In the manufacturing industry, finding qualified applicants to fill positions is difficult. When you do find employees that meet your hiring requirements, not only do you want them to feel strongly about working at your company, you want them to stick around. Of course, you don't need me to tell you that. But really, the turnover rates of some companies have gone out of control and the bottom lines of these companies are paying. Stop for a second. Think about how much time and effort goes in to filling one position. From reviewing resumes, to interviewing, then training, it's a lot! Plus, if your company's turnover rate is high, it can be perceived negatively by future prospective hires.
Happy employees are good for business. You want happy employees. No frowns allowed. You want employees who are delighted to work for you. So delighted that instead of staring at the clock on a Friday afternoon waiting for it to hit the hour they can leave, you want them staring at a clock on a Sunday night counting down the minutes until they get to go into work the next morning (in a dream world I suppose). You want employees who are invested in your company and are focused on building a future at it.
Inc. noted: Companies with high levels of engagement (65 percent or greater) outperformed the total stock market index and posted shareholder returns 19 percent higher than average in 2009. On the other hand, companies with disinterested employees (40 percent or less engagement) had a total shareholder return that was 44 percent lower than average.
According to Forbes, in a job, employees want: stability, (fair) compensation, respect, health benefits, and work-life balance. By giving your employees these things, you make your company a more desirable place to work and you make it a place more employees want to stay at for the long haul. Holy cow, you make it a place people want to work at and not fantasize about leaving.
Stability: How do you create stability in a company in an unstable economy? The Journal of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association suggests…
- Anticipating job skills changes.
- Practicing open and early communication. If you expect sales will be lower than normal one month, let your staff know.
- Interact with employees daily — it comforts employees and boosts morale.
- Instead of layoffs, considers less drastic alternatives such as giving employees an unpaid week off a month while still offering them their benefits.
- Effectively manage job performance so that if you do need to downsize, it would be easier for you to keep the high performers.
- Ask your employees for their input. We recommend using confidential surveys. There may be things going on that you're unaware of which are affecting your bottom line. Most employees are more likely to speak up anonymously.
Compensation/Health Benefits: According to Forbes, the happiest of employees are not giving credit to getting a fat paycheck every two weeks (but of course money is still important). Employees simply want to be compensated fairly. BusinessNewsDaily.com suggests keeping employees salaries just above the market rate.
Respect: Employees are starting to expect respect. They want to be recognized and respected for their individual contributions to their place of employment (according to Forbes). Now I feeling like breaking out a few dance moves to Aretha Franklin's hit song R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Work-life Balance: According to research from Hay Group (a global management consulting firm), more than 39 percent of workers worldwide say they lack balance between their job and their personal life. Flexibly is huge for employees according to Forbes, especially for retaining Millennials. People want to be able to make a living for themselves and their family and still have time to enjoy it. Working around the clock makes that slightly difficult.
ABC News suggests approaching work-life balance as a challenge to enhance productivity. “The solution has to extend to helping people work smarter as well as harder. If organizations can help employees be more efficient while they are at work, they reduce the likelihood that work demands will spill out over the work day and crowd out time to attend to personal responsibilities.”
Some leaders have gone as far as saying companies should offer their employees unlimited vacation days to improve company culture. Netflix and Zynga, just to name two, are already doing so.
The scoop around the web on unlimited vacation days in the workplace:
Inc.: Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Days
Huffington Post: Unlimited Vacation Time Gains Traction
Wall Street Journal: Go Ahead and Take Off, for as Long as You Like