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Welcome from HR Strategy Group
In April's newsletter, we discussed the importance of the theory "Recruit To Retain". Building a strong, pro-active HR foundation within your company is key in recruiting and retaining. April's article focused on position descriptions and recruitment. This month we delve into successful onboarding for new employees as well as the final key - how to retain employees.
As you will learn, comprehensive benefits and comparable salaries are vital elements in retaining your employee. Another thought worth considering - perks. Check out our Compensation Corner article -"Do Workplace Perks Increase Employee Engagement."
The end of the school year is rapidly approaching and the languid and slower days of summer will be upon us soon. As you head off on family vacations or just take off a day or two, be safe, have fun, and when you return, let us know how we can support you!
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Best,
 Amy Polefrone, President HR Strategy Group, LLC
410-505-8723
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Recruit to Retain Top Talent
How to Build a Strong HR Foundation in Your Company - Part 2
By Amy Polefrone & Kim Grounds
Your employees truly are the core of your business. They can make it run like a well-oiled machine, or they can make it spit, cough and burn out around the curves. An investment in your staff is an investment in your organization and one well worth your close attention. In this article, we will discuss the foundations needed to develop a pro-active HR culture at your company; best practices for hiring great contributors to your company; and best practices for retaining those great contributors!
Strong HR Foundation
There are four key areas that make up the foundation of a strong hiring/retention environment. As discussed in Part One of this article, the first is having a well-clarified Position Description. The second foundation piece for a pro-active HR culture is Recruitment. The Onboarding process is the third major piece of your HR structural foundation. This is an important component of the effort that many overlook. Keep in mind that successful hiring plus successful onboarding will result in success for your new employee and your company.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the most important day of a new hire's job is his/hers first day. Furthermore, the basic direction of his/her success within your organization will be set within the first two weeks on the job. The following list of organizational best practices can help you set the tone and propel your new hire to success:
- Implement the basics prior to the first day on the job.
- Make the first day one the job special.
- Use formal orientation programs.
- Develop a written onboarding plan.
- Make onboarding participatory.
- Be sure your program is consistently implemented.
- Ensure that the program is monitored over time.
- Use technology to facilitate the process.
- Use milestones, such as 30, 60, 90 and 120 days on the job - and up to one year post organizational entry, to check in on employee status.
- Engage stakeholders in planning.
- Include key stakeholder meetings as part of the program.
- Be crystal clear with new employees in terms of: objectives, timelines, roles, responsibilities.
Four key elements are critical in helping new employees maximize their onboarding success.....
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Do Workplace Perks Increase Employee Engagement?
Jessica Miller-Merrell, 05/15/14
Many years ago, workplace perks were few and far between but these days, nearly every company offers some kind of perk for its employees. In order to stay competitive, recruit the best of the best and keep employees happy, it's vital to consider not only what employees can do for you but also what you can do for them. It would be easy to say off the cuff that employees are more engaged when you give them bonus perks in addition to their normal compensation but it's important to really look at if and why this is true.
The most important thing to remember when you offer perks is that freebies that make employees happy do not overshadow engagement - happiness and engagement are not one in the same. While it is true that perks can make employees happy and happy employees can be engaged, happiness is not the sole measure of engagement and therefore perks alone may not make more engaged employees. The power of perks lies in utilizing them in the right ways and finding how they fit into your company culture.
What The Evidence Shows
Time and time again, we see that the most important factors for satisfied employees are compensation, recognition, a positive relationship with their supervisors and autonomy to do their jobs. So where do perks fit in the mix when it comes to what's important to employees? Well, many studies show that perks don't rank very high - in some cases, not even in the top five or 10 considerations. However, these facts don't necessarily show the whole picture. What they do show is that there are many things that must be fulfilled before employee engagement can be increased through perks. Company culture will always be more important than perks, but studies like MetLife's 2013 Employee Benefits Trend Study
show a connection between robust benefit offerings and engaged employees. So while it's clear that perks have the possibility of increasing engagement, perks alone likely won't.
To read the complete article, click here.
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