Employee Engagement Archives - Page 4 of 8

Keys to Developing a Mentorship Program

Katie Williamson August 13, 2018

Employees today crave trust and independence and shake their heads at micro-management. With this new trend comes a greater emphasis on professional development in the workplace. Through a mentorship program, you can provide the guidance many of these employees need and want.

Why Mentoring?

There are a number of ways mentoring can have a positive, lasting impact on your workforce.

Mentorship trains new employees or employees stepping into new roles efficiently.
Mentorship builds junior employees into leaders.
Mentorship provides opportunities for employees to work cross-departmentally, helping them to work more collaboratively and openly.
Mentorship contributes to a dynamic company culture.
Mentorship improves employee loyalty and satisfaction.

Getting Started

There are a number of benefits that can come from a mentorship program. For that reason, it’s important to identify which of these objectives is the most valuable to you and your business. Perhaps it’s the focus on cross-department collaboration to improve processes. Maybe you’d like to focus on developing junior employees to step into higher roles. Whatever you’re looking to achieve with your program, make sure you define this goal from the start to ensure success.

Not sure of where to start? Try an office survey to poll your employees on where they see the potential for improvement.

Possible Programs

Most of us probably think of one-on-one sessions from a superior to a lower level employee. However, there is more than one way to implement a mentorship program in your office:

Group mentoring: one mentor leads multiple mentees.
Peer mentoring: people in the same job function mentor one another.
Reverse mentoring: junior employee mentors a senior employee (a great initiative for diversity and inclusion efforts)
Team mentoring: similar to group mentoring, but with multiple mentors contributing ideas and experience
Supervisory: the traditional superior mentor leads junior mentee.

Consider a combination of these different types of mentoring for your workforce. Some of these work better in casual environments and others work better in more structured workplaces. Whatever method you choose, find what works best for your employees. When in doubt, just try it! Your mentorship program should always be evolving, so don’t be afraid to fail.

Market Your Program

Once you’ve established the type(s) of mentorship program you’d like to implement, it’s time to get the word out. Because some people may feel awkward participating, it’s important to cast a clear vision for how the mentoring will work. Make sure leaders in the company are participating and sharing their interest as well. Again, office surveys are a great tool to kick-start the program, whether that means using it to pair people up or even surveying interest in different types of programs.

Collect Feedback

As we said before, mentorship programs should constantly be evolving. Gain feedback after the first month or so and find out where your pain points are. Obviously, no one should feel forced into this relationship and should have a clear way out at any time. There should never be any pressure to participate and if employees aren’t enjoying the process, find out why and make some changes.

It may not be an easy process, but investing in and developing your employees should be a top priority for any business. A mentorship program may be the tool you need to ramp up your employee happiness.

Fun Ideas for Work Birthdays

Katie Williamson August 1, 2018

We love birthdays at PerkSpot. Maybe it’s because we genuinely love the people we work with and want to celebrate them … or maybe it’s the free donuts. If you’re looking for ways to celebrate your coworkers on their birthdays, we’ve got just the thing for you.

Here are 5 fun ideas for work birthdays:

Sweet Treats

Did we mention that we love donuts??? A classic PerkSpot celebration will always include these sweet treats the morning of the honoree’s birthday. If you work in a smaller office this is a great and simple way to show your appreciation for your employee. And since 66% of employees said they would leave a job if they felt unappreciated, this is no small gesture.

Decorate Their Workspace

Crepe paper streamers and colorful balloons can make any space feel like a party. If you lead the charge for work culture, purchase a few supplies for every team at the beginning of the year with a list of their team members’ birthdays. By delegating, you don’t have to spend every day decorating and you’ll give each team an opportunity to give back to their coworker in a meaningful way.

Send Them Something Special

Wouldn’t it be great if you could give every employee a raise or a bonus on their birthday? For most businesses, that is simply not a reality. But, you can send them something monetary that is both meaningful and timely. PerkSpot’s Rewards and Recognition Program enables clients to send credits to employees for birthdays and anniversaries (or just because) that they can spend on the gift card of their choice. With over 200 brands to choose from, you don’t have to guess at what your employee wants or needs, and can send these credits along with a meaningful note.

Give Them The Day Off

While only 84% of employees actually get paid time off, 32% of them are actually afraid to use it. Give them the day off to spend with friends, family, or just relaxing at home. This is a great way to show your employees that you see how hard they work and know that they deserve a break. They’ll come back refreshed and energized with a new appreciation for where they work.

Make It Personal

Remember the days when people would actually write in birthday cards? Take it old-school and write a special note to the employee, or have your CEO or an executive write one. Spend 5 minutes to think about your employee and their contribution. You’ll be reminded of what a great workforce you have and they’ll be rewarded with lots of fuzzy feelings.

Do you celebrate birthdays at your office? Tell us your method in the comments or share it on Facebook!

5 Things Not to Do for Employee Retention

Katie Williamson July 25, 2018

We all want to keep our top talent. We want to see our companies thrive and grow while rewarding and incentivizing the right people to stay.

But sometimes this simple goal is not that easy to accomplish.

In fact, if you’ve done one of these five things this week, you could be costing your company valuable talent:

Here are five things not to do for employee retention:

Balanced Recognition

It’s easy to recognize the loud, outspoken extroverts for their achievements because they pretty much make themselves known. Although many of these employees may be very deserving of the recognition, introverts are also equally deserving, and in many ways require even more acknowledgement of their success in the workplace. Peer to peer recognition is a great way to help these quiet performers feel valued in the workplace. So the next time you hear someone saying great things about one of these employees, make sure they also say it to their face.

Empty Promises

A sure-fire way to annoy your employees is to promise something and not deliver. This could be as simple as “I’ll set up a meeting to discuss” and not following through. Consistently promising things and not delivering will leave your employees disappointed and will cause them to lose trust in your management or organization. Understanding that things happen, make sure you’re communicating clearly when plans change or you don’t have an answer in the time frame you expected. And, of course, make sure you’re not promising too many things you can’t deliver on in the first place.

Unrealistic or Inaccurate Expectations

Maybe this week an employee completed a project that was NOTHING like you wanted or expected. Again, constant and clear communication is vital to making sure you’re both understanding what is expected for your employee’s role. Make sure if they aren’t delivering, you speak to them and figure out where the misunderstanding happened. Approach the situation with an open mind, being willing to hear their perspective and figure out how you can improve. Of course, if this happens repeatedly, it may be time to evaluate their performance overall.

Unspoken Apologies

We’re all human. Including managers. If you realize you have fallen short for your employee this week, find a way to make it right. This could mean not carving out enough time to chat with them about an issue they were having, responding negatively to a certain situation, or not communicating expectations properly. If you screw up, own it, and make it right before your employee begins to harbor bitterness and resentment.

Constructive Criticism

Did you find a way to challenge your employees this week? One of the greatest ways to improve employee retention is to consistently provide feedback on their performance and make sure they are being challenged. Needless to say, not every week is going to be challenging. We all have weeks when we have to focus on the mundane, but necessary tasks at hand. However, if this is becoming the norm for your employee, you can believe that they won’t stick around for long. Give feedback, push them harder, and make sure they are doing work that challenges them in the right ways.

Which of these did you do this week? What will you strive to do better in the future?

Gender Bias in Performance Reviews

Katie Williamson June 20, 2018

We talk a lot about compensation and how gender plays a role. It’s become even more evident that the gender pay gap is real, meaning that women often earn only 90% of what men earn with the same experience, or in many cases even less.

But before compensation discussions usually come performance reviews, and gender bias is creeping in here as well.

A recent study showed that women were 1.4 times more likely to receive critical feedback than men. The study goes on to say that in many instances there is a double standard for men and women:

In one review I read, the manager noted, “Heidi seems to shrink when she’s around others, and especially around clients, she needs to be more self-confident.” But a similar problem — confidence in working with clients — was given a positive spin when a man was struggling with it: “Jim needs to develop his natural ability to work with people.”

While the nuances of the language may seem insignificant, these small differences can affect employees in a major way when it comes to promotions and pay raises (someone who lacks self-confidence vs. a natural ability to work with people).

So how do you make sure biases aren’t coming into play in performance reviews?
Here are three easy suggestions for keeping your management in check.

Ask specific questions.

By removing the ambiguity of open-ended questions, you’re allowing less room for subjective answers. Provide multiple-choice opportunities that allow one to gauge the overall performance of an employee.
An example might be: “If Angela was given the opportunity to spearhead a new project, how confident would you feel in her ability to handle the task?”

Very confident: she requires little supervision and always exceeds expectations.
Confident: She excels at new projects with a little guidance.
Not confident: She would need lots of supervision and support.

By providing answers without the subjectivity of an open-ended response, you can evaluate all employees fairly.

Align feedback with goals.

Another finding from the study was that women are more likely to receive vague feedback about their performance than men.

For example, such feedback might be, “Stephanie, your replies to partners about client matters are often not on point” rather than “Stephanie, you have missed important opportunities to provide clear and concise information, such as X. I have some thoughts on how you could prevent that from happening again, such as Y.”

An easy solution to this is to align your feedback for employees with company goals and objectives. Instead of “You exceeded our expectations this year!”, talk about the how and why. “You exceeded our expectations this year by increasing your sales by 25%. In the future, we’d like to see you improve your retention rate by 10%”. By aligning company goals with your feedback, they will have actionable ways to improve in the future and measure their success.

Expand the review process.

Bring more people into the review process to get a 360-degree view of the employee. Have men and women from inside and outside the department assess their performance to eliminate the chance of gender bias. An example could be bringing in a CMO to review an account manager because they have previously worked together on a case study. Make sure you’re choosing reviewers who have worked with the employee enough to make accurate judgments. Also, keep in mind that this isn’t fool-proof. This should be used in conjunction with specific questions and goal alignment.

Gender bias creeps into many aspects of the workplace, but by using these three methods, you can eliminate the opportunity for them to affect your performance reviews.

Work That Matters

Katie Williamson June 6, 2018

Employee engagement has become far more than just a buzzword. It’s a way of life at most of our offices today. We provide fancy coffee, lounge areas, and beer on tap, all for the sake of keeping our employees happy.

But what if in all the noise we’re losing sight of what’s important? Employees doing work that matters. Work that matters to them and to the company.

Focus on Transparency and Communication

Provide a community of support for your employees and make sure they have a safe space to make their wishes known. When you conduct performance and goal reviews, make sure you’re asking employees about their happiness. In fact, according to Gallup, 86% of employees find their performance reviews uninspiring. Ask your employees how much time they spend on tasks they love. How much time is spent on things that really aren’t important or could be done more efficiently? These simple questions can make all the difference to a struggling worker. Employees who find a sense of community and an open space for communication are more likely to be happy and more engaged.

Focus on Mission

At PerkSpot, our mission is to inspire employees everywhere to love where they work by providing meaningful savings and recognition to their workplace. When we send emails or write proposals, we might not be thinking about this mission at hand, but each and every move we make gets us closer to this end goal. We took some time this year to think through how each department encompasses this mission and the various ways we achieve our company goal. Each person, from interns to the CEO, had an opportunity to participate and see how their work matters for the business.

Focus on Culture

After we’ve identified strengths and passions of our employees and tied them to our company mission, then it’s time to look at culture. What are the ways we can foster an environment that lends itself to engagement? Are you providing opportunities for employees to develop meaningful relationships? Do they trust their colleagues or is there a weak link? Making changes can go a long way in making your employees feel heard and valued, and in turn, trusting that their work matters.

Keep your focus in the right place to ensure your employees are doing work that matters.

Creating Development Plans That Work

Katie Williamson May 23, 2018

Professional development plans can make a huge difference when it comes to retention and engagement for your employees. If your company hasn’t invested time in creating plans for each of your employees, stop what you’re doing and make this a priority.

Here are our steps for creating and implementing a meaningful professional development plan for your employees.

Where Do You See Your Business Going in the Next Year?

It makes sense to start with this question because if your employees’ goals aren’t aligned with the business’s, it’s a recipe for disaster. Consider all the objectives you want to accomplish in the next year and how each department fits into these goals. Determine what skills, knowledge or competencies your employees need to obtain to support where your business is headed. By spending time on developing your current employees, you’ll save valuable resources on recruiting and onboarding.

What Do Your Employees Want?

The next step is to consider what your employees want. It’s important to remember that just because an employee is great at X project or skill doesn’t always mean they love working in that particular area. Take time to chat through areas they want to grow and improve and items they would rather not be working on. Providing an open space for vulnerability will go a long way. You may discover they have interest in an area you were looking to expand. This is a great opportunity to explore what that might look like.

What Do Your Employees Need?

Just as you ask them to explore their interests, also ask them to share resources or knowledge they might need to make this possible. Many people may be afraid to speak up (we’re talking about you, introverts) and discuss areas where they are feeling overworked or lack support. Think through how this aligns with your business goals and objectives. Additional training for existing employees may outweigh the costs of recruiting and hiring someone from the outside. Since they know your business well, they may be able to add more value than an outside hire.

How Do Their Desires Align With Your Business Objectives?

You know where you want to take your business. You know what your employees want and need. Now it’s time to put goals in place that satisfy both of these objectives. Of course, your customer service rep may want to learn graphic design, but it doesn’t make good business sense. You can’t always bend over backwards to satisfy these hopes and dreams, but you can listen and give good feedback, especially if you find your employees in need of some motivation. Set goals in place that will provide a development for your employees that make sense. Use SMART goals to make sure they are measurable and can be easily evaluated in their next review.

How to Improve Employee Financial Wellness

Katie Williamson May 15, 2018

Money is a powerful thing, and unfortunately, can be a leading cause of stress for many Americans. Willis Towers Watson released an infographic last year detailing the financial state of employees and the statistics might shock you. Here are a few of the highlights.

48% of employees are worried about their current financial state, while 54% worry about the future of their finances.
51% of employees experienced a significant financial event in the last year.
29% of employees borrowed money from family or friends.

While you may think that employees with well-paying jobs and stable careers don’t worry about their financial status, the statistics couldn’t be further from the truth. Which begs the question.. Where do we, as employers, fit into this puzzle? How can we alleviate financial stress for our employees beyond compensation?

Educate Employees

“70% of employers think they should take an active role in encouraging their employees to manage their personal finances better.”

Unfortunately, there is a major gap in educating students on how to manage their finances. Even the most prestigious schools often neglect to discuss money management in the classroom. Which means, although Americans may be wealthy, they are uneducated when it comes to finances.

As the saying goes, better late than never, for employees living paycheck to paycheck. As employers, we can step in and help meet this need. Offer programs that provide opportunities to learn how to manage their personal finances, invest wisely, and plan for their future. If your company isn’t already doing this, start now. However small, you can help alleviate the financial burden for your employees. If your company uses PerkSpot, employees can sign up for our weekly newsletter “theLOOP” where, in addition to health and wellness and career advice, they’ll also find tips for financial wellness.

Alleviate Anxieties

“Over a third of employees believe their financial problems are negatively impacting their lives.”

Help alleviate the stress that many employees are facing day to day by easing the burden of their everyday expenses. This is where PerkSpot finds its purpose in serving some of America’s top employers. By providing discounts on everything from monthly cell phone bills to mortgages to cars to electronics, we help employees save on the things that matter. Therefore, they can spend less time stressing and more time focusing on the job at hand.

Survey Satisfaction

“Only 35% of employees would say they are satisfied with their current financial situation.”

Do you know how your employees would view their current financial state? sensitivity and privacy are essential when it comes to your employee’s finances. However, you can ask general questions and take anonymous surveys to gauge their interest in financial assistance programs and education. You may be surprised at what you’ll find.

Financial wellness is not an easy topic and as employers, it would be easy to ignore and not claim responsibility. However, the impact we make on our employee’s happiness is crucial not only to their job satisfaction but on productivity, retention, and ROI. By educating employees, alleviating their stress and understanding their needs, you’ll be on your way to a better workforce. Need help getting started? Reach out to us!

Summer Wellness Tips for Every Office

Katie Williamson May 10, 2018

It’s finally summer here in Chicago and we are so excited to see employees biking into work, enjoying lunches on the roof, and signing up for 5ks together.

Summer can be a great time to revamp your Health and Wellness initiatives at your workplace and we’ve got a few ideas to get you started.

Promote Healthy Eating

One of the great things about this season is that you don’t mind getting outside the office to grab something fresh and healthy. A small, but effective and practical way to help your employees stay healthy is to provide a list of healthy meal options close to your office. You can even create your own map on google maps and share it with the office.

Provide Meaningful Discounts

Gym memberships and healthy food options are often expensive. Lighten the load for your employees by offering these great initiatives at a discount. Enter PerkSpot. We’ve already done the negotiating so all you have to do is contact us to get started!

Coordinate Running (or Walking) Clubs

We have several people in our office who love hitting the pavement, especially in the summer. While others may need some extra incentive, walking or running clubs can be a great way to get everyone moving. Pick a day after work and promote the club around your office. You can even finish your run with a fun get-together after.

Hold a Healthy Potluck

Potlucks are a fun way to get everyone to mingle around the office and show off those cooking skills! Hold a potluck where everyone makes their favorite healthy recipe and brings it in to share. Employees will break out of the routine and maybe learn some new recipes while they’re at it.

What are your tips for keeping your office healthy? Share them with us in the comments!

Vulnerability is the Path to Engagement

Katie Williamson May 2, 2018

There are a million articles written about employee engagement and ways to keep employees happy and passionate about their work.

But, there is one word that doesn’t usually come to mind when we think about employee engagement: vulnerability.

Brene Brown, New York Times best-selling author and speaker of one of the most popular Ted Talks in history, defines vulnerability in her book Daring Greatly as “uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure… the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity.”

While it’s obvious that vulnerability plays a major role in our personal relationships, there is also significance to being vulnerable in the workplace. If being vulnerable opens the door to more belonging, courage, creativity, and empathy, imagine how this will affect our employees.

Here are few of the ways vulnerability impacts employee engagement.

Vulnerability Impacts Employee Engagement by Creating a Sense of Belonging

One of the most crucial aspects of employee engagement is helping employees find a sense of belonging in their workplace. They need to know their work is valued, and employees who develop meaningful friendships at work are said to be more productive and loyal to their company. In fact, according to a Gallup survey, 50% of employees who had a best friend at work also feel a strong connection to their company. Vulnerability creates a sense of belonging as it enables people to be true to themselves in the workplace. Unnecessary stress and tension disappear when people feel known and accepted for who they are. This includes acknowledging both victories and short-comings and pushing employees to be their true, and best selves.

Vulnerability Impacts Employee Engagement by Provoking Courage

In the same way that vulnerability enables employees to feel a sense of belonging, this also stirs up courage in the workplace. Vulnerability is not an easy task, and while we aren’t talking about spilling your deepest darkest secrets, there are elements of vulnerability that are crucial to a productive workplace.
Examples include:

Asking for help
Saying no
Speaking up in the face of resistance
Admitting ignorance or fear
Accountability for mistakes
Being able to walk away from projects or people that aren’t working out

Each of these aspects of vulnerability requires an act of courage. For some people, asking for help doesn’t come naturally, while others struggle to make their voice heard. By the same token, perhaps you’re a manager realizing an employee simply isn’t happy and needs to move on. Each of these examples pushes us to make the workplace a better place to be. Managers and executives should lead by example by pursuing these elements of vulnerability and in turn, create an open, judgment-free space for employees to do the same.

Vulnerability Impacts Employee Engagement by Stimulating Creativity

Finally, vulnerability can also do wonders for stimulating creativity. When you think about creatives, you may think about how raw and transparent they are with their emotions. Many creatives, including Graphic Designer Marina Willer, believe that vulnerability is essential to their creative process. “[Feeling vulnerable] makes you face the experience fully and almost embrace it,” she says. “Those moments can bring a lot of creativity and make ideas flourish.” Vulnerability can stimulate a part of our minds and emotions that we may not tap into on a daily basis. Imagine what your employees can accomplish if they aren’t afraid to speak their minds about what they really think; if their ideas are able to flourish, instead of being suppressed.

4 Ways to Improve Employee Retention

Katie Williamson April 17, 2018

Retaining employees seems to be a never-ending topic of discussion. In a survey of 614 HR leaders, 87% said improving retention is a high or critical priority. Not surprising considering over 3 million Americans quit their job every month.

There is plenty of work to be done when it comes to improving retention rates among these employees, and it all starts with culture.
Here are four ways to improve retention rates that won’t cost a fortune.

Focus on Training and Development

According to a Gallup poll, 93% of Millennials left their job to seek a new role. It seems today’s job seekers feel they need to move on in order to move up. We face similar obstacles at PerkSpot given the small size of our company. One way of combating that was to provide sabbatical opportunities for employees with a small stipend where they can pursue additional training and development opportunities. Employees not only come back refreshed and recharged, but they also have a renewed sense of passion for the work at hand and a few new skills added to their toolbelt. This has been a win-win all around for employee retention and development.

Compensate Fairly

We’ve made another exciting change at PerkSpot this year to improve employee satisfaction and retention. After hearing various feedback from employees, our executive team got together to put a more thorough compensation plan, including individual goals for each employee. Quite possibly nothing is more important than consistently evaluating what and how you’re paying your employees, and including them in the process.

Another Gallup survey revealed “while just 30% of employees strongly agree that their manager involves them in setting their goals at work, those who do… are 3.6 times more likely than other employees to be engaged.” While compensation may seem like a costly part of a retention strategy, bumping up a salary by a small percentage costs way less than hiring a new employee, where the dollar amount for replacing an employee might shock you.

Evaluate Often

While a great compensation plan will set employees up for success, it’s also important to hold consistent performance reviews. Sadly, only a mere 14% of employees feel inspired by their reviews. Remember to ask employees great questions and listen to their pain points. By finding ways to inspire them in their jobs, they’ll leave happier and be more productive in the long haul. Evaluating their compensation should be an obvious part of this conversation, as stated above.

Recognize and Reward

We’d be remiss not to mention rewards and recognition as part of a successful retention plan. Clive Schlee, CEO of restaurants Pret a Manger, discusses with Harvard Business Review the importance of recognition in this short video: “Each employee makes about 5-10,000 decisions a day… how to squeeze a lemon, how to lay the chicken on the sandwich,… these are all decisions that can be done well or can be done badly and how they feel about the company is absolutely critical.”

Meanwhile, only one in three employees say they have received recognition in the past seven days. A critical misstep for companies hoping to retain their high performers. The same report states that 28% of employees feel that the most meaningful recognition comes from their manager, which is why the PerkSpot Rewards and Recognition platform is setup to do just that. Managers recognize their employees in real time, right when they perform an action that aligns with company values.

There are many things you can do to start reducing your turnover and improve your employee retention. Where will you start?