Is HR supporting your plans? | Corporate goals are vulnerable to unhappy employees
President, Cornerstone HR LLC, Scarborough
You likely saw the bad news just after the New Year: Worker satisfaction is at an all-time low. According to a Conference Board Report more than half of all workers, 55%, said they were dissatisfied with their jobs in 2009. With the economy slowly climbing out of recession, and employers implementing their goals for 2010, it’s important to ask the question: Do your human resource programs address this trend and are they aligned to help you reach your goals for the coming year? Some points to consider:
Employee retention
With the decline in overall employee satisfaction, it’s vital that you take the pulse of your work force to assess whether you may be at risk for turnover as the job market improves. Many people have stayed with jobs because there aren’t other options or they aren’t willing to take the risk of starting a new job in this unpredictable economy. At the same time, many have endured pay cuts and benefit cost increases. Employers need to understand how their most valued employees are feeling about their jobs. Are you confident they will stay with you as the economy improves? If you don’t know the answer, now is the time to find out.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming pay is the primary motivator of your employees. A fair and competitive salary alone won’t keep an employee with you if they are not being challenged or recognized for their work. To get a clear picture of your employees’ sentiments, find out how they are feeling, what will continue to keep them motivated and challenged, and what is frustrating them. Then, act on their feedback.
Recruitment
With the high unemployment rate, you might think finding a new employee for that key spot in your company would be easy. You may get a large number of qualified applicants, but do you have a thorough and objective process to ensure you get the best of the best from your candidate pool?
An effective recruitment process begins with a well-defined job description that clearly outlines the results the position is expected to get and the specific skills, knowledge and abilities required for the job. To make sure the candidate you select meets your criteria, you need to have an objective, structured interview process to assess each candidate to determine if they have both the required skills for the job and if they will be a fit for your company culture. Taking the time to design a strong recruitment process will help prevent an expensive bad hire.
Orientation and training
Once you have hired someone, do you provide a thorough orientation? Many times when a new employee is brought on board, they are thrown in with little support or resources. It is essential that you provide a structured orientation for a new employee that introduces them to the company, their department, their internal and external customers and their job responsibilities. In addition, if you find that new or existing employees need additional support in key areas, provide training so they can be effective in their job and get the results that you expect from the position.
Performance management
A company’s tolerance of poor job performance is one of the biggest contributors to low workplace morale. One way to nip employee dissatisfaction in the bud is to have a strong performance management program. Is yours structured to provide timely and meaningful feedback to employees while also providing legal protection for your company? The first step of effective performance management is to set clear expectations for job performance and behavior that come from a well-defined, outcomes-based job description. Then — through both informal check-ins and formal, written performance evaluations — provide feedback on how your employees are performing in relation to these expectations.
If an employee is not meeting expectations, be proactive in managing them and holding them accountable. Thinking things will get better by themselves is often a critical mistake. Document the performance problems and give the employee an opportunity to improve, but if they do not, take the appropriate steps to terminate them.
Corporate culture
Does your corporate culture foster a sense of community that is meaningful to employees? If you read through the profiles of the companies recognized as the 2009 Best Places to Work in Maine, you’ll note a common thread: People feel like they’re part of a family or community. These companies take the time to keep their employees informed about what’s going on, get their feedback on what’s working and what could make the company better. They also provide lots of opportunities to socialize both on and off work time through company outings, volunteering, etc. Is the culture you are creating satisfying for your employees? Knowing this will help you be proactive in creating an enjoyable place to work.
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