Here are Some Tips To Make Your Company More Competitive
There is a war for talent occurring in this nation and the winners are going to be the companies that attract and retain the best employees. Thanks to the so-called Great Resignation, job hopping is commonplace and open positions are plentiful. For now, it’s an employee’s market which is forcing many businesses to rethink their HR game plan.
At the center of most 2022 HR strategies is the ability to attract new employees and retain existing ones. Doing so requires that all businesses re-assess the value proposition they’re providing to their workforce. Sorry for the wake-up call, but perks employees value today have radically transformed since the pandemic first sent everyone home into lockdown. The job of successful companies is to stay in lockstep with these new demands and provide a workplace that makes job applicants want to join and current talent resources to stay.
Here’re some of the programs we’re implementing at my company in New York:
Show You Are Listening to Concerns
Employees, especially the next generation of Gen Z workers, are entering the workforce, asking tough questions and demanding transparent answers. This means allotting them a time and place to be heard as well as managers willing to listen.
This new wave of workers is looking for leadership that invites the tough conversations, welcomes new ideas and contrarian opinions, and takes their input seriously. We maintain an open-door policy to that everyone’s concerns have a time and place for be heard.
Demonstrate, through your actions, that you are willing to listen to your employees. This doesn’t necessarily mean caving into every demand – but it’s important to show that management is evaluating employee concerns and will to compromise.
Be Flexible with Scheduling and Remote Work
76% of polled employees said they needed more flexibility about where they work and 93% asked for more flexibility concerning when they work, according to a survey conducted by Future Forum. Remote work, job interruptions, and lockdowns required workers to be patient and flexible. Now they are asking the same of their employers.
Offer a degree of scheduling flexibility but at the same time, make an effort to make your workplace a fun and attractive place to be. Offer a culture where people look forward to coming into the office and socializing with their co-workers. This way, employees will be less likely to push for full-time remote work.
Bring back the comraderie and sense of belonging that makes the workplace a place people want to show up and do their best in. To do this, hold team meetings, team building events, outside the office team meals and other group activities that encourage employees to bond and unite around a company group identity.
Recognize Performance
In addition to a fun work place, we’ve found that recognizing performance is a good way to boost productivity, retain talent, and even attract new talent to the company. In addition to monetary compensation, we reward employees with bonuses as well as fun experience-based rewards, like tickets to a sporting event, gift cards to a local restaurant or shop.
Employees that feel appreciated and valued for their work are more motivated to perform at their best. When colleagues see that performance pays, they’ll renew their efforts to output work that gets noticed. Rewards help employees stay engaged with the tasks before them and make them even more likely to recommend their workplace to others.
Leverage Assistance Programs
The pandemic has resulted in a number of government programs and grants that reward small businesses who hire minorities, former offenders looking to start over, war veterans, and workers with disabilities. These state, county, or municipal programs offer tax credits and other rewards for diversifying your staff. With these programs, your company can work to establish a diverse staff, which allows your business to cast a wider net for talent at much lower risk. Being DEI friendly, your business is much more likely to attract employees who are looking for this core company value.
You can also capitalize on available small business loans or business lines of credit. These financing tools can help you mitigate cash flow disruptions, cover short-term expenses (including employee bonuses and raises), and even invest in larger projects and initiatives so your business shows growth and direction. Hearing about that kind of growth will motivate applicants to join and current employees to stay.
Give Back to the Community.
Base pay is not the top priority with today’s job applicants. In addition, they want their employment to mean something in their personal lives and for their employer to support and reflect a culture of sustainability and paying forward.
At our business, we promote an overall mission of “Driving Growth for All”. That means for our customers, our employees, and our community. It’d one of a number of programs we have in place to help our team members grow personally and professionally. In addition, we donate 10 meals to Feeding America for every new account we secure.
Employees tell us they like these programs and opportunities. They make working at our business something bigger than just a job.
Conclusion:
The post-pandemic job market is all about listening to and being flexible about the new needs and values employees discovered during the lockdown. Employers who are responsive to these needs will be the ones who acquire and retain workers through this time of the Great Resignation.
Joe Camberato is the CEO of National Business Capital.
Talent stock image by UfaBizPhoto/Shutterstock
