Knowledgeable employees are a must for any successful business. They are the backbone of the company and are the ones who do the grind day in and day out to ensure your business stays profitable. In today’s job market, employees have choices when it comes to where they work, and it is no longer enough merely to provide them with a paycheck for doing the work to keep them happy and keep them coming to work for your company each day. Recruiting and training new employees is expensive, and the goal of any company should be to keep good employees with the company for as long as possible. Robb Misso, founder of Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions (DMS) and Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA), shares tips for scoring and retaining good employees in a competitive job market:
- Create a Positive Work Culture
Maintaining a positive work culture will make employees feel like the work they do is worth something to the company. Nobody enjoys going to work when they do not feel like a valued asset to the team. When employees feel happy and comfortable in their jobs, they are less likely to seek employment elsewhere. Social media has made it possible for employees past and present to discuss their personal experiences with a company, and new potential candidates are likely to do research on their own and find these comments.
To create a positive work culture, train management in every department to manage their areas in a more upbeat manner. Employees should never be yelled at or humiliated while they’re at work. While it is the manager’s responsibility to provide feedback that is both good and bad, as well as take disciplinary action in certain cases, employees should be allowed to save face in the process.
- Offer Incentives
Be the employer that career-driven candidates want to go to work for by offering enticing employee incentives. Depending on what your budget allows, consider offering incentives like additional paid time off, a break or lunch room that is stocked with snacks and goodies to get them through the day, gift cards or other small rewards for meeting goals and milestones, an exercise space, or maybe even stress relief or personal finance classes.
If given multiple employment offers from several different companies, candidates are going to choose the company that offers the best incentives and the most pleasing work environment. Do some research and see what other companies offer as incentives so you can try to get a leg up on the competition. When coming up with your employee incentives strategy, think Google, considered one of the best places to work in America. That is because employees get extraordinary incentives like a game and relaxation room, free meals, a massage room, and beautiful offices in which to work in.
- Provide Competitive Benefits
Benefits are another area of the company that managers need to explore to ensure they get the best candidates applying for open positions. Employers that offer the most affordable and most competitive benefits packages are usually the ones that end up with the best long-term employees.
Benefits that most employees really want include excellent medical insurance with low deductibles and co-pays, free or low-cost dental plans, medical flexible spending accounts, vision care with reasonable eyewear allowances, paid sick time, a retirement savings plan, plenty of vacation days or personal time off days, tuition reimbursement, and industry-specific benefits.
- Promote Creativity
Promoting creativity in the workplace is a perk for both employees and the company as a whole. When employees are allowed to think outside of the box and come up with ideas that cross the line into uncharted territory, innovation happens. Especially true of millennials, most employees do not like to be micromanaged or do the work as they have always done it because it is the way they have always done the job.
Create focus groups, brainstorming games, and other fun programs that allow your employees to think freely and come up with more efficient ways to do the work, and you will have applicants bursting through the doors when you have an open position available.
- Provide a Work Space that Works
Open floor plans are the way of the future and promote conversations and networking among employees. Employees want easy access to each other and their supervisors. To create a culture of communication within your workplace, consider going with an open floor plan. While you are at it, make sure your employee’s workspace is warm and inviting. Employees spend many of their waking hours during the week at work, and so the ideal workspace will feel like a second home to them. Create a workspace that features modern decor, a relaxing lunch or break room, and is adorned with interesting art and live plants.
Make your company the place where good job candidates want to snag a job. Offer employees benefits and incentives they are interested in and provide them with a workspace that makes them feel comfortable. The job market is competitive, and you do not want to lose out on employees who can make your business profitable because the job does not seem attractive enough to make them happy while they are at work.
About Robb Misso:
Robb Misso has worked in manufacturing for over 25 years and is the co-founder of the Austin Regional Manufacturer’s Association. As a founder and CEO of Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions, he has endeavored to bring previously outsourced manufacturing jobs back to the United States through a process DMS calls “reshoring.” Mr. Misso is a devoted husband and father of three.
Robb Misso Around the Web:
https://about.me/robbmisso
https://www.quora.com/profile/Robb-Misso
https://medium.com/@robbmissobranding
http://contactup.io/robbmisso/
http://www.behance.net/robbmisso
https://www.levo.com/robb-misso
https://sites.google.com/view/robbmisso/