Alot of companies say that employees are their most valuable assets, but do not all walk the talk. It takes a lot of time and effort to find, recruit and retain the right people to join your company. It also takes considerable time to onboard and get them to the point that they are making a positive contribution to your organisation. The last thing you want is to lose someone after all this effort and expense. You also want to fully engage these “A Players” so that they are happy and contribute their best.
Most potential recruits take a lot of things into consideration when deciding whether to join a company like culture, long-term vision, CSR, pay, and benefits. According to Glassdoor Research, these are the core benefits that make the biggest impact on employee satisfaction:
- Health Insurance
- Holidays & Paid Time Off
- Pension Plan
- Maternity & Paternity Leave
- Sick Days
- Personal development opportuities
It is necessary to be competitive with your benefits package although, ultimately, when it comes to keeping employees engaged and satisfied, there are other factors that matter more than a benefits package. According to Glassdoor Research, “culture and values, career opportunities and senior leadership are the most important factors leading to employee satisfaction.” So, while benefits and perks are a great way to get employees in the door, they’re not among the leading factors that keep employees satisfied on the job and with a company long-term.
I have been taught and believe that people are loyal and give their best to managers that they like and respect. Also, A Players hire A Players. It is imperative to have the right people in leadership roles if you are going to be successful..
It is also important to recruit and retain people that align with your culture and core values. Hopefully, your culture is strong and well defined. If they are not, this is an opportunity for improvement.
So, here are several suggestions and actions to evaluate where your company stands:
- Audit your benefits to see if your company is competitive in the marketplace.
- Confirm that your employees have a personal path of progress for growth in the company that they are excited about and will retain them for years to come.
- Determine if your culture is healthy. There a lot of tools that can help you do this like Gallup’s Q12 survey.
- Find out if your core values are alive and well by looking for examples of them being lived and asking employees to repeat them and provide examples of how others are living them.
