Keeping the Right Talent

As employees work harder and longer, some are facing a breaking point, even though many companies aren't paying attention.

Understand the unique brain and personality types of your employees to keep them invested in work. You'll see amazing results.

Do you reward employees according to job performance? Are you sure?
My company, Globoforce, published last week the results of its bi-annual survey with SHRM examining the current state of HR leaders’ employee engagement and recognition practices and their impact on performance management.

What does a real-life CEO have in common with the central figures of a fictitious Mafia crime family in The Godfather? According to Justin Moore, CEO and founder of Axcient, plenty. 

There’s a reason why employee engagement is the new buzz phrase in HR circles. The epidemic is out of control.
Gallup has been in the employee engagement business for more than 10 years, but its latest research report shows that we have reached a crisis point. In American organizations, an astounding 71 percent of employees are either not engaged in their work or actively disengaged.

 
Millennials will form 50% of the workforce in 2020, and the majority value training and development and a healthy work/life balance over salary.
This is according to a major survey of 4,000 graduates from PwC, which found that nearly a quarter (22%) of respondents rated training and development as their number one benefit. Flexible working followed with 19% claiming it was most important, while cash bonuses ranked third (14%).
The report Millennials at work, reshaping the workplace also showed that 72% of those born between 1980 and 2000 have also had to make some sort of compromise in terms of location, salary or industry to get into work.
Jon Andrews, Partner, PwC says: “Millennials want more than ‘just a job’. They expect rapid progression, a varied and interesting career, and constant feedback.

 
A new year offers a new start. Resolve to rethink “how we’ve always done it.”

1. Help HR pros to stop making assumptions

Companies that want to have a truly positive impact need people who are fully engaged with their work and aren't afraid to bring their genuine identities to the office.
 
It's no secret that much of Corporate America is stressed — and not just because of the difficult economy. While even the White House has weighed in on the need for better work-life balance and the economic benefits of workplace flexibility, there's a much larger issue at stake here than how much flextime companies offer.
The real issue is not about forcing people to compartmentalize their lives at work, at home, and in their communities but rather how to keep people energized and engaged in all aspects of their lives. In our research over the past four years, my colleagues and I have found that great leaders and great companies recognize that people are at their best when they are able to bring their whole selves to the job and can connect what they do at work to a meaningful larger purpose.

 
Workers will go to great lengths to hold onto their jobs, according to a new survey.
Worried about their professional future in the current economic climate, two-thirds of workers surveyed by staffing company Randstad US said they would make sacrifices such as working longer hours or losing vacation time to hold onto their current jobs.
Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed said they would give up the shot at an annual bonus to keep their job; another 24% would work longer hours without a pay increase, and 23% would accept a reduction in benefits.
"Employees have become very realistic about the job market," says Joanie Ruge, senior vice president and chief employment analyst at Randstad. Workers would rather cut some perks than be out of a job altogether, she says. The survey looked at 3,022 workers, currently in full-time jobs.

 
File this one under silly management trends: reverse mentoring.
I’m a big fan of mentoring (and really, the development of workplace relationships in general). Professional relationships between co-workers, managers and subordinates is a sign of a healthy workplace. Having a formal mentoring program is great too, especially for highly talented (but not yet developed) employees you wish to retain.

 
Whether a sign of confidence or desperation, the number of workers quitting without having another job is growing. Last month alone nearly 1.1 million workers left their jobs.
It’s the largest number of  “job leavers,” as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calls them, in more than a decade. Included in the count are workers who took buyouts, some who quit ahead of a dismissal, and others who may be taking time off before starting a new job. The bulk, however, are those who decided to leave a job without having another lined up.
There’s no way of telling what kind of workers these job-leavers are. However, any number of surveys over the last few years show there’s a gathering wave of intentions about leaving, if not actual departures.

AOL has reportedly suffered casualties in the war for talent. As with real conflicts, morale—the way that those on the front line see the company and its issues—is more important here than either compensation or job security.

 
I don’t think any of us – manager or employee alike – could express shock at Gallup’s latest report that 71 percent of American workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work.
I also don’t think any of us would be surprised that this isn’t an American phenomenon. A global analysis of Mercer’s What’s Working survey (30,000 employees in 17 geographic markets) shows: