Ready for the sounds of office sniffles?
A recent study by law firm, Farah and Farah, states that one in four full-time workers receive between 1 and 5 sick days. Continue reading to learn more.
It’s not just a matter of whether they feel well enough to work, or whether they have sick days. The boss’s attitude about whether workers should take sick days or not can determine whether they actually do stay home when they’re sick, or instead come to work to spread their germs to all and sundry.
A new study from law firm Farah & Farah finds that even though it can take a person some 10 days to fully recover from a cold, approximately 10 percent of full-time workers in the U.S. get no sick days at all (part-timers don’t usually get them either), while more than 1 in 4 have to make do with between 1 and 5 sick days. Just 18 percent get enough sick time to actually recover from that cold—between 11 and 15 days.
The amount (or presence) of sick time varies from industry to industry, with government and public administration providing the most (an average of 12.1) and both hotel, food services and hospitality and manufacturing providing the least (an average of 5.4 for the hospitality industry and 5.1 for manufacturing). Some lucky souls actually get unlimited sick days, although even then they don’t always use them.
Regardless of industry, or quantity, just because workers get sick days it doesn’t mean they use them. Workers often worry that they’ll be discouraged from using them, with employers who may provide them but not encourage employees to stay home when ill. In fact, 38 percent of workers show up to work whether they’re contagious or not. Sadly for the people they encounter at work, the most likely to do so are in hospitality, medical and healthcare and transportation. Plenty of germ-spreading to be done in those professions!
And their employers’ attitudes play a role in how satisfied they are with their jobs. Among those who work for the 34 percent of bosses who encourage sick employees to stay home, 43 percent said they’re satisfied with their jobs in general. Among those who work for the 47 percent of bosses who are neutral about the use of sick days, that drops to 21 percent—and among the unfortunate workers who work for the 19 percent of bosses who actually discourage workers from staying home while ill, just 12 percent were satisfied with their jobs.
When it comes to mental health days (no, not that kind; the ones people really need to deal with diagnosed mental health conditions), fewer than 1 in 10 men and women were willing to call in sick. Taking “mental health days” when physically healthy, however, either to play hooky or simply have a vacation from the office, is something that 15 percent of respondents admitted to.
SOURCE: Satter, M (5 October 2018) "Ready for the sounds of office sniffles?" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitspro.com/2018/10/05/ready-for-the-sounds-of-office-sniffles/
Original report retrieved from https://farahandfarah.com/studies/sick-days-in-america
U.S. Unemployment Drops to Lowest Rate in 50 Years
Last month the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent, the lowest it’s been in 50 years. Continue reading to learn how the low jobless rate is affecting the U.S. labor market.
Unemployment in the U.S. fell to 3.7 percent in September—the lowest since 1969, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The low jobless rate, down from 3.9 percent in August, is further evidence of a strong economy—employers added 134,000 new jobs in September, extending the longest continuous jobs expansion on record at 96 months. The continued gains run counter to economists' expectations for a significant slowdown in hiring as the labor market tightens. Through the first nine months of the year, employers added an average of 211,000 workers to payrolls each month, well outpacing 2017's average monthly growth of 182,000.
"This morning's jobs report marked a new milestone for the U.S. economy," said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor. "With good news in most economic indicators today, it's likely the economy will continue its march forward through the remainder of 2018."
Cathy Barrera, chief economist at online employment marketplace ZipRecruiter, pointed out that the jobless rate ticked down for all education levels. "Anecdotal evidence has suggested that employers have experienced labor shortages for entry-level positions, and the decline in unemployment for these groups reflects that," she said. "More of those joining or rejoining the labor force are moving directly into jobs, reflecting the high demand for workers."
The sectors showing the strongest jobs gains in September include:
- Professional and business services (54,000 new jobs).
- Healthcare (26,000).
- Transportation and warehousing (24,000).
- Construction (23,000).
- Manufacturing (18,000).
"Retail job losses—20,000 jobs—were widespread, and the leisure and hospitality sector lost 17,000 jobs, largely confined to restaurants," said Josh Wright, chief economist for recruitment software firm iCIMS, based in Holmdel, N.J.
"We can clearly point to a slowdown in retail trade for the dip in [overall] payroll numbers in September," said Martha Gimbel, research director for Indeed's Hiring Lab, the labor market research arm of the global job search engine. "Retail trade had a strong first half of the year but has slowed down in recent months. In addition, recent Hiring Lab research saw a slight dip in the number of holiday retail postings, suggesting that the sector may struggle in months to come."
Prior to September, employment in leisure and hospitality had been on a modest upward trend and the losses last month may reflect the impact of Hurricane Florence.
The Department of Labor said it's possible that employment in some industries was affected by Hurricane Florence which struck the Carolinas in September. Nearly 300,000 workers nationwide told the BLS that bad weather kept them away from their jobs last month.
"That's far below the level in September 2017 amid hurricanes Harvey and Irma, but significantly above the average of about 200,000 over the prior 13 years," Wright said. Upward revisions are likely, he added.
Wages Stubborn but Rising
In September, average hourly earnings for private-sector workers rose 8 cents to $27.24. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 73 cents, or 2.8 percent.
"That's down slightly from the 2.9 percent pace last month, but consistent with a steady upward trend in wage growth we've seen as the job market tightens and more employers face labor shortages," Chamberlain said. "We expect to see that pace continue to rise throughout the holiday season, likely topping 3 percent within the next six months."
Glassdoor has recorded strong wage growth in tech-heavy metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.
"If the true wage growth rate is at or below 2.8 percent year-over-year, it is disappointing that it is not growing faster," Barrera said. "Given how tight the labor market has been not only with overall unemployment below 4 percent, but particularly so at the entry level, we would expect wage growth to be higher. The labor turnover numbers suggest that mobility is lower than it historically has been in periods where unemployment is very low. This is one reason wages may not be rising as quickly as we'd expect."
Labor Force Participation Stalled?
The nation's labor force participation rate held at 62.7 percent.
"Looking at the labor flows data, the rate of movement of the civilian population into the labor force hasn't moved much in the last couple of years, however, more of those folks are moving directly into employment rather than into unemployment," Barrera said.
Wright noted that the number of new labor force entrants and reentrants going directly to unemployment was just 33,000. "This raises interesting questions—whenever we get a recession, how long will these reentrants and new entrants continue searching for jobs before leaving the labor force?" he asked.
The percentage of the population in their prime working years with a job also held around 79 percent, where it's been for about eight months, Gimbel said, adding that the measure suggests that the number of workers remaining to pull into the labor force may be exhausted.
"The share of the labor force working part-time but who wants a full-time job unfortunately ticked up," she said. "Any remaining slack in the economy may be concentrated in part-time workers who want more hours."
SOURCE: Maurer, R. (5 October 2018) "U.S. Unemployment Drops to Lowest Rate in 50 Years" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/us-unemployment-drops-lowest-50-years-bls-jobs.aspx/
8 keys to developing a successful return to work program
What does your return to work program look like? Read this blog post for 8 tips to developing a successful return to work program at your organization.
No matter the size of your organization, there’s about a 99% chance at some point dealing with employees going on leave. Most HR professionals are well-versed on the logistics of what to do when an employee is on short- or long-term disability — but what sort of culture do you have in place that encourages and supports them with a return to work (RTW)? Developing a positive and open RTW culture benefits not only the organization but the employee and their teams as well.
An effective RTW program helps an injured or disabled employee maintain productivity while recuperating, protecting their earning power and boosting an organization’s output. There also are more intangible benefits including the mental health of the employee (helping them feel valued), and the perception by other team members that the organization values everyone’s work.
See also: 7 Ways Employers Can Support Older Workers And Job Seekers
Some other benefits of an RTW program can include improvement of short-term disability claims, improvement of compliance and reduction of employer costs (replacing a team member can cost anywhere from half to twice that employee’s salary, so doing everything you can to keep them is a wise investment).
Some of these may seem like common sense, but I’m continually surprised how many (even large) organizations don’t have an established RTW program. Here are eight critical elements of a successful program.
1. Support from company leadership.
2. Have a written policy and process.
3. Establish a return to work culture.
4. Train your team members.
5. Establish an RTW coordinator.
6. Create detailed job descriptions.
7. Create modified duty options.
8. Establish evaluation metrics.
Severance plans: How savvy employers can stay ERISA compliant
How can employers’ severance plans stay ERISA compliant? There are significant advantages associated with ERISA severance plans. Continue reading to learn more.
An employer’s promise to provide severance benefits may be written or oral, formal or informal, and individual or group. Determining whether an ERISA plan already exists, or whether an employer wants its severance arrangement to be subject to ERISA, is an important consideration in determining an employer’s obligation and liabilities associated with a severance arrangement.
There are significant advantages associated with a severance arrangement that is an ERISA plan as discussed in detail below. An employer, however, cannot unilaterally decide that the severance arrangement is an ERISA plan. Instead, an employer, when designing and administering a severance arrangement, can take definitive steps to ensure that the arrangement is treated as an ERISA plan.
Employers may assume that the first step to ensure the existence of an ERISA plan is to have a written plan document, which is required by ERISA. Surprisingly, this is not necessarily determinative as to whether an ERISA plan exists. Courts have held that ERISA plans can exist without a written plan document and vice versa.
Case law has provided the broad outlines of the nature of an ERISA-governed severance plan. An essential characteristic of ERISA severance plans is that, by their nature, they necessitate “an ongoing administrative scheme.” Courts have looked at the following indicators when determining what constitutes an ongoing administrative scheme:
- The employer’s discretion in determining (1) eligibility for benefits or (2) available plan benefits
- The form of payment such as lump sums versus periodic payments
- Any ongoing demand on the employer’s assets such that there is an ongoing scheme to coordinate and control the distribution of benefits
- Calculations based on certain factors such as job performance, length of service, reemployment prospects, and so forth.
Severance plans or arrangements that normally do not require an ongoing administrative scheme, and therefore, do not implicate ERISA, are plans that have lump-sum payments that are calculated under a formula and are mechanically triggered by a single event (such as termination). Where severance payments are made over time (through payroll, for example) and/or additional benefits (such as continuation of benefits or outplacement services) are provided, the severance arrangement is likely subject to ERISA.
As a practical matter, whether severance arrangements are ad hoc or recognized in a formal plan document, they may end up providing ERISA-covered benefits. In a dispute, an employer generally prefers that ERISA applies because of ERISA’s preemption of state laws. Preemption protects employers from state laws that may favor employees and generally limits the dispute to an ERISA claim for benefits, thereby avoiding the potential exposure to punitive, extra-contractual or special damages under state laws. In addition, ERISA’s claim procedure, which provides a pre-litigation administrative process for dispute resolution, will apply if proper plan language is provided. If employees with a severance claim fail to faithfully follow the ERISA claims procedure, their lawsuits may be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
Typically, the plan document gives the employer, in its capacity as plan administrator, the discretionary authority to interpret the plan’s language and make decisions about the plan. If the employee follows the claim procedures and the claim is denied, the decision-making process of the employer (or its designee) if done properly, is given deferential treatment by a reviewing court. Moreover, in many cases, judicial review is limited to only those matters addressed in the administrative record of the claim. In other words, many federal courts would decline to consider factual matters that were not raised by the employee in the claim procedure process.
Another consideration for the savvy employer is that severance benefits are almost always considered to be “welfare” benefits. Welfare benefits, as opposed to pension benefits, are afforded an extremely low level of protection under ERISA. Essentially, the employer’s exposure as to promised severance benefits is only as broad as its express contractual commitment to them. By appropriately documenting the benefits with “best practices” language (such as specifying that the amendment or termination of benefits may be done with or without advance notice), employers can take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the relatively thin protections provided by ERISA. On the other hand, poor or no documentation of a severance arrangement may leave an employer with difficult-to-prove assertions as to what severance commitments were actually made.
In summary, an ERISA-governed plan provides an employer with significant advantages in litigation. In addition, a severance arrangement subject to ERISA will enjoy the powerful benefits of ERISA preemption and the ERISA claims procedures.
SOURCE: Rothman, J.; Ninneman, S. (3 October 2018) "Severance plans, Part 1: How savvy employers can stay ERISA compliant" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/how-employers-can-stay-erisa-compliant-with-severance-plans
6 Books on the Future of Work That Every HR Professional Should Read
What do the next 50 or 100 years have in store for organizations and workers? Read this blog post for six books on the future of work that every HR professional should read.
As HR professionals and organizational leaders, it seems we are increasingly bombarded with messages about disruptive innovations and the changing nature of work. While calls to prepare strategically for the "future of work" might sometimes seem over-the-top, it doesn't change the fact that we've seen tremendous shifts in the global economy (including the labor economy) and technological innovation over the past 50 years that have had significant implications for the nature of work.
So what do the next 50 years have in store for organizations and workers? How will disruptive technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence/machine learning, pharmacogenetics, quantum entanglement, virtual presence/augmented reality, 3-D printing, and blockchain (among many others) influence future labor markets?
Here are six books I believe every HR professional and organizational leader should read to better understand these trends and the drivers influencing the shifting trajectories in the future of work.
1. The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts(Oxford University Press, 2017) by Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind
The Future of the Professions closely examines the intersection of rapidly advancing innovative technologies and the shifting nature and transformation of work and the professions, providing theoretically grounding and ample examples of emerging technologies, organizations and work arrangements. It is intended for organizational leaders and policy practitioners of all stripes who are interested in the effects of disruptive technologies on the future of work.
2. The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation (Brookings Institution Press, 2018) by Darrell M. West
In The Future of Work, West sees the U.S. and the world at a "major inflection point" where we have to grapple with the likely impact of an increasingly automated and technologically advanced society on work, education and public policy. The insights provided will be useful to those who manage others and to those who are managed in the workplace of the future.
3. Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future (Basic Books, 2016) by Martin Ford
Rise of the Robots is a somewhat unsettling vision of a future world dominated by artificial intelligence, machine learning and highly automated industries, where most members of the current workforce find themselves replaced by technology and machines; in other words, a jobless future. Based on recent economic and innovation trends, Ford argues that the rapid technological advancement will ultimately result in a fundamental restructuring of corporations, governments and even entire societies as middle-class jobs gradually disappear, economic mobility evaporates and wealth is increasingly concentrated among the elite super-rich.
4. Gigged: The End of the Job and the Future of Work (St. Martin's Press, 2018) by Sarah Kessler
Gigged examines the shifting psychological contract between organizations and workers, discusses trends in the organization of work, and documents the movement in recent decades away from traditional employment models and toward part-time work and contingent employment arrangements such as independent contracting and project-based "gig" work. While such work has always been a part of informal economies around the world, the trend is increasingly common in traditional organizations as well, bolstered by the success of companies like Uber and Airbnb.
5. The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organization (Wiley, 2014) by Jacob Morgan
In The Future of Work, Morgan continues the argument that the world is changing at an accelerated pace. He demonstrates that the way we work today is fundamentally different from how previous generations worked (due to globalization, technological innovation and shifts in the composition of national economies) and suggests that the future of work will be drastically different from what we experience today (a shift from knowledge workers to learning workers), where employees can work anytime and anywhere and can use any devices.
6. Shaping the Future of Work: A Handbook for Action and a New Social Contract (MITxPress, 2017) by Thomas A. Kochan
Probably the most academic book on this list, Shaping the Future of Work acknowledges an increasingly digitized economy and examines the resulting shift in social contract with regard to work and the professions. Kochan provides a road map for what leaders across contexts need to do to create high-quality jobs and develop strong and successful businesses.
What Does All This Mean?
In the next 50 years, we will likely see:
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A continually shifting geopolitical landscape.
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Continued movement from linear organizations to a more latticed/connected framework.
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The displacement of jobs and the hunt for talent in a more automated economy.
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An increasingly mobile and flexible labor force, and a push toward a reskilling agenda within organizations to continually leverage human capital value.
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Technological advancements that continue to disrupt traditional organizational models and shift the very nature of work and professions.
So what does this all mean for HR professionals and organizational leaders? What are the core competencies of organizations that are prepared for these technological disruptions? How does the shifting nature of work influence needed HR competencies?
Regardless of what the future holds, these are questions we need to be asking and discussions we need to be having so that we are prepared for the future of work.
SOURCE: Westover, J. (5 September 2018) "6 Books on the Future of Work That Every HR Professional Should Read" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/book-blog/pages/6-books-on-the-future-of-work-that-every-hr-professional-should-read.aspx/
Business meal deductions likely here to stay after new IRS guidelines
Business meal deductions are expected to continue to qualify for deductions. After much confusion following the IRS’s decision to end deductions for client entertainment, they are expected to release guidance regarding business meal deductions. Read on to learn more.
Employers wondering whether they can still deduct business meals from their tax returns may soon be getting an answer from the Internal Revenue Service.
The agency is expected to release guidance saying that business meals will continue to be 50% deductible, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.
The confusion over the deductibility of business meals stems from the IRS’s decision to end deductions for client entertainment, a move that was part of the government’s tax overhaul. Previously, the entertainment-related deduction was 50% of qualified expenses.
The elimination of deductions for client entertainment left many tax professionals wondering whether client meals might be considered entertainment and therefore no longer qualify for deductions.
The anticipated IRS guidance — which comes at the urging of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and other groups — is expected to preserve the 50% deduction for the cost of meals with clients and elaborate on how the 50% meal write-off meshes with entertainment expenses, the Wall Street Journal said.
If a business owner or employee, for example, takes a client to a ballgame, the cost of the tickets is not deductible because the expense is for entertainment. Hots dogs and drinks purchased at the event, however, could still be 50% deductible, the IRS is expected to say, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The IRS, which did not respond to a request for comment, is not likely to change the normal requirements corporate executives must meet to take deductions for client meals.
They must discuss business with the client before, during and after the meal, and the meal must not be “lavish or extravagant,” the Wall Street Journal said.
SOURCE: Correia, M. (28 September 2018) "Business meal deductions likely here to stay after new IRS guidelines" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/news/business-meal-deductions-likely-here-to-stay-after-new-irs-guidelines?brief=00000152-14a5-d1cc-a5fa-7cff48fe0001
Unleash voluntary benefits to attract millennials
Does your company know how to recruit the younger generations? Employers can use voluntary benefits to help attract millennials. Continue reading to learn more.
A war for talent is being waged. Boomers are retiring and seeking new challenges and now is the time to woo the millennials. Just how do you attract the right millennials for your company? Like most organizations, you probably offer a total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and core benefits, like medical, dental, life, disability and a 401(k) plan.
See also: One sure-fire way to engage employees in voluntary benefits
What about those ancillary benefits you hear about in the marketplace? While a ping pong table in the break room may entice some, many millennials seek help for specific needs from their potential employer. Voluntary benefit products can be the missing puzzle piece in your total benefits package and can help younger candidates feel confident that your benefit plan is tailored to them.
Millennials want real choice, access and ease of use. In this Amazon Prime world we live in, it’s important that enrolling in benefits and paying for them are as easy as possible. Exceptional communications, smart enrollment options and ease of payment are key to success.
Here are some voluntary benefit options to consider:
Accident & hospital indemnity insurance programs
While critical illness insurance may not appeal to a millennial, certain worksite benefits are beneficial. These benefits help employees pay for unexpected out-of-pocket medical costs, as well as cover the financial gaps of traditional coverage like deductibles and coinsurance. Worksite benefits pay cash to the individual, allowing the participant the flexibility to use the funds however she or he sees fit — for rent, car payments, living expenses or out-of-pocket medical expenses. Accident Insurance generally pays a cash reimbursement based on an injury benefit schedule. So, if the employee has a bicycle or paddleboard accident and breaks a leg, cash payments will be made for the type of injury and treatment. A similar type of benefit is Hospital Indemnity Insurance that pays a lump sum for an initial hospital admission and then a per diem benefit. The best part is the cost of these benefits is relatively inexpensive — like paying for a few cappuccinos a month.
See also: 3 Ways to Reshape How You Communicate About Benefits with Millennials
Student loan refinancing programs
Millennials are feeling the brunt of their student loans. One in four millennials owe more than $30,000 in college debt and think that it will take more than 20 years to pay them off, according to an ORC International Survey. Student loan stress is making millennials feel less financially secure than their older work colleagues. This can have an adverse effect on any type of savings plans an employer offers such as a 401(k). More employers are considering programs that can help employees manage their student loan debt. There are typically three ways to look at these programs:
- Refinancing options: There are many lenders that work specifically with student debt and will refinance and consolidate existing student loans and may offer a special incentive if this is done through their employer. Keep in mind, if an employee has a federally-backed student loan, refinancing may not be the best solution.
- Debt management resources: Many lenders that provide refinancing options have educational tools and resources to assist employees in managing their debt.
- Employer contribution: Of course, this would not necessarily be a voluntary benefit-only program, but employers are looking into helping their employees pay their loans back through employer-sponsored match programs.
Employee purchase programs
Millennials’ student loans may prevent them from making certain necessary purchases. Employee Purchase Programs offered through employers can help workers pay for items they may need immediately, like a washer and dryer replacement over a period of time. Like other voluntary benefits, this one comes with the added convenience of payroll deduction and repayment, helping millennials feel more empowered to make these more expensive purchases and build their credit.
Auto & Homeowners Insurance and legal insurance
Group auto and homeowners’ insurance offered through an employer can provide discounts based on tenure and payroll deductions that are not available in the individual market. Group legal insurance may be attractive to millennials who need to create a will for the first time or buy a new house. Most services are covered and family members are also sometimes eligible to be part of the plan.
See also: 15 employee benefits on the rise
In a time when cost-saving initiatives may be pinching employer-sponsored health plans, voluntary benefits may help cover gaps left by high deductible plans and provide value to employees without adding cost to the bottom line. With diverse offers, easy enrollment, low premiums and payroll deductions, voluntary benefits are worth considering and should be an integral part of your attraction and retention program for millennials.
SOURCE: Marcia, P. (17 September 2018) "Unleash voluntary benefits to attract millennials" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/unleash-voluntary-benefits-to-attract-millennials
8 Benefits Of Measuring Employee Engagement
Are you measuring your company’s employee engagement? Measuring employee engagement helps companies attain real results and solve problems before they get worse. Read on to learn about the eight benefits of measuring employee engagement.
Employment engagement matters to achieving company success and developing employee skills and talents toward future goals. Happy employees equal a happy and prominent company. However, outdated traditional surveys used to measure engagement fail to reflect how modern employees operate and what they most desire and need to succeed.
Measuring employment engagement in real-time helps companies achieve real results, just as the importance of measuring finances and sales regularly do. Here are eight benefits of measuring employee engagement — much like taking your company's work culture temperature.
1. Solve Problems Before They Worsen
When you have a deadline, what can you do with issues that only now reveal their consequences? You have to deal with the issue quickly, and that often means putting a tourniquet on the problem and moving on. When you keep checking the temperature, you address issues — and their roots — before escalation occurs.
Problems only get big when you let them. Don't wonder why your employee retention and sales suddenly plummet.
2. Employ Empathy and Build Trust
Both employees and leaders need ongoing feedback to keep growing and improving. Make feedback a two-way process and communication that also stems naturally out of conversation and connection. Ongoing, open feedback allows leaders to pose better questions — especially those that relate to the company mission and vision.
When leaders ask good questions and connect, they build trust among employees and workflow improves as a result.
You may think your human resources department handles the human side of things, and that's that. However, thinking that way leaves your company out in the cold. It creates a negative communication gap between leader and employee, leading to #1 and risking you losing a talented individual.
Employ empathy and get the whole story when you see a struggling employee, whether their obstacle is personal or work-related. Everyone is human.
3. Make Morale #1
When employees disconnect, engage them in a meaningful conversation. It doesn't have to last the whole lunch hour — even a brief chat to check in will show you care. You’ll learn more about your employee's concerns, as well as their promise for the organization.
Make morale a top priority in your company, and you will reap the rewards. Productivity increases and you retain employees longer when their morale moves upward.
4. Share Insights Transparently
Back to those metrics. Use the analytics reports regarding workforce trends and finances to motivate your mission and, thus, your employees. Your employees need to be an active part of positive change-making. Employees feel more involved and valued when they know how and why they contribute to an organization and seeing the results drives them to push even harder.
5. Opportunity for Improvement
Surveys provide a snapshot of employee activity and thinking in a single moment in time as they struggle to think up thorough answers and complete the questionnaire to get back to work — or select variations of seven to nine on a 10-point scale to get it done. What does that measure exactly?
Snapshot surveys provide results that develop game plans months down the road. You can also measure social activities and interconnectivity at work to increase the ability to find meaning at work.
Encourage employees to keep track of their thoughts and feelings weekly and speak up. Better measurement tools — especially employee-preferred ones — increase opportunities for improvement and engagement.
6. Take Action When it Matters
Leaders can take action in small, cost-effective ways to engage their employees and improve morale, such as through conversation and opportunities to balance work and life.
Around 99 percent of meetings waste time, so take action as needed. Allow employees to think aloud in conferences and even be a little late, but start the session. When you have a strong work culture, employees and leaders collaborate and co-create to produce real-time, meaningful results.
7. Look for Trends
Technology allows employers to spot trends and take immediate action when used correctly. Does your website measure user experience for the customer? What about your employee's "user experience?"
When you identify trends, you can impact engagement in the day-to-day doldrums of routine. You make work meaningful and help the entire staff take responsibility for trends, as well as their engagements levels. Platforms like Slack allow employees to develop activity-based work styles that boost satisfaction scores, and engagement doesn't always equal productivity. So, deepen your definition of engagement.
8. Keep the Positive Flow Going
What chain reaction would you rather have — a negative one where issues worsen due to disengagement or a positive one where employees feel engaged and value their performance beyond getting a paycheck? Monitor your initiatives for employee engagement regularly, and keep what works going to maintain the positive flow.
Human resources don't begin and end in one department. Every department requires a human touch — your workers aren't drones or robots. They have real needs that, when met, can improve morale and lift up the company to success.
SOURCE: Craig, W. (18 September 2018) "8 Benefits Of Measuring Employee Engagement" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2018/09/18/8-benefits-of-measuring-employee-engagement/#5b9bf20a7c55
How to Build a Motivated Workforce
Are your employees motivated? Getting an engaged workforce requires employers to focus on nurturing motivation. Read this blog post to learn how to nurture motivation in your workplace.
There’s a lot of buzz and conversation happening around the importance of employee engagement to a successful organization. But I believe that engagement is an overused or at least misused term. Engagement, to me, isn’t a process but rather an end-state where your employees are “all in.”
Engaged employees work hard on today’s priorities, and when they believe what they do matters and know that you’re invested in them, they will stay with your business for the long term and help you solve the challenges of tomorrow. But getting to this state of engagement requires focusing on nurturing motivation.
Simply put, motivated workers are more productive and efficient, and stretch themselves to do more. When employees are motivated, they get their work done faster and with greater levels of collaboration, creativity and commitment. A motivated workforce goes above and beyond to do what is in the best interest of the organization and, ultimately, the bottom line. So, what are ways you can truly motivate employees?
Set Clear Expectations and Goals, and Communicate Frequently
It’s a strange truth, but many employees simply don’t know what is expected of them at work. Workers are more motivated and engaged when they are given clear objectives, understand how they will be evaluated, and see how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. Isn’t that what we all want anyway; to contribute to and be a part of something bigger than ourselves? When HR teams help create this clarity for our employees, they experience a greater “purposefulness” or “meaningfulness” which in turn contributes to motivation. So how do you ensure organizational alignment and foster this sense of meaningfulness?
One critical step that HR leaders can take is working with managers to increase the frequency of communication around performance and goals. When employees work with their managers to set goals and then check in on progress on an ongoing basis rather than treating them as ‘set and forget,’ it can help improve employee motivation, elevate performance and benefit organizations overall. By increasing the frequency of conversations between managers and employees around progress towards goals, HR teams can take a huge step towards creating an effective performance management program for today’s workforce.
This ongoing endeavor isn’t easy. There are time and commitment involved, and it only works when managers and employees are both invested in open and ongoing dialog about goals and expectations. But the more often managers talk to their employees, the more motivation and performance increases within the workforce. Even quick, informal check-ins, or “managing in the moment” to address priorities or give feedback boosts an employee’s sense that someone is invested in them, and drives motivation.
Spend Time Talking About Career Development
Motivation is tied to a future outlook. One critical way to boost motivation is to move away from ineffective, backward-looking annual performance reviews, and start coaching your managers around having more frequent conversations with their employees that focus on career development. By focusing on development, these conversations become more constructive, forward-looking, and connected to both personal and business objectives. Now you’ve motivated an employee because you’re actually talking about their future and showing you are invested in them!
Implementing performance management processes that are rooted in continuous conversations that center on coaching and career development is vastly more effective for motivating the modern workforce. Focusing on ”performance development” rather than “performance review” shifts the conversation around the process to a more forward-looking, positive and employee-focused stance. This can have a huge impact from an employee motivation perspective, rather than feeling like their managers are micromanaging them or questioning their work, workers feel invested in and motivated to get to the next level in their career, which translates to increases in employee performance.
Provide Timely and Relevant Feedback
Almost half of employees receive feedback from their managers only a few times a year or less. Not only do employees want clear expectations to be established, they also want to know how these are mapping to their larger career goals. Managers need to provide feedback in a timely manner to promote career development. Feedback can be tricky to deliver, and many don’t like delivering or receiving it. So managers need to normalize the feedback by making sure it is timely and is relevant to the employee and their work.
There are many approaches to delivering feedback, but delivering all feedback all the time isn’t the right answer. Managers need to be thoughtful about evaluating all the feedback they receive about their employees and select those items that are most relevant to the employee and those items that they are ready to hear, all in a timely manner to assist the employee in their career.
So, for many reasons, a quarterly review cadence, vs. an annual review, enables managers to align employees’ individual career goals with the organization’s top priorities, ensuring the employee has a sense of purpose and business goals are met.
This is what motivating your workforce is all about. There is no silver bullet to motivate your workforce, however, HR leaders and managers can make a big impact by having frequent and continuous conversations with employees that focus on career development, communicating clear expectations and providing timely feedback. It’s an ongoing process and won’t happen overnight, but by focusing on motivation, both employees and organization at large are better positioned for success.
SOURCE: Strohfus, D (27 August 2018) "How to Build a Motivated Workforce" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://hrexecutive.com/how-to-build-a-motivated-workforce/
The days of employers ignoring the opioid crisis are over
What do employers need to know to help their employees and help reduce the risk of the opioid crisis? The opioid crisis is affecting companies' productivity, medical claims, work injuries and their bottom line. Read this blog post to learn more.
Productivity, medical claims, work injuries, and the company’s bottom line — what do these things all have in common? They are all being drastically affected by the effects of substance abuse. The opioid crisis that is running rampant across the United States is having an impact on employees at every level.
As an employer, what do you need to know to support your employees and reduce the risk of this national crisis?
First, you need to educate yourself on the facts. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, every day, more than 115 people in the U.S. die after overdosing on opioids. It is not just the deadly heroin/fentanyl combination that we have been hearing about in the news, sources of opioid addiction include prescription pain relievers such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, morphine, codeine, and other prescribed substances.
See also: Taking A Page From Pharma’s Playbook To Fight The Opioid Crisis
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates prescription opioid misuse in the U.S. cost $78.5 billion per year; affecting medical spend, productivity, and law enforcement supervision.
Substance abuse does not discriminate on any demographic, however if your business is construction, entertainment, recreation, or food service, the National Safety Council found your employees are twice as likelyas the national average to have substance abuse disorders.
Secondly, you need to take action. The most important thing an employer can do is to have a proactive plan in place to help your employees live a healthy lifestyle. It is easy to get in the habit of saying “that does not happen here,” but the reality is substance abuse can — and does — happen anywhere.
Solving the opioid crisis won’t happen overnight, but here are some steps to take to build a better relationship with your employees and quite possibly help someone overcome a substance abuse problem.
Train your staff. Explain what resources are available to help them help your employees. If you have an employee assistance program in place, leverage it, and have the information easily available so any employee can access the information at any time. This will help lower the fear barrier for employees who are not ready to ask someone they know for help. If you do not have the right resources in place today there are many programs available, and it is important that you adopt one that will fit your culture and help employees be high performers.
See also: Employers take steps to address opioid crisis
Show employees you care. Look for signs and symptoms that an employee might have a problem with substance abuse. Make sure supervisors, managers, and team leaders are aware of these signs and what actions they should take. Have an open door policy, and make sure your employees feel they can ask for assistance when they need it. It is important to know how to handle sensitive, often painful, discussions in a professional and action-oriented manner. It is essential that you have the right steps in place to ensure leadership is aligned with the organization’s strategy on how best to help your at-risk population.
Be transparent. Have clear policies in place that promote a drug-free workplace. Consider expanding your drug testing panel to include opioids.
Share the savings. Consider sharing the dollars a successful well-being program will save your organization’s bottom line through lower prescription drug costs and less lost productivity due to illness and time away from work.
See also: A look at how the opioid crisis has affected people with employer coverage
If your organization is struggling with how to successfully address the challenges of substance abuse and opioid addiction, seek out employee benefit consultants to help you develop a strategy for success. Like anyone with an addiction, there is no shame in asking for help.
SOURCE: Panning, C (7 September 2018) "The days of employers ignoring the opioid crisis are over" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/employers-cannot-ignoring-the-opioid-crisis?feed=00000152-a2fb-d118-ab57-b3ff6e310000