don’t have to bring in balloons and a bouncy house. Fun can come in different forms. Corporate-sponsored social activities, work sports teams and the occasional celebration can all be enjoyable. It just depends on the makeup of your company and its people. Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, had the goal of making his workplace fun and enjoyable, which is why he has always let his employees work flexible hours that allow them to surf during the work day, attend courses or just be parents. All he asked was that their work got done.

    And although organized fun is great, the key is integrating fun into the work itself. Never underestimate the power of being a fun place to work. After all, fun can be a huge differentiator because it’s as rare as a unicorn sighting in Alaska. Give your people the freedom to let loose a little.

    They call it the Great Resignation, but for me, that seems a little glass half empty. It’s high time to stop worrying about the Great Resignation and focus on building a great culture. You’ll unlock your people’s potential and your organization’s performance possibilities, too.

    Related: Why a Positive Company Culture Is the Key to Employee Retention

    [ad_2]

    Matt Smith

    Source link

  • 8 Reasons You Should Give Your Employees More Control

    8 Reasons You Should Give Your Employees More Control

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    If you are an employer, you might think giving employees clear direction is the best way to get things done and keep your business moving forward. And while it is true that everyone needs some structure and guidance, constantly telling your employees what they should be doing can be incredibly damaging to your organization. Your employees want you to trust them. If they feel like you tell them what to do instead of trusting them with their decisions, they may not be happy with their jobs.

    Here are the reasons you should stop telling your employees what to do and give them more control:

    Related: 4 Ways to Give Employees More of the Control They Want

    1. Employees hate micromanagement

    You might think this is a given and should not even need saying. However, many companies are still guilty of micromanaging their employees, especially when delegating tasks and projects. As mentioned by HBR, micromanagement is still a dirty word in today’s workplaces

    The problem with micromanagement is that when you constantly tell your employees everything they need to do, they do not feel like they are contributing anything of value or making any impact on their job. This can cause them to feel bored and underappreciated, which could lead them to leave your company for a new one where they have more freedom.

    If you want loyal workers who care about their work and feel they are contributing something valuable, you should trust them enough to get the job done.

    2. Employees want your trust

    Employees also want to know that they can make mistakes without being punished. If you value your employees’ input and let them contribute ideas, they will feel like they are a part of the team and that you listen to them. This will keep them motivated in their job and make work more enjoyable for everyone involved since it shows that you trust them and care about the work they do.

    3. Employees want to know that their opinions matter

    It is important to note that employees want to feel like they are contributing and that their opinions matter. Nothing is worse than being told what to do all the time and not feeling heard. The point is that employees want you to value them for their knowledge, skill and ability. They do not just want someone telling them what they need to do.

    4. Employees want to try something by themselves first

    Your employees want to learn on their own or at least be allowed to try something for themselves first. As discussed by Gartner, people are motivated when they feel valued and create an impact. The most productive employees do not have time for micromanagers. They are too busy smashing out tasks at lightning speed while thinking up creative solutions to problems.

    Of course, you will find those who will never change: the people who think it is fun (or funny) to prank call your office. There are those who think nothing of walking into work 15 minutes late every morning. There are workers who think it is acceptable behavior to skip meetings and leave early without letting anyone know why and others. These people need constant reminders about expectations set forth by management.

    Related: 3 Proven Ways to Keep Employees Happy

    5. Employees want to be able to ask questions

    Employees need to know that their questions are important. They need to know that it will not hurt their feelings if they ask for clarification or more information about something you have said or done. If you do not make people feel like their questions are welcome, they will stop asking and do what you tell them without understanding why.

    6. Employees want to know that you’re collaborating with them and not against them

    Employees want an environment where they can collaborate with their colleagues. This can be as straightforward as letting your team members know you appreciate their input. When employees feel like they are a part of the company, they will be more likely to take pride in their jobs and create innovative ways to solve problems.

    One study from Gallup found that employees who felt engaged were more productive than those who did not feel the engagement. Another study found that when managers recognize employees for their achievements, it indicates trust between the two parties.

    7. Employees need a clear idea of what success looks like

    You can only expect your employees to figure out how to achieve a goal if you provide them with a clear vision of success. If you want them to be motivated by the result, give them a picture of how they will feel when they reach it instead of just telling them what to do.

    This will help them stay motivated during challenging times and prevent burnout. You should also provide examples of people who have successfully achieved similar goals, so workers understand what you expect of them and how they might achieve those same results.

    8. Employees should have access to the job information

    Employees need access to the information they need to do their jobs, including knowing any specific project deadlines. If your staff can access the job instructions they need to complete their projects, they will know how much time and effort they should put into whatever task.

    Employees also need to know why they are doing something. This will help them understand how their actions affect customers, clients or other parts of your business. On the other side, employees might only sometimes be able to see that what they do affects other departments or divisions within a company. Access to the correct information can inspire them and give them a clear purpose in their role at work.

    Related: 6 Ways to Encourage Autonomy With Your Employees

    Your employees want you to trust them. It is no secret that if your employees feel like you trust them, they are happier with their job. A good strategy is to have weekly or monthly check-ins with them vs. hovering over everything they are doing. If they feel like you tell them what to do instead of trusting them with their decisions, they may not be happy with their jobs. That is because people are more motivated when they feel like they have some autonomy and control over their lives.

    [ad_2]

    Steve Taplin

    Source link

  • 3 Simple Ways to Show Your Employees You Care

    3 Simple Ways to Show Your Employees You Care

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Leadership is about more than just giving orders and making decisions. It’s about guiding and motivating your team to achieve common goals, and one of the most effective ways to motivate your employees is by showing them you care about them as individuals.

    I’ve seen this time and time again as the CEO of StoneAge. I recall several years ago when a key team member called to tell me he was considering leaving the company. “I received another job offer, Kerry, and I am considering taking it,” he told me tentatively. “I’ve got too much going on in my life, and this new role will keep me closer to home, which I need right now.” Instead of getting upset, I asked him about the offer and what drove him to consider looking outside the company for a new job.

    Soon, it was clear that he didn’t really want to leave; he just needed some time to get his life in order. So, we agreed that he would take a month-long sabbatical to focus on his family and personal life. He came back refreshed, focused and committed. Last week, he and I talked about his sabbatical and its impact on his life. He said, “Kerry, I will go to the ends of the Earth with you and StoneAge. Thank you for caring about my well-being. I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else.”

    Related: 4 Ways Employers Should Show Their Employees They Care

    Ways to show your employees you care

    Who doesn’t want to hear these kinds of statements from their employees? A leader can do nothing more impactful than inspire their team members to live their very best lives. Here are some things you can do today to show your team you care about them:

    1. Offer opportunities for personal and professional development: This can include training programs, mentorship programs or opportunities to take on new responsibilities. Or it can come in the form of taking time off, such as in the example I shared above.

    2. Provide a supportive and inclusive work environment: At StoneAge, we promote a culture of open communication, provide resources and support for work-life balance and build a sense of belonging by creating opportunities to share personal stories and experiences that help us connect with one another.

    3. Recognize and reward employees for their contributions: “I get all the recognition I need!” said no one ever. Don’t underestimate the powers of recognition and acknowledgment. You can create formal programs like employee of the month or peer recognition systems that allow teammates to recognize each other. You can also create less formal methods like regularly thanking employees for their hard work and achievements. I make sure to acknowledge a job well done by each of my direct reports weekly.

    Related: Show Employees You Care About Their Well-Being. Here are 5 Ways.

    Why it matters

    Showing you care about your employees matters. According to a Gallup survey, those who feel their manager cares about them are twice as likely to engage at work. That’s a powerful statistic. Here are a few more reasons why leaders should make an effort to demonstrate their concern for their employees:

    • Improved morale: When employees feel valued and supported by their leaders, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work, leading to higher job satisfaction and overall happiness.

    • Increased productivity: When employees feel cared for and supported by their leaders, they are more likely to feel comfortable asking for help and advice, leading to more effective problem-solving and higher productivity levels.

    • Greater retention: Employees who feel valued by their leaders are more likely to stay with their company long-term, saving the company the time and resources required to continuously hire and train new employees.

    • Enhanced reputation: Companies known for treating their employees well tend to have a positive reputation in the community and the industry, leading to better recruitment and retention of top talent.

    Demonstrating that you care about your employees builds trust and fosters a positive work culture. By showing your employees that you value them, you can create a more productive and enjoyable work environment for everyone. You can inspire your employees to say, “Why would I work anywhere else?”

    [ad_2]

    Kerry Siggins

    Source link

  • 7 Ways to Retain Employees

    7 Ways to Retain Employees

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Employees are the backbone of any successful business. Replacing an employee can be a painful experience, especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs that have small teams. Employee turnover can result in the loss of valuable knowledge and expertise, damage customer relationships and cost thousands of dollars to find and train a replacement. The cost to hire and train a single mid-level manager is nearly $30,000. Each year, employee turnover costs U.S. businesses about $1 trillion. Here are some ways businesses can reduce turnover rates and improve employee retention.

    1. Start with compensation and benefits

    Employees expect to be compensated well for the work they perform. Companies that fail to remain competitive will struggle to retain their top talent. Although wages and bonuses are important factors in compensation, businesses should also explore opportunities to enhance other forms of compensation such as health insurance, life insurance, vacation policies and 401k contributions. Even non-monetary perks such as having an on-site gym or time off for volunteer activities can boost employee satisfaction and retention.

    Related Article: 7 Tips for Making Quality Business Decisions

    2. Employee recognition and praise

    Employees want to be recognized for their contributions. Business owners should take the time to reward and recognize the members of their team who are bringing their best. Different forms of recognition are effective, from sending a personalized note thanking them for their work on a special project or giving a gift card for helping another department. Public praise can also be effective such as giving out awards during a company meeting.

    3. Provide career development opportunities

    Career development is a critical part of employee retention. Employees who consistently feel challenged will be more likely to stay with a company. Find ways to give your top performers stretch assignments and promotions. Training such as educational courses and mentorship programs can provide an opportunity to enhance your existing staff while preparing them for their next opportunity.

    Related: This Is How to Boost Employee Retention With Lifelong Learning

    4. Provide the right resources and tools

    Employers are responsible for making sure that their employees have everything they need to be successful in their jobs. Skimping on these resources can leave employees feeling underappreciated, burned out and frustrated. Resources come in many forms, from hiring the appropriate number of employees to support the work to updating technology and improving processes.

    5. Promote healthy work-life balance

    Work-life balance is extremely important to most employees and can impact turnover. According to the Pew Research Center, 45% of employees left their jobs because of not enough flexibility in their work schedule, and 39% left because they were working too many hours. Giving employees the ability to balance work and their home lives reduces stress and allows them to take care of personal issues that would otherwise distract them from their work.

    Businesses can help support healthier work-life balance by permitting employees to work remotely (either full-time or part-time), create flexible work schedules and have more sick or personal time available.

    Related Article: How to Regain Work-Life Balance

    6. Hire the right people the first time

    Although this might seem like common sense, this is easier said than done. Rapid changes in the economy and workforce can leave companies desperate to fill open positions. It might be tempting to just hire any halfway qualified candidate. Unfortunately, this can increase turnover for both new and existing employees. New employees may leave quickly when they aren’t able to keep up with the demands of the job. Existing employees may also become burned out from constantly training new hires over and over.

    Instead, try to hold out for the best possible candidate for your open position. Also, being clear about expectations upfront can help reduce the number of employees who accept the position only to quit shortly after because the job wasn’t what they were expecting.

    Related Article: How Entrepreneurs Can Find Great Talent Despite a Labor Shortage

    7. Get feedback from your team

    Employees leave companies for a wide variety of reasons. One of the best ways to reduce turnover is by getting feedback directly from employees on how they feel about working for the company. Too many companies gather this type of information in exit interviews. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help because the employee has already chosen to leave. Instead, conduct stay interviews with top performers to find out what would keep them from looking outside the company for new opportunities. Anonymous employee satisfaction surveys can also provide a wealth of information to help business owners make retention decisions.

    [ad_2]

    Nicholas Leighton

    Source link

  • How to Attract and Retain Employees in the New Age of Work

    How to Attract and Retain Employees in the New Age of Work

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You’ve undoubtedly heard about the so-called “anti-work” movement if you’re a business owner or entrepreneur. According to a slew of media outlets, nobody wants to work anymore. Even worse, those businesses that can find people to hire have trouble retaining talent amid outrageous demands, quiet quitting, and worse.

    Indeed, there is a growing rift between employers and employees. But if you look closely, it’s nothing new nor indicative of some “anti-work” movement. The idea of business owners lamenting “no one wants to work anymore” is so old you could likely find it carved on the pyramids.

    The truth is this: workers have more options than ever before. If you, as an employer, are not making your business a desirable workplace, you’ll need help attracting and retaining employees. You might recognize this as less of a “crisis of work ethic” and more of a failure of employers to keep up with changing needs.

    Related: Happy Employees Create Happy Customers

    Attraction starts with finding out what employees want

    If you own a business, you should have at least some knowledge of basic capitalism. If so, you might recognize that the entire system relies on choice. Your clients choose your products and not your competitors’ because you incentivize them in some way. Well, the same is true of employees. As with your customers, you need to find out what employees want — and what they want changes over time.

    Unfortunately, many “old school” employers are too inflexible to consider this. To them, the mere offering of a job should be enough to inspire not only action but loyalty. But that doesn’t work in a world where employees can merely join the app-based gig economy (Fiverr, DoorDash, Lyft) if they don’t like their current job. Sure, the pay is variable, and the benefits are nonexistent, but such jobs offer flexibility, which is in high demand among modern workers.

    So if you want to figure out what employees want, that’s your first stop. According to this Pew Research Study, most workers who quit their jobs cite low pay, few opportunities for advancement and a general feeling of being “disrespected” as reasons for leaving. Other reasons included “not enough flexibility” and “too many” or “too few” hours.

    You might recognize these as perfectly valid reasons to leave a job. While the media may make it seem like all employees are demanding to work from home, get free childcare or have an on-site brewery, today’s employees want what employees have always wanted. They want to be paid fairly, treated well and have a chance to climb the ladder.

    Related: Improve Employee Retention By Taking a People-First Approach

    Retention is about finding the “them” in the team

    Every year, magazines put out their list of “Best Companies to Work For.” But rather than cite the companies with trampolines in their meeting rooms and corporate retreats to Bali, the top-ranked positions are typically occupied by companies that treat their employees respectfully and pay attention to their needs.

    The standout criteria for why employees loved working for top companies were as follows:

    • 98% — I can take time off from work when I think it’s necessary.
    • 98% — When you join the company, you are made to feel welcome.
    • 97% — Management is honest and ethical in its business practices.
    • 97% — I’m proud to tell others I work here.
    • 97% — People care about each other here.

    Every single item on that list is personal. It’s something that the company provides its employees, either literally or emotionally. There’s nothing about “sky-high salaries” or “office perks,” just references to how working at the company makes them feel.

    Of course, most employers already know this but either choose to forget it or prefer to imagine the problem as a lack of work ethic. The truth is that attracting and retaining employees comes down to treating them like part of the team from day one. It’s about making them feel important and valued. The companies that top that “Best Places to Work” list see their employees as assets, not indentured servants who should feel lucky to have a job.

    Returning to the discussion about what employees want, it’s crucial to consider the “upward mobility” factor. Many employers lose perfectly good, perfectly happy employees because they don’t have a chance for advancement. With nowhere to grow in their current job, the employees have no choice but to look elsewhere.

    That’s why it’s so important to provide a “light at the end of the tunnel.” Educate your team members so that they can move up the ladder. Moreover, reward them financially when they do. And if your business isn’t big enough to provide them a place to go, invest in them anyway so they can continue their career elsewhere.

    Related: Google’s CEO Is Asking Employees 3 Simple Questions to Boost Productivity

    Employers need to be more than just “job givers”

    In the end, attracting and retaining employees is about making them feel like they’re a part of something greater than just a 9-5 job. Of course, there are dozens — perhaps hundreds — of ways to do this.

    Some of the best strategies include making custom plans for each employee’s future and following through when they fulfill their side of the agreement. You might view their job as an opportunity for you to help them rather than for them to help you. You might learn to welcome feedback, avoid micromanagement and recognize and reward outstanding performances.

    Despite what some news outlets say, there is no “anti-work” movement. If anything, hiring and retaining talent issues result from employers failing to recognize what potential employees want or provide what they promise. As with the last 100+ years, all it takes to get good employees is to stop treating them like a number and treat them like valuable team members.

    [ad_2]

    Larry Jones

    Source link

  • Offering This Benefit Can Help You Attract and Retain Key Talent — But Here’s What You Should Know First

    Offering This Benefit Can Help You Attract and Retain Key Talent — But Here’s What You Should Know First

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    A nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan is a great way for employers to attract and retain key talent. It also represents a potentially massive tax savings opportunity for highly compensated employees. There is a lot that you need to know about these plans before deciding to participate in one, however. So, let’s get into the basics.

    A nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan allows employees to earn their pay, potential bonuses and other forms of compensation in one year but receive those earnings in a future year. This also defers the income tax on the compensation. It helps provide income for the future, and there’s a possibility for a reduced amount of income tax payable if the employee is in a lower tax bracket at the time of the deferred payment.

    It’s worth noting that tax law requires these NQDC plans to be in writing. There needs to be documentation about the amount being paid, the payment schedule and what the future triggering event will be for compensation to be paid out. There also needs to be an assertion from the employee of their intent to defer the compensation beyond the year.

    Related: Is Your Business Approaching 409A Valuations the Right Way?

    Retirement planning

    A NQDC plan is a contractual fringe benefit often included as part of an overall compensation package for key executives. It can serve as an important supplement to traditional retirement savings tools, such as individual retirement accounts — IRA and 401(k) plans.

    Like a 401(k), you can defer compensation into the plan, defer taxes on any earnings until you make withdrawals in the future and designate beneficiaries. Unlike a 401(k) plan or traditional IRA, there are no contribution limits for an NQDC — although your employer can set its own limits. Therefore, you can potentially defer up to all your annual bonuses to supplement your retirement. We have seen companies allow you to defer as much as 25-50% of your base salary as well.

    Employers: Take note

    NQDC plans carry some benefits for employers as well. The plans are a low-cost endeavor. After initial legal and accounting fees, there are no annual payments required. There are no unnecessary filings with government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service.

    Since the plans are not qualified, they are not covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This provides a greater amount of flexibility for both employers and employees. Employers can offer NQDC plans to select executives and employees who would benefit the most from them.

    Companies can customize plans toward valued members of their workforce, creating incentives for these employees to remain with the company. For example, an employee’s deferred benefits could be rendered forfeit if said employee decides to leave the company before retirement. We call this strategy a “golden handcuffs” approach.

    Related: Why Good Employees Leave — and What You Can do About It

    Employees: Take note

    For highly compensated employees, social security and 401(k) can only replace so much of your income in retirement. You could potentially build up the bulk of your retirement savings with your NQDC plan. There’s also the bonus of reducing your annual taxable income by deferring your compensation. This brings into play the idea of being in a lower tax bracket, decreasing the amount of taxes you would need to pay. Many employers even incentivize this, offering a match of some kind.

    Timing of payment

    The timing of when you take NQDC distributions is important since you’ll need to project your potential cash flow needs and tax liabilities far into the future.

    Deferred compensation plans require you to make an upfront election of when you will receive the funds. For example, you might time the payments to come at retirement or when a child is entering college. In addition, the funds could come all at once or in a series of payments. There is tremendous flexibility often in these plans.

    Taking a lump-sum payment gives you immediate access to your money upon the distributable event (often retirement or separation of service). While you will be free to invest or spend the money as you wish, you will owe regular income taxes on the entire lump sum and lose the benefit of tax-deferred compounding. If you elect to take the money in installments, the remainder can continue to grow tax-deferred, and you’ll spread out your tax bill over several years.

    Related: Best Retirement Plans – Broken Down By Rankings

    Risks

    An NQDC plan does come with some risks. When you participate in a qualified plan, your assets are segregated from company assets, and 100% of your contributions belong to you. Because a Section 409A plan is nonqualified, your assets are tied to your employer’s general assets. In case of bankruptcy, employees with deferrals become unsecured creditors of the company and must line up behind secured creditors in the hopes of getting paid.

    Thus, you should consider how much of your wealth — including salary, bonus, stock options and restricted stock — is already tied to the future health and success of one company. Adding deferred compensation exposure may cause you to take on more risk than is appropriate for your personal situation.

    Before you choose to participate in an NQDC plan, you should speak with both your financial advisor and your tax professional. You really want to model out how and when you will receive these disbursements. Ideally, you are planning with enough foresight that you will offset this income tax event in retirement with withdrawals from a brokerage account or a Roth IRA or 401(k). You will also want to pay attention to the impact of high income with the taxation of Medicare Part B — if you think there are a lot of moving parts here, you are right! When executed properly, you can truly develop a unique plan that is customized to your exact living situation and future goals.

    Any discussion of taxes is for general informational purposes only, does not purport to be complete or cover every situation, and should not be construed as legal, tax or accounting advice. Clients should confer with their qualified legal, tax and accounting advisors as appropriate.

    [ad_2]

    Chris Kampitsis

    Source link

  • Innovation Refunds’ CEO Howard Makler Discusses How Businesses Can Protect Themselves From Bad Players in the Employee Retention Credit Industry

    Innovation Refunds’ CEO Howard Makler Discusses How Businesses Can Protect Themselves From Bad Players in the Employee Retention Credit Industry

    [ad_1]

    Many businesses are entitled to the Employee Retention Credit created under the CARES Act, and Innovation Refunds is encouraging them to learn more about the process to get the most out of their refund and avoid engaging with any bad actors in the space.

    Press Release
    –

    Dec 13, 2022


    DES MOINES, Iowa, December 13, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    While Innovation Refunds and other turnkey tax solution providers have been helping thousands of businesses secure life-changing ERCs (Employee Retention Credits) over the past two years, other players within the space have emerged with less than honorable intentions. According to Innovation Refunds CEO Howard Makler, several ERC mills have been taking advantage of small, vulnerable companies by charging exorbitant fees for ERC verifications and by taking huge percentages of the credit funding upon its approval and issuing. 

    Congress launched the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) program under the CARES Act in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. The program encourages businesses to keep employees on their payroll by providing refundable tax credits that cover 50% of wages paid by an eligible employer, up to $10,000. Certain companies have qualified for payroll tax refunds of up to $26,000 per employee, even if they have received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.

    The rules and regulations tied to ERC tax credits have been revised multiple times under the CARES Act. This has led to constant confusion among business owners regarding the program’s eligibility requirements. As a result, a litany of ERC companies have surfaced to meet the demand for specialized assistance with the verification and application processes. Often, these firms only manage ERC tax refunds and are always up to date with the latest regulations. 

    However, per Makler, there are a few key indicators that business owners can use to differentiate real ERC companies from the bad players. By arming themselves with this knowledge, business owners and executives can avoid engaging with corrupt organizations altogether. 

    Makler noted how the first red flag small businesses should be wary of is any mention of an ERC verification or qualification fee. The verification process itself should have no associated costs whatsoever. 

    “The Innovation Refunds team has conducted hundreds of verification checks since the launch of the ERC program, never once having charged a small business for said service. Innovation Refunds and other legitimate ERC companies only request payment from small businesses after they have received their tax credit returns,” said Makler. 

    Makler went on to advise small businesses to do their research when it comes to evaluating ERC-focused firms. Evaluating whether an ERC business has any partnerships in place is critical to determining its level of credibility.  

    “Testimonials and a proven track record are essential,” said Makler.” “We have helped over 60 community banks educate their clients on ERC, most of which could speak to the value we have brought them through our services and support.” 

    Ultimately, Makler and the Innovation Refunds team want small businesses to acknowledge the existence of the malicious actors within the space while still making the effort to seek the tax return credits they need and deserve. 

    “Navigating the ever-changing and confusing world of ERC can be challenging, but conducting quality research into the firms that are supposed to be helping you secure your tax return credit can be the difference between receiving critical support from the government and losing out big time,” said Makler.  

    As quarterly rollbacks begin to limit ERC claims in the coming months, the Innovation Refunds team aims to serve as a voice of education. Please visit https://www.innovationrefunds.com/ for more information. 

    About Innovation Refunds

    Our mission is to assist small and medium-sized businesses to attain cash incentives from federal and state governments.

    Innovation Refunds began providing its services in 2020. Since then, it has been able to provide financial solutions to thousands of companies, with billions in cash refunds available for small and medium-sized businesses.

    To learn more, visit www.innovationrefunds.com. 

    Source: Innovation Refunds

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The Best Employees Want More Than Just Money. Here Are 6 Ways to Attract Them.

    The Best Employees Want More Than Just Money. Here Are 6 Ways to Attract Them.

    [ad_1]

    Black Friday Subscription Sale – Unlock this subscriber exclusive article and more for 50% off today.

    Access all Entrepreneur content with no ads, unlock discounts, and get exclusive advice only available to our subscribers. Plus, our magazine delivered straight to your door.

    Get 50% off an annual subscription today. Just use code SAVE50 at checkout.

    [ad_2]

    Entrepreneur Staff

    Source link

  • 3 Difficult Personalities That Are Great Hires

    3 Difficult Personalities That Are Great Hires

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The concept of personality types, temperaments and working styles has been foundational in organizational behavior for years. As entrepreneurs or managers, we frequently assess personality to determine ideal team composition and workflows. While toxic personalities certainly exist, many others that seem difficult can offer severe advantages to start-up organizations. Oppositionality, non-conformity, perfectionism and the fickleness that often accompanies abstract thinking should not be deal-breaking traits.

    As a founder, I tend to have strong opinions about the working styles and personalities of those I consider creative, resourceful and hard-working people. At the same time, certain characters tend to clash within small teams, creating a challenging work environment. However, hiring managers can quickly write off people who are “difficult” as toxic — which can cost a startup its competitive edge. I, for one, appreciate the contributions that seemingly “difficult” people make. Here are three challenging personalities that frequently make great hires and give startup teams the edge they wouldn’t have without them.

    Related: Smart Advice for Networking With These 4 Personality Types

    1. Demanding yet artistically brilliant

    Just about any founder or CEO would appreciate a genius as part of their team, yet these rare outside-the-box thinkers can be notoriously difficult employees. They can be prickly, fiercely individualistic, anti-team players and have fragile personal lives.

    At my former design retail business, a set stylist we worked with fit the bill perfectly. Not only did he demand twice the market rate, but he also wanted my constant attention and would not allow anyone else on the team to address his concerns. That said, he successfully delivered the most beautiful sets in the most unlikely and underwhelming locations: he could turn a cave into a castle for the camera.

    In today’s ultra-competitive consumer product market, where hundreds of versions of every item are available, the differentiation of brilliant design can make or break your brand.

    Despite the obstacles, hiring a category-defying genius paid off for us. The key is to manage these individuals with empathy, awareness and appreciation for their unique contributions — while still setting the requisite boundaries for your sanity. Set your expectations that these hires will be individual contributors — not necessarily team players — and budget your time accordingly.

    Related: Are You Asking for Employee Feedback? If Not, Good Luck With Retention.

    2. Absent-minded abstract thinker

    For rational, linear thinkers who prioritize planning and organization, absent-mindedness can drive you crazy. Yet the same mental process that leads to fickleness can fuel fresh ideas and uncharted solutions.

    According to a study published in Psychological Science, mind-wandering spurs what neuroscientists call “creative incubation,” allowing a disjointed train of thought to make unlikely and uncommon connections that yield unique and creative solutions.

    Although one of the most inspired web developers I worked with often didn’t know what day of the week it was or where to find the printer he used every day, he figured out how to fashion a basic Shopify ecommerce system to deliver a fully custom site with sophisticated and unique UX features, flexible navigation and a robust backend–the likes of which even enterprise-level systems don’t often offer.

    The key to working with these absent-minded gems is to pair them with a colleague who can provide extra operational support.

    3. Problem-finding contrarian

    While working with someone forever finding problems can be discouraging and morale-crushing, a team that enthusiastically supports an unrealistic product idea is headed for failure. The right balance is hiring that smart contrarian: “Someone who looks for business practices that don’t make sense, who’s not too reliant on a small group of like-minded people, who can embrace diversity, and who’s happier on the sidelines.”

    A founder I mentored shared with me that she only hired people who showed extreme enthusiasm for her product — a scheduling app. She wanted to avoid negativity. As a result, no one on her team paused the beta launch to address a known glitch, and her app experienced a significant feature failure.

    Having that smart contrarian to call out real concerns at the right time, even if it’s not the popular or politically correct move, can help ensure problems are addressed before too many resources are invested, or larger issues ensue. While contrarians can be frustrating, they spot critical gaps others might fear speaking out about. To work effectively with contrarian personalities, practice prioritizing their observations and be prepared to translate unsolicited criticism into better ideas and more innovative solutions.

    Related: 5 Ways to Make Your Company’s Hiring Process More Fair

    The final decision

    Ultimately, you’ll need to weigh the costs and benefits of working with challenging personalities in your organization. While many demand special accommodation, buffering and hand-holding, I have found that their contributions are worth the investment.

    [ad_2]

    Marina Glazman

    Source link

  • Innovation Refunds Educates Banks on Verifying Clients for Employee Retention Credit

    Innovation Refunds Educates Banks on Verifying Clients for Employee Retention Credit

    [ad_1]

    The company aims to help banks become advisors for their clients, so they can take advantage of the payroll tax credit.

    Press Release
    –

    Nov 21, 2022 07:00 CST


    DES MOINES, Iowa, November 21, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) can provide a critical payroll tax refund for businesses.  Innovation Refunds, an industry leader in turnkey tax solutions, is advising banks on how they can assist their clients in qualifying for the tax credit.

    Innovation Refunds recently attended the American Bankers Association annual convention,  providing banks with guidance on how they help their clients with ERC. Just as banks educated and connected clients with the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, they now can play a similar role with the ERC.

    Qualifying for the ERC could make or break a business in today’s economy. With the ERC, companies are eligible for a payroll tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee, even if they have received PPP funds. The average refund is over $400K through Innovation Refund’s bank partners. 

    Innovation Refunds, which does not charge any upfront costs when verifying businesses for ERC, has now empowered more than 60 community banks in helping their clients receive payroll refund money. The company specializes solely in ERC, which enables its team members to be experts on the most up-to-date changes in rules and regulations.

    “Banks can play a critical role by being an advisor to clients and educating them about the availability of the ERC to ensure the money gets back into the hands of small and middle-sized businesses that were impacted by the pandemic,” said Howard Makler, CEO of Innovation Refunds.

    Innovation Refunds assists banks in developing marketing campaigns around the ERC to spread awareness to banks’ small and medium-sized business clients on what they can do to apply for the ERC. This is achieved through a comprehensive strategy that includes social posts, email playbooks, direct mailers, email blasts, text messages, and other tactical channels. All of these assets are customized to each bank’s branding.

    “The ability to receive ERC funds will expire gradually by late 2024, so time is of the essence to offer this critical education,” Makler said. “Innovation Refunds wants to be the marketing engine that offers a turnkey solution to help banks send this message to their business clients and make it easy for them to spread the word.”

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) anticipates that 70-80% of businesses are good candidates for the ERC. Qualifying for the payroll tax refund can be a game-changer for a company that has been impacted by the pandemic, and Innovation Refunds is a valuable resource in helping them avoid leaving money on the table. 

    To partner with Innovation Refunds, email bankpartner@innovationrefunds.com. To learn more, visit www.innovationrefunds.com.

    About Innovation Refunds
    Our mission is to assist small and medium-sized businesses to attain cash incentives from federal and state governments. Innovation Refunds began providing its services in 2020. Since then, it has been able to provide financial solutions to thousands of companies, with billions in cash refunds available for small and medium-sized businesses. To learn more, visit www.innovationrefunds.com.

    Source: Innovation Refunds

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 3 Easy Ways to Improve Your Software Developers’ Efficiency

    3 Easy Ways to Improve Your Software Developers’ Efficiency

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    I’ve observed an odd trend in company board meetings. Marketing and sales vice presidents will come in with charts, reports and finely-tuned data. The CFO will fire up a dashboard detailing every penny of revenue and expense. The HR chief will share hiring metrics down to the last employee. But when it comes to engineering, the lifeblood of any modern company, there’s little data — just a vague sense of what’s working and what’s not.

    The reality is that engineering efficiency and developer experience remain a black box, even at some of the most tech-forward organizations. And inside that box lurk inefficiencies on an enormous scale.

    I’ve heard of big banks that employ tens of thousands of developers who are operating at 30% efficiency because of bloated processes and unnecessary toil. This is more than a waste of resources. Frustrated developers quit. Company payroll sags under the weight of extra salaries needed to compensate for inefficiencies. Customers are stuck waiting on deliverables. Considering the global impact on productivity and output, this is easily a trillion-dollar problem.

    The good news is there are simple, concrete ways to prioritize developer experience (DX) and engineering efficiency. I’ve seen the transformative benefits of improving DX as a developer, founder and CEO of three high-growth tech companies. Here’s what every CEO should know:

    Related: Use These 4 Tips to Attract and Retain Software Developers

    The true cost of poor DX

    Any company dependent on software development should be obsessed with optimizing developers’ work experience. Research shows most software engineers spend more than half their workday performing tedious, repetitive tasks. No engineer wants to spend hours troubleshooting an issue that could be detected by automation or wait weeks for approvals from other teams. Yes, they can (and do) move on to other projects, but context switching increases drag and the likelihood of errors. It’s also a stressful way to work.

    A frustrating work environment leads to heavy turnover, which is costly at any time, but particularly now when demand for great developers far outstrips supply. In the U.S., there are around 162,900 open positions for software developers and related occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As word travels about a company’s DX failures, recruiting becomes difficult, creating a downward spiral.

    All of this translates to the bottom line, with developers earning a median salary of more than $120,000, leaving them idle amounts to burning money. Worse, inefficient engineering inevitably slows product development. Companies in competitive industries like banking, retail or healthcare that can’t figure out DX will lose customers to competitors able to launch apps, updates and new products quickly.

    The silver lining is that since most companies are new to DX, a few simple improvements can yield substantial benefits. Here are three practical ways to improve your developers’ efficiency:

    Related: The Future of Software Development in 2022 and Beyond

    1. Make it someone’s job

    It could be a Developer Experience Officer (DXO), lead engineer or rotating team, but you need someone to own DX inside your company. Here at Harness, we have a Tiger Team that analyzes inefficiencies and recommends solutions. Here’s a recent example: The team learned that our code base was too large for developers to test changes on their laptops, which turned a two-minute test into a 40-minute excursion to use a sufficiently robust computer. Once they identified the problem, the fix was straightforward: Reduce the number of microservices needed on developers’ laptops so they could use their own computers to test the code.

    2. Gather data, and put it to use

    It’s pretty ironic that engineering — of all departments — suffers from a lack of quantitative operational data. Most companies know more about sales team productivity than the engineering teams at the heart of their work. You can’t fix what you haven’t measured, so start by gathering hard numbers. Some useful metrics include the number of automated processes in your developer workflow, how much work a developer can complete within a certain timeframe and the lead time between a project’s beginning and delivery.

    Then, there are qualitative insights. Most companies rely on feedback from customer and employee experience surveys to make sure they are on target, but there’s no equivalent for developers — and that’s a huge oversight. Use surveys to gather qualitative data from engineers, and pinpoint bottlenecks and deficiencies to resolve. DX measurements can include metrics like how easy it is to locate the information, tools or systems they need to do their work.

    3. Remove needless barriers

    Barriers faced by developers can be cultural or technological. Endemic to many large companies is a culture of micromanagement and excessive oversight. For developers, that means wasting time waiting for someone to greenlight incremental progress. Instead, establish high-level guardrails around cost, security and quality, and give engineers free rein within those parameters. The streamlined process will boost creativity and productivity and increase developers’ job satisfaction.

    This goes hand in hand with upgrading developers’ own tech toolkits. Too many are stuck using dated and manual tools and processes or hacking their own fixes. That’s why I’ve worked to build solutions using automation and AI to enable users to build, test, deploy and verify on-demand. For example, if a developer is working on a feature, merging it into the main code can require thousands of tests, which could take hours to run. But using intelligent automation, the same process might take 20 minutes. There are even automations that allow you to programmatically define your guardrails and automate approvals when a project meets the specifications.

    Related: How AI Will Transform Software Development

    Ultimately, improving developer experience can’t be a one-time event. It takes ongoing attention and iteration to gather relevant data, remove blockers and increase productivity and job satisfaction. Yet improvement is well within reach, and the potential return is far too great to ignore.

    I dream that I’ll soon walk into a boardroom and see a developer productivity dashboard as comprehensive as any other department’s. We have the tools and data to unlock productivity, morale, efficiency, customer satisfaction and innovation gains. It’s time to free developers from toil so they can do the work they love.

    [ad_2]

    Jyoti Bansal

    Source link

  • How to Solve Quiet Quitting Without Shaming Employees

    How to Solve Quiet Quitting Without Shaming Employees

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You have probably heard of quiet quitting. If you haven’t, it’s simple: An employee continues to do their job — there’s no actual quitting involved — but they disengage. They don’t give 110%. They don’t even give 100%. Their heart is no longer in their work (if it ever was). And so, they don’t sit up, they slouch. They do only what they must.

    What do we do, then, to address this? Clean house? Fire the quiet quitters and strike fear in all who are left? Install spyware on their work computers that monitors all that they do? Many will offer that kind of advice. They’ll give hard-nosed guidance for how to get 110% from our people — which is both unreasonable and logically impossible. That path is a dead end.

    By taking a long, hard look at how we do things and acting on the faults we see there, we can solve the problem of quiet quitters once and for all.

    Related: 8 Ways to Avoid Your Employees Quiet Quitting on You

    Where did quiet quitting come from?

    Word of quiet quitting has spread via social media, LinkedIn in particular, and much has been written about it since then. Many erroneously see remote and hybrid work as catalysts. Workers aren’t saying “hello” at their coworkers’ glamorous cubicles; they’re not getting in-the-flesh visits from immediate supervisors and pats on the back from well-compensated executives. They’re on longer leashes than before, and now this disaster — a quiet, but rampant innovation-killer — has struck.

    On that point, I am skeptical. Time spent in the confines of the office does not equal greater productivity, creativity or innovation. Let’s admit it: Too much of traditional office time consists of long lunches, sharing company rumors, zoning out at a desk and fretting over the next visit to the corner office.

    Quiet quitting did not start with remote work and its lack of supervision. It’s only that people are talking about it now. If anything, that is what is new about all of this: We’re finally opening up about something we couldn’t discuss at work for many years, lest we get overheard.

    Why are people really quiet quitting?

    Let’s try talking with a random employee in our organization. Ask a few questions, like, “Could you describe your company’s strategy?” “What are your organization’s current goals and KPIs, and how you are contributing toward them?” “When was the last time you were given an honest update on how the company is doing overall?”

    If we get clear, accurate, unhesitating responses, then congratulations. We don’t likely have an opaque culture that stimulates quiet quitting, and it’s likely because we’re among those who have taken the right steps to ensure our people are fully engaged — not only with their own duties but with the company as a whole.

    Quiet quitting results from not doing what it takes to ensure employees can answer questions like those above. From the jump, quiet quitters were probably never truly engaged with the company or organization they work for. They don’t have a voice, don’t feel essential and don’t know why what they do matters. They’re acting in a way that seems right.

    Quiet quitting is not a disease. It’s a symptom of a disease, and the cure does not lie in shaming quiet quitters or pulling them back to the office so they can quietly quit under our noses without mentioning it again. If forced, once they’re back in the building, employees will start looking for the exits in favor of finding another job where they can be free and make their own choices, like the adults they are.

    All of us, managers and leaders, should look in the mirror, take stock of how we do things, and see what wrinkles we can iron out. Let’s find where we’re losing the people we’ve hired and see what we can do to correct that. Here are five things to consider.

    Related: Quiet Quitting Is Taking Over the Workforce. Here’s How to Fix It.

    1. Start at the very beginning

    What does it look like when we bring a new employee into the fold? What are they told about their place in the organization? How aware are they, not just of what’s expected of them and how they can best perform their duties, but of the long-term or even short-term goals of the company as a whole?

    Most of us have visions for our companies, not to mention metrics that we’re striving for. But when have we communicated that to the people who are there to help us achieve it?

    2. Put the big picture on display

    What do we do on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis to promote a real sense of psychological safety, openness and belonging among our employees? How do we keep them informed about the company’s long-term goals so they don’t get lost in the bureaucracy and day-to-day tasks?

    If we have quiet quitters working for us, the answer to those questions is likely “Geez, I don’t know,” “Nothing” or something similar. Or the things we’ve been doing are not quite enough, and it’s time for a reevaluation.

    3. Stop talking. Start listening.

    Leaders don’t have a monopoly on vision. We can learn a lot from the people we’ve hired — surely that’s part of why we hired them in the first place. Perhaps it’s time for genuine connection, where we listen, rather than talk, and we see what they have to say, rather than tell them what we think.

    Let’s not ask, “How happy are you with your job?” Let’s be real. No one who’s unhappy at work will risk losing a job by saying so to the boss. Instead, let’s ask where an employee thinks the company is headed. Ask for one thing they would change about the job, and see what we can do about the bureaucracy, dysfunction and inefficiencies that your “quit quitters” are surely noticing.

    4. When all else fails, let go

    It’s true: Sometimes it’s time for quiet quitters to quit less quietly, and the best thing is to part ways. Sometimes it is not about what we’re doing wrong or not doing at all, and we must cut ties. There is nothing shameful about that.

    It could be that we hired the right person, but they’re not in the best place to do their best. Going separate ways is for the better. We can also pay the disengaged people to quit. It’s been done before, with good results for everyone. But if we do this, it’s important to engage the rest of the workforce to make sure we’re doing more than weeding out the ranks seasonally.

    5. Take a look in the mirror

    Too many commentators write and talk about quiet quitting without considering the root cause of the problem. Too often the attitude toward them is shaming and punitive.

    But it’s not about the people who work for us. It’s about us and what we have done or not done to ensure our organization behaves like a well-oiled startup.

    Innovation requires freedom, and being an employer of choice requires that we liberate our people to be themselves and do their best. We must accept that our employees are likely to have ideas on how to grow and streamline the organization that could be way better and more informed than ours.

    Related: Are You a Victim of Quiet Quitting? Look in the Mirror for Answers.

    People are quiet quitting because we aren’t being realistic and taking personal responsibility as leaders. We’re forgetting how to drive an engaged and transparent culture of innovation. And that is what we must understand if we’re to fix this problem.

    [ad_2]

    Alex Goryachev

    Source link

  • 3 Simple Ways to Keep Your Millennial Employees Engaged

    3 Simple Ways to Keep Your Millennial Employees Engaged

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    “I quit” are two words that could describe the mood of the workforce for the last few years. These words have been literally (or figuratively) uttered by many employees across industries and are dreaded by employers. Most people have not realized that many millennials have or will tender their resignations over the next several years. That’s because they are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force, making up more than one-third of the workforce, according to Pew Research Center. By the end of 2025, they will make up 75% of the global workforce.

    Millennials — like many other workers — are taking advantage of the employee-friendly job market and making employment changes all over the country. So, if you are not keeping millennial expectations in mind when creating your work environment, you will alienate most of the talent in the current and future job market.

    If you are shocked by the fact that the workforce is mostly millennials, you are not alone. However, by embracing this reality and making your company reflect it, you can ensure access to the largest sector of today’s candidate pool while retaining the millennial employees who currently work with you.

    Related: Here’s What Millennials Want from Their Jobs

    The changing impact of millennials in the workforce

    Over the last several years, millennials have left their mark on the workplace. Millennials have always demanded more work-life balance, flexible work schedules and better parental leave. When the pandemic hit, however, millennials’ priorities shifted overnight. Many workers were given remote work and flexible schedules. Suddenly, they could do a load of laundry, walk the dog or help with kids’ homework without leaving the “office” during the workday.

    At the same time, employers were truly engaging with the millennial workforce. Companies realized that millennials were not fresh out of college anymore. Instead, employers began to see millennials as working parents, freelancers, entrepreneurs and digital nomads.

    Millennial expectations changed, and the pandemic highlighted the new generational identity. For instance, where work-life balance used to mean less time working and more time hanging out with friends, it now meant having the time to jet off to stay in another state or hit the road in an RV with the family — while still being able to work each day. Millennials work to provide for themselves and their families and fuel their preferred lifestyles, not the other way around.

    Related: The Millennial Takeover: How the Generation is Shaking up the Workplace

    You can do several things to attract and retain millennial employees and keep them satisfied. Start by asking, “What do millennials want in a job?” A lot of these actions might be simple changes in company policy that can make a major difference. Here are some ways you can engage millennial workers, boost job satisfaction and ensure that they stick with your organization for the long term:

    1. Prioritize remote (or hybrid) work models

    Competitors that offer remote or hybrid work arrangements will be in much better positions to attract top talent than those that do not. Millennials care about working from home and have made it a priority in their job searches. Almost 85% of millennials said remote work was important in an Axios poll.

    At the very least, you could offer a hybrid model that extends work-from-home periods. After all, millennials still want the flexibility to achieve some kind of work-life balance and take care of other responsibilities during the day.

    Adding flexibility, such as remote work, is a great way to retain current employees as well. According to the ADP Research Institute, 64% of workers would look for a new job if they were asked to work from the office full-time. All it takes to avoid this risk is to evaluate remote working models and then make the shift when the timing is right. Be aware, though, that the time is now for millennial workers.

    Related: Hybrid, Remote Work or Flexible Hours? Know Your Team and What Motivates Them

    2. Offer flexible location options

    Millennial employees also want the freedom to move to other cities or states and keep their roles, due largely to the pandemic migration. According to a survey by Bankrate, more than a quarter of millennials relocated either permanently or for an extended period during the pandemic, compared to 16 percent of all adults. Millennials left big cities to be near friends and family, live in more affordable places and seize different career opportunities.

    Spotify met the moment and launched a “Work from Anywhere” program in February 2021, as well as flexible location options to accommodate employees who want to move. The company even offered to pay for co-working memberships for employees who relocate to an area that isn’t near a Spotify office and miss in-office work.

    3. Make the work matter

    When attracting and retaining millennial employees, your company can’t stop at remote work and flexible schedules. You should also help millennials find meaning in their roles. According to Gallup, millennials value specific aspects of the worker experience, including relationships with managers, role clarity, development opportunities and how their work affects their overall health and the well-being of others.

    Aligning with their values is critical. A Deloitte report found that almost 40% of millennials and Gen Zers rejected a job because it did not match their values. Workers who are happy with their employers’ environmental and societal impact and inclusive culture are more likely to stay with their companies for more than five years. In other words, if you can’t connect millennials with the company’s vision and mission, they will look elsewhere.

    At IES, we have all-staff quarterly update meetings where we review the company’s mission, vision and value statements. We’ve also asked employees to help create our mission, vision and values. Team members formed groups to help complete the mission statement and expand on our values to make them more meaningful and accessible to the whole team and build a greater connection to them.

    Related: 3 Smart Investments to Help You Retain Millennial Employees

    When recruiting and building your company culture, remember to prioritize millennials for your organization’s success. Although it’s important to accommodate non-millennials, your company will get left behind without thinking about this generational group. Once you determine what drives millennial workers and incorporate these elements into your culture, you will be better positioned to attract and retain skilled workers from a larger talent pool.

    [ad_2]

    Kara Hertzog

    Source link

  • How to Improve Employee Motivation to Increases Your Profits

    How to Improve Employee Motivation to Increases Your Profits

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Employee motivation is critical to any organization as it directly impacts its earnings. A motivated employee is a productive employee, and a productive employee is an asset to any organization. Employee motivation can be divided into three main categories: intrinsic, extrinsic, and intrinsic-extrinsic.

    Intrinsic motivation comes from within the employees and is based on their desires, needs and motivations. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside sources, such as rewards and punishments. Intrinsic-extrinsic motivation is when external rewards and punishments enhance the employee’s personal motivations.

    Motivation leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, which results in increased profits for the organization. It is therefore essential that organizations find ways to increase employee motivation. There are several ways to motivate employees, including financial incentives, positive reinforcement and opportunities for advancement. Below are some ways employee motivation increases an organization’s earnings.

    Related: Employee Motivation Has to Be More Than ‘a Pat on the Back’

    1. Increased employee commitment

    Employee motivation is one of the most important aspects of any organization. Motivation can increase employee commitment, which in turn can lead to increased revenue. When employees are motivated, they are more likely to put in their best efforts, which can result in better productivity and overall success for the company.

    Many companies understand the impact of motivation on commitment and use various means to increase employee motivation, but there are a few drawbacks. Firstly, motivation can be contagious, leading employees to be more committed to the company and produce more products. However, if the motivation is not sustainable, it can lead to burnout or a lack of enthusiasm.

    Related: 3 Strategies to Keep Employees Motivated In The Age of Burnout

    2. Increased profits

    The most effective way to motivate employees is to focus on the individual needs of each employee. Companies can create an environment that encourages employee productivity and motivation by understanding what motivates each employee. Businesses that focus on employee motivation see an increase in profits. Motivated employees are more productive and efficient, have lower absenteeism rates and are more likely to stay with a company for the long term.

    3. Reduced employee turnover

    Employee motivation has been shown to have a positive effect on both employee turnover and company revenue. In an Indeed.com study compiled from employee reviews, it was found that employees motivated by their job were less likely to leave their position, and companies with motivated employees had higher revenue levels. The study showed many ways to motivate employees, but the most effective way is through monetary and non-monetary rewards. While financial rewards are important, they are not the only way to motivate employees.

    4. Improved product quality

    Lack of employee motivation is the main reason for low productivity and business revenue. By fostering a sense of urgency, clarity and purpose among employees, employee motivation elevates product quality and revenue for the company. Employees are more likely to produce high-quality products and boost sales by being encouraged to work toward a common objective. As a result of increased effort due to increased motivation, the cost of producing a product decreases, increasing revenue for the company.

    5. Optimized training development

    Employee motivation optimizes training development and ensures that employees can positively contribute to the organization. Investing in employee development through training and education can lead to higher motivation levels and, as a result, increased productivity and profitability. It is important to note that employee motivation is not always about financial compensation. Research has shown that employees are motivated by various factors, including recognition, meaningful work and career growth opportunities.

    6. Improved customer satisfaction

    Employee motivation improves customer satisfaction and increases business revenue by creating a connection between an employee and their job. Employees who are satisfied with their work are more likely to provide top-notch customer service. Motivation also increases the likelihood of employees recommending their company to others. Happy employees also tend to be more productive and are less likely to leave their job. In turn, this leads to increased revenue for businesses.

    7. Constant employee development

    Motivation fosters employee development so that employees are constantly growing and learning to meet the company’s ever-changing demands. Motivation should encourage constant employee growth and development, not just periodic bursts of enthusiasm. Constant motivation helps employees stay engaged, leading to better work performance and a higher sense of job satisfaction.

    Sources of employee motivation

    Bonuses and other financial incentives

    Bonuses and other financial incentives are often used to motivate employees. Studies have shown that bonuses can improve employee motivation and productivity. Financial incentives can come from cash bonuses, stock options or profit sharing.

    Related: Reality Check: Not Everyone Deserves a Bonus

    Flexible working schedules

    Flexible working schedules can have a significant impact on employee motivation. In particular, employees who are allowed to work flexibly are often more motivated to work harder and contribute positively to the organization. There are several reasons for this, including that flexible working schedules often allow employees to balance their work and personal lives better. Additionally, flexible working schedules can give employees a greater sense of control over their work lives, leading to increased motivation.

    Improved working conditions

    New employees are often motivated by the potential for improved working conditions. Companies can increase employee satisfaction and motivation by providing a positive work environment. This can lead to increased productivity and a reduction in turnover. Improved working conditions can take many forms, including better equipment, up-to-date technology, safety gear and safety installations to prevent work accidents and related risks.

    [ad_2]

    Ferrat Destine

    Source link

  • 3 Strategies for Hiring Promotable Entry-Level Talent

    3 Strategies for Hiring Promotable Entry-Level Talent

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Beating a tough labor market is easier when you can promote from within. And the easiest way to have a promotable workforce is by setting up a pipeline of eager, entry-level workers.

    Companies that hire from within do better than those that focus on promoting outsiders. Case in point: A University of Massachusetts Global deep dive shows that internal hires cost about 18% less than their external counterparts. They require limited sourcing efforts, too, which can lead to more savings. But that doesn’t mean you can just pull from the rank and file and start filling positions. Being able to hire from within starts with a consistently replenished entry-level talent pool pipeline. If you’re not being strategic about bringing in high-performing, entry-level newcomers, you can’t get the benefits of internal hiring.

    A 2021 Joblist survey showed just how much of an advantage it could be to promote current employees when possible. Out of the 1,000 workers asked, nearly two-thirds said they’d rather be led by someone from within the company. Seven out of 10 felt the practice was important for their employer’s growth potential. More than 55% said it led to heightened morale and lowered training costs.

    LinkedIn’s 2020 Global Talent Trends report reflected similar findings. The report found a 41% uptick in how long workers stuck around at companies that hired from within. Plus, it reveals that almost three-quarters of hiring professionals are in favor of inside recruiting.

    Related: 7 Ways to Make Sure Your Employee Knows How to Get Promoted

    The message is clear: Internal promotions can accelerate employee engagement, trim onboarding timeframes and attack attrition. And the simplest way to have internal job candidates is to bring rising talent into the fold. By regularly pulling in strong, entry-level employees, you can create a funnel that pushes future leaders up the corporate ladder.

    The following strategies will help you attract eager entry-level applicants to your organization. That way, you can choose the right ones to start constructing an enviable — and internally promotable — workforce.

    1. Interview for both hard and soft skills

    Most jobs require some type of basic technical know-how, even if it’s just being comfortable with general word processing or spreadsheets. However, employers are discovering more often that it’s soft skills that make certain employees stand out. And a stand-out employee is one who may be interested in moving around the company.

    According to recent data gathered by a High Point University poll in 2022, companies put a higher value on soft skills than hard ones. The poll of 500 leaders from enterprise-size organizations identified employee motivation and coachability as markers of future success. Three-quarters of poll participants said it was easier to teach technical aptitude than motivation. Seven out of 10 felt the same way about technical expertise versus the ability to accept constructive feedback.

    How can you determine someone’s soft skills based on resumes or initial conversations? One method is to ask candidates to answer situational “What would you do if…?” questions. Another is to have prospective workers talk about challenges and failures and how they faced them. Just be sure you’re asking the same questions to all applicants. You’ll reduce interviewing bias and be able to compare interviewees’ soft-skill responses objectively.

    Related: Why Soft Skills Are More Important Than Hard Cash for Your Acquisition’s Long-Term Growth

    2. Make career pathing part of your onboarding and ongoing training

    Career pathing involves helping your employees create roadmaps to move through your organization. For example, a career path will show the routes an employee can take to get from job A to job B to job C, and so on. Most entry-level workers haven’t been in the workforce long enough to understand how to construct career paths. You can assist them by introducing them to career pathing during onboarding and making it part of their employee experience.

    Having a group of employees who have constructed realistic, doable career paths can improve your internal hiring. Deloitte’s Talent 2020 report notes that 42% of employees looking for different employment are leaving because they’re not using their talents. 37% said they were unsatisfied with their career progress. Dynamic professional development support and career pathing can ease those challenges.

    Remember that you can’t just set up career paths and let them gather dust. Teach supervisors how to encourage their team members to identify training areas using their career paths as guides. Be sure to set aside resources for upskilling, too.

    Related: 4 Reasons Employees See a Bleak Career Path and Quit

    3. Treat your internship programs as feeder opportunities

    Information culled in 2020 by Chegg Internship suggests that around 70% of all internships turn into job offers. Of those interns offered a position, 80% accept. This means that for every 10 interns you bring into your organization, you could end up with around five or six new employees. Those employees would already be familiar with your culture — and buoyed by a chance to start working.

    Even if you have an internship program in place, take a harder look at it. See how you might be able to make it more of a feeder into a bigger succession plan. For instance, should you be broadening your current pipeline and accepting interns from more disciplines? Could you use interns in more departments than you normally do? These are all questions worth asking.

    Interns who feel their time with your company was well-spent may become members of your C-suite someday. At the very least, they’ll be more likely to join your company if you extend a job offer after they graduate. So look for ways to boost the real and perceived value of your internships. Don’t be afraid to survey current and past internships so you can continuously improve your internship experiences.

    The Great Resignation has shown how tough it can be for employers to find candidates. When you can hire from within, you have more choices. You also reduce downtime associated with empty seats. So start (and keep) bringing entry-level workers into the fold. They’ll become your competitive advantage.

    [ad_2]

    Rashan Dixon

    Source link