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Improving Your Employee Retention Strategies to Help Your Startup Grow

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Improving Your Employee Retention Strategies to Help Your Startup Grow

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Most startup founders are well aware that their list of things to do is never-ending. At one point, you’re crunching numbers for investors and pleading with suppliers to deliver on time; the next, you’re brainstorming product improvements or mapping out new marketing strategies. It’s a constant juggling act.

Read also: Enhancing Employee Productivity in Logistics with Cutting-Edge Software

However, experience will likely prove that building a team of dedicated individuals who can adapt and evolve alongside the company is essential for getting past these hurdles. But let’s be honest – it can take a long time to get a team to operate the way you need them to. Even worse, if one of your employees decides to leave too early, it can really derail your business’s ability to scale. 

This is why focusing additional efforts on creating a strong employee retention strategy can be vital for your startups. But to accomplish this, you need to take the right approach.

Why Startups Often Struggle With Their Hiring

Bringing new talent into any business is always tricky, and the type of hurdles they will face depends on who they’re looking for and the type of industry they’re in. Startups, however, often experience a unique set of challenges in the hiring process. Some of the most common ones include:

  • Limited Brand Recognition – Starting a business from scratch is difficult in that it will take a decent amount of time before you can build notable brand awareness. This lack of established credibility can be a major obstacle when trying to attract talented individuals to join the startup.  It’s a classic “chicken and egg” scenario – you need a strong team to grow your business, but it can be hard to convince people to join a company that hasn’t yet made its mark. This is particularly challenging when competing for talent against well-known, established companies with a proven track record.


  • Low Resources and Minimal Hiring Staff – Startups often face a challenging dilemma when it comes to hiring. Hiring new staff can demand significant time and resources when needing to sift through applications, conduct interviews, and onboard new team members. Balancing these tasks with the daily demands of helping the business to grow can be incredibly difficult. While recruitment agencies can definitely help to streamline this process, their fees can be prohibitive for startups operating on tight budgets.


  • Fast-Changing Business Needs – Startups are dynamic environments that require employees to be adaptive and willing to regularly shift their priorities. These individuals need to be versatile and willing to take on various responsibilities, often beyond their initial job description. While this can be an exciting opportunity for those who enjoy being in fast-paced settings and want to expand their skillset, it’s not the right fit for everyone.

The Importance of Developing Staff Retention Strategies

Startups often operate under immense pressure to build a strong foundation fast and effectively. Having a loyal and dedicated team is essential for success. However, many startup founders are so busy that they may overlook the importance of nurturing their teams once they’re hired.

While it’s natural for founders to expect a return on their investment in talent, businesses can’t scale effectively if employees feel disconnected from the company’s mission and lack a sense of belonging. This can result in high turnover rates, which drain resources and can be damaging to the brand’s reputation.

Frequent turnover creates uncertainty among remaining employees and can make the company appear like it’s not the best choice on job boards. Replacing employees is also incredibly cost-intensive and places attention away from trying to achieve important company milestones.

This is why it’s crucial for startup founders to prioritize team building and create an environment that helps to encourage added employee engagement and enthusiasm.

Effective Tips to Help Your Startup Keep Great People

When running a business in highly competitive marketing, it can be difficult for startups to find and retain talented employees. However, by implementing certain strategies, businesses can create a more loyal following and reduce their turnover. Here are some key approaches you can consider for your own startup business:

Take a Look at Your Hiring Processes

To improve employee retention, you first want to consider how effective your hiring procedures are. Attracting the best talent and having more qualified individuals to choose from is essential for building a strong team. This also helps to reduce the likelihood of an employee feeling mismatched within the company shortly after they start.

To find the right candidates, you should first create detailed job descriptions that offer a clear picture of the role. However, you’ll want to avoid generic hiring templates. Instead, take the time to create unique descriptions that give employees a good understanding of the daily tasks and business expectations.

During interviews, try to look for more than just skills and experience. Really think about the candidate’s adaptability to working in a start-up environment. Assess their personality, work style, and cultural fit within your organization.

Put Together the Right Hiring Package

When building your team, remember the hiring landscape outside of your own needs. Startups often need to offer more competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain quality employees.

Think about unique perks you can offer that help to set your company apart. You might want to consider offering stock options, flexible work arrangements, or generous paid time off to help employees balance their work and personal lives.

Prioritize Strong Company Culture Development

Starting a business gives you the chance to set the tone for a rewarding company culture. Make it a priority to help build a positive and inclusive environment where every employee feels valued. It’s also essential to maintain a willingness to adapt over time.

While a good salary is important, many employees also highly value a healthy and supportive workplace. You can create this atmosphere by instilling a sense of purpose and belonging in everyone, valuing open communication and teamwork, and regularly acknowledging everyone’s accomplishments.

Build and Maintain a Great Team for Your Startup Business

Your team is the backbone of your business, and their commitment is crucial for success. By understanding the significance of employee retention and implementing effective management techniques, you can build a dedicated and motivated workforce that will contribute to your company’s long-term growth.

Author Bio

Michael Bollinger, a Lexington, Kentucky-based entrepreneur, has left a lasting mark on the tech and software landscape. As the founder of LegFi and File990, Michael launched PayHOA.com in 2018 after Togetherwork acquired his first two ventures.

PayHOA is an affordable community management software for homeowner associations that streamlines payments, communication, and vendor management. Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Michael finds fulfillment as a devoted husband and a loving father to his three children.

 

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Sidestep The Great Resignation: Keep Workers By Helping Their Communities

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From a business perspective, the turbulent year of 2021 will be remembered for “The Great Resignation,” when record numbers of employees left their jobs.

But when it comes to the worldwide problem of talent shortages across many industries, perhaps employers haven’t seen anything yet. New Year’s resolutions of retaining top employees or finding the right talents when recruiting may be even more difficult to achieve, if you believe surveys such as one conducted in the fall of ‘21 by LumApps in collaboration with CMSWire. Seventy-one percent of U.S. participants in the poll say the pandemic made them rethink what they want out of their career, and 63% have considered a new career in the past year.

All that data fuels concerns among many employers that the talent shortage will continue to be a major problem in 2022. Everest Group’s 2022 Key Issues Study shows companies’ No. 1 constraint now is “finding enough talent to run the business.”

This talent crunch, along with the trend for many companies to move from 100% remote work to a hybrid model or back to a fully in-person model, is causing business leaders to reconsider what keeps their teams happy and productive. Many are asking: How can we keep employees invested in and passionate about our brand in this new hybrid environment?

One key to keeping the best employees on board may lie in how well companies give them the opportunity to put their own skills and interests into action in making a difference in the world. In the LumApps/CMS poll regarding “The Great Reflection” among workers, among the reasons cited are heightened demands for flexibility and inclusivity in the workplace, more career growth and companies that walk the talk about corporate social responsibility. Indeed, employees’ special gifts and passions for social issue involvement contribute towards helping their company’s overall impact efforts and also to employees’ fulfillment: 76% in the LumApps/CMS poll are looking for corporate social responsibility and 73% want to choose employers with a reputation for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.

Just as businesses have unique abilities and resources to solve problems for their communities, their employees have their own set of talents that can add a rich dimension to the company’s social-impact profile. Unleashing those talents can be as simple and informal as assigning appropriate roles to your employees for a volunteer project. If there’s a photographer on the team, for example, have them take photos at the event. Have a group that loves to haul things in their pickup trucks? Put them in charge of collecting the cans from your office locations for your food drive.

Over time, of course, you can become more intentional and strategic about how you use your employees’ skills. We do an employee survey or focus group with our client teams to identify employee interests such as public speaking, strategic planning, committee leadership, budget planning, and more. Effectively leveraging these skills and interests helps extend our client’s impact footprint in the community, even with limited formal staff resources.

Employees, especially the younger workforce, are looking for a deeper meaning in their work and to feel as though they are contributing to something impactful. Millennials are especially vigilant about researching and weighing the values and cultures of companies they want to work for. Gen Z is following suit, looking for authentic commitments from their employer to take action to solve the world’s problems.

This is worth the effort: recent statistics on corporate social responsibility show that 95% of employees believe businesses should benefit all stakeholders, including the communities in which they operate, and 70% say they wouldn’t work for a company without a strong purpose.

Employers are understanding that social impact is a critical component to an effective business strategy. In today’s connected and interdependent world, employees increasingly demand that businesses and their suppliers take part in creating solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. It’s time to fire up those special talents and passions to build engagement and loyalty.

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Maggie Z. Miller and Hannah Nokes are ForbesBooks co-authors of Magnify Your Impact: Powering Profit with Purpose (www.magnify-impact.com). They also are co-founders of Magnify Impact, a company that helps business leaders create effective social impact strategies. Miller has developed social impact solutions with hundreds of company leaders globally. Previously, she founded an international nonprofit organization to provide microcredit loans for thousands of women in Peru. Nokes has led corporate social responsibility for global corporations and founded an impact collaborative of companies in Austin, Texas.

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5 Ways Leaders Can Use Empathy to Increase Employee Job Satisfaction

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As many workplaces struggle to retain and hire employees during the “Great Resignation,” leaders don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves. But it may be time for more of them to feel empathy toward their workers.

Ernst & Young’s 2021 Empathy in Business Survey showed around 50% of employees quit a previous job because their boss wasn’t empathetic to their struggles at work or in their personal lives. On the other hand, nearly 90% of workers who were queried believe empathetic leadership creates loyalty, and 85% say that it increases productivity.

Empathetic leadership is a must in today’s COVID-affected workplace, as employees struggle with burnout, working from home and other issues, according to research by Catalyst, a nonprofit that works to advance women in leadership positions. But until more business owners, executives and managers put a priority on listening to their employees and showing them they care, workers will look for companies that are more tuned in to their concerns, says Kathleen Quinn Votaw, the author of DARE to CARE IN THE WORKPLACE: A Guide to the New Way We Work.

“Most people do not know how to truly understand someone else’s point of view without letting their own thoughts, opinions, and emotions get in the way,” Quinn Votaw says. “Leaders often sit in their own place of judgment rather than using empathy as the bridge to understanding and connection.”

Quinn Votaw says that while empathy has gained importance in the work culture in recent years, many managers aren’t prepared for that role.

“Leading with empathy means understanding and accepting that people are not always operating at their very best,” she says. “Issues from home affect work lives. Working within and around that reality is the best way to create a place where people want to come to work.”

Quinn Votaw offers these tips on how leaders can lead with empathy and enhance the employee experience:

Be authentic. “Like actors in a Shakespearian play, we play roles versus showing up authentically,” Quinn Votaw says. “We have been taught to hide our true selves and display a false sense of bravado. To lead with empathy, get beyond the facade we all walk around with. Go the extra step – with your willingness to dig deep in terms of caring and asking questions that convey your interest in them as people.”

Communicate with a personal touch. A leader who consistently communicates with a personal touch for a variety of reasons – praise for the employee, concern and support for them – builds morale and increases retention, Quinn Votaw says. “The more personal they are, the more appreciated they are by the employees.”

Make space for connection. Quinn Votaw says leaders need to respect how their employees need personal connections with each other, and also says leaders should personally connect with employees once or twice a week outside of regular meetings. “Make time for more social and genuine connections in virtual meetings,” she says. “Have fun with virtual coffee chats, happy hours, trivia contests, or scavenger hunts.”

Provide remote workers with the tech support they need. ”There’s a growing economic inequality crisis with remote workers not having money for or access to technology,” Quinn Votaw says. “No one wants to lose out on high-quality talent because they lack funds for high-speed internet or a computer. Create a program to provide office equipment for your employees so they can have a functional setup in their personal space.”

Respect the boundaries of work and home life. Working in a remote environment has thrown off a lot of employees. “It was easy to have barriers and work/life balance when we commuted,” Quinn Votaw says. “Leaders can help  employees create a home space where they can turn work on and off, which boosts productivity, enhances connection and creates a healthier work/life balance.”

“Empathy is not about you, the leader,” she says. “It’s about taking time to listen, putting yourself in someone else’s place, and providing what they need in that moment.”

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Kathleen Quinn Votaw (www.talentrust.com) is the CEO of TalenTrust, a strategic recruiting and human capital consulting firm. She is the author of DARE to CARE IN THE WORKPLACE: A Guide to the New Way We Work. Regarded as a key disruptor in her industry, Quinn Votaw has helped thousands of companies across multiple industries develop purpose-based, inclusive communities that inspire employees to come to work. Her company has been recognized in the Inc. 5000.

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6 Authentic Qualities Leaders Possess Even When They’re Not The Boss

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Some people lead because it’s in their job description.

But anyone can step up and take a leadership role in a business or organization, even when they have no authority to back up what they are trying to achieve, says Carrie Root, author of The Other Soft Skill: How to Solve Workplace Challenges with Generational Intelligence.

In multi-generational workplaces where employees can include Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z, you don’t have to be the oldest worker or the one with the most seniority in the company to show your leadership skills. But Root says you do need to be engaging, inspiring and credible – without being bossy.

“The challenge is to get people to follow your lead or your ideas because they want to, not because they are told to,” says Root, who is also founder and CEO of Alpha UMi (www.5gpowerskills.com), an educational consulting firm that creates professional development curricula.

 

She says those who are most successful at leading without authority usually possess certain characteristics and skills that make others willing to listen to what they have to say.

“Few will be proficient in all these skills,” she says, “but most successful leaders in the lead-without-authority realm will possess most of them.”

A few of those characteristics and skills include:

Be seen as trustworthy. Root says that trust is a foundational block of leadership. “It is especially important to someone who wants their ideas achieved,” she says. “The group needs to believe that the leader will be there to see it through.”

Have a positive attitude and a growth mindset. Whatever emotional energy a leader displays – positive or negative – is transmitted to the group. “People who exude positivity are much more fun to work with than those who portray a gloom and doom philosophy,” Root says.

Be succinct. In today’s world of Instagram and Twitter, you are playing to short attention spans, Root says. “It’s always good to share the ‘why’ but it’s got to be short,” she says. “Likewise, condense your vision into concepts that are easily understandable and quick to grasp. Plan to work the details out in committee.”

Be a good communicator and organizer. Strive to maintain energy and organization through emails and other information-sharing means when you are not meeting. “Make sure the organizational assignments are clear,” she says. “No one likes to find out that the work they did was also done by someone else.”

Show your appreciation. Everyone likes to have their contributions recognized. “This can be as simple as giving credit as opposed to taking credit,” Root says. “But a ‘thank you’ goes a long way towards fostering a sense of appreciation with those who are working with you.”

Check your ego at the door. Root says she has seen situations where egos drove extremely productive individuals to the sidelines, significantly costing the organization. “Recognize that there is more than your way to achieve goals,” she says. “Be open and encouraging to others’ ideas. Allow the group the opportunity to determine their path forward. This will give them ownership of the path.”

“A person who can lead without authority often radiates passion about the task they have taken on,” Root says. “They are good listeners who understand that there is more than just their way to do something. They are encouragers of individual ideas and talents while keeping the group headed towards their goal. Leading without authority happens when groups are energized through the recognition that the drive to achieve comes from the group.

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Carrie Root, author of The Other Soft Skill: How to Solve Workplace Challenges with Generational Intelligence, is the founder and CEO of Alpha UMi (www.5gpowerskills.com), an education consulting firm that develops professional-development curricula. Her company has provided workshops at conferences for major corporations and associations. Prior to founding Alpha UMi, Root had a successful engineering career working for large and small businesses, followed by more than two decades consulting as a high-level troubleshooter for the U.S. Navy.

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8 Effective Holiday Incentives for Supply Chain Employees

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The holiday season can be the busiest time of year for supply chain companies. USPS alone delivers nearly 16 billion packages and pieces of mail during the holidays. With e-commerce continuing to grow, logistics professionals can expect these peak seasons to become increasingly busy.

This skyrocketing demand puts increased pressure on the workforce. Supply chains often need more employees and higher productivity from their current workers to remain efficient through the season. As labor shortages continue to plague the industry, that can be a challenge.

Logistics businesses need ways to attract new workers or incentivize current ones to be productive or work longer hours. Here are eight such incentives that could prove effective during the holiday season.

1. Cash Bonuses

One of the most effective incentives is also the most straightforward. Money is a powerful motivator at any time of year, but during the holidays, when workers are likely spending more, it may be even more enticing. According to one survey, 44% of employees quit to earn more money elsewhere, so monetary incentives can convince them to stay through the holidays.

Supply chain companies can take multiple routes to this end. The most straightforward is to increase hourly wages during peak seasons, but that’s not the only option. Businesses can also offer a one-time holiday bonus, tiered rewards for shifts taken, or other financial incentives. The holiday shopping peak may help offset these costs, too.

2. Extra Time Off

A similar option is to give employees who work extra during the holiday season additional time off. Providing days away from work at another time of year makes up for the time they put in around the holidays. These incentives can also follow a tier system, with workers earning more time off as they work more holiday hours or reach new productivity goals.

Like cash incentives, these rewards can take several forms. One option is to give workers an extra paid vacation day or two to use at their discretion. Another is to increase their number of sick days, or companies could give workers more flex time.

This last option may be the most effective. Studies show that 82% of employees today would be more loyal if they had flexible work options.

3. Discounts at Local Establishments

One more unique alternative is to offer gift cards or discounts at businesses in the area. Many businesses have programs where employers can provide discounts or free services to their employees, and if that’s not available, gift cards likely are. These incentives are similar to cash bonuses but offer a specific chance for workers to try something new or visit their favorite place.

For example, employers could give employees working overtime a complimentary month’s gym membership. As workers gear up for their New Year’s resolutions, they may appreciate the opportunity. Other items, like gift cards for local businesses, can help them complete their holiday shopping or treat themselves.

4. Holiday Parties

Supply chain organizations could also embrace the holiday spirit and throw a party for their employees. This time to unwind and have fun with co-workers can help mitigate the stress of working during this season, motivating employees to push through it. Social events also make excellent incentives because a sense of community can improve worker satisfaction and productivity.

Parties should include food, drinks, games, and if employees would be interested, optional gift exchanges. Employers can even find alternatives to the classic Christmas turkey to keep things fresh and appeal to more people.

5. New Equipment

Sometimes, holiday incentives can lead to longer-term benefits for employers. One such example is to provide new workplace equipment if enough employees work through the holidays or reach a pre-defined productivity goal. This could include more comfortable office chairs, easier-to-handle pallet jacks, elevators to provide a way around stairs, or similar upgrades.

These new tools will boost productivity in the long run, so they help employers too. Workers will appreciate them because they make their jobs easier. While this option may not be as enticing to employees, it can still be effective, and it offers a win-win scenario.

To determine what upgrades will be the most enticing, employers should listen to their workers’ complaints. If there are any consistent issues that new equipment can solve, that should be the prize.

6. Charitable Donations

Around this time of year, employees may feel more charitable, thanks to the holiday spirit. That gives employers another less conventional but effective incentive: charitable giving. Instead of rewarding workers directly, businesses can make donations in their name to the charity of their choice.

Companies can either ask individual workers where they’d like donations to go or poll the workforce. In either case, the business will end up giving to a cause that employees care about in return for their hard work. Knowing they’re making a profound difference can give employees the motivation they need to work through the holidays.

7. Professional Development Opportunities

One of the most common reasons employees feel dissatisfied with and leave a position is a lack of career development opportunities. In fact, 20% of workers who quit in 2019 did so for professional development reasons. Offering opportunities for employees to advance their careers could have the opposite effect.

As a reward for working through the holidays, supply chain organizations could provide a choice of development paths. Workers could take complimentary classes in an area, attend training seminars, or work briefly in another department. Employees who long for more options in their careers will be motivated to push through the holiday season for these incentives.

8. Public Recognition

Sometimes, all an employee needs to feel motivated is recognition for a job well done. Reports show that nearly half of all Americans feel lonelier now than usual, so knowing that someone else recognizes and appreciates them can go a long way.

Supply chain companies can offer recognition-related incentives in several ways. One option is to create a friendly competition where top-performing employees during the holiday peak receive public recognition and a place on a “wall of fame.” Alternatively, employers could write handwritten notes of appreciation to all workers.

This reward pairs nicely with others, too. Employers could recognize exceptional workers in front of their peers at holiday parties or reward top performers with vacation days or material prizes.

Motivate Employees This Holiday Season

It can be challenging to keep workers motivated through the holidays, but it’s not impossible. Any of these eight ideas, or a mixture of several, could push employees to perform at their best through this annual peak.

As labor shortages continue and e-commerce rises, holiday motivation becomes increasingly crucial. Regardless of the specifics, every supply chain organization should consider rewarding their employees around this time of year.

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Paycheck Or Purpose? How Businesses Retain Workers by Giving Them Both.

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At a time when global talent shortages are reported at a 15-year high, one key to keeping the best employees happy and onboard may lie in how well companies not only state their purpose and their values, but also prioritize carrying them out.

“When purpose and values are backed by meaningful action, you have the extraordinary opportunity to sharpen your company’s legacy – and have a better chance of retaining employees who otherwise might seek opportunities elsewhere,” says Maggie Z. Miller, the ForbesBooks co-author with Hannah Nokes of Magnify Your Impact: Powering Profit with Purpose (www.magnify-impact.com).

That’s especially critical these days when 69% of companies worldwide have reported talent shortages, and many employers are working to build more flexibility into jobs, something workers are demanding, according to a recent ManPowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

Miller points out that studies show firms that do a better job of practicing corporate responsibility can reduce average turnover over time by 25 to 50 percent. Employees want more than just a paycheck, although that’s important, too, she says. They want to feel that there’s some greater legacy to what they do each day and as a result they are drawn to companies that practice purpose alongside their profit.

Assisting businesses in finding and embracing purpose is what Miller and Nokes do. They are co-founders of Magnify Impact, a company that helps business leaders not only be prepared to react swiftly in times of crisis, but build a proactive strategy for effective social impact.

“Part of enriching your corporate growth journey is to move beyond purely transactional business operations,” Nokes says. “Purpose and values are the rock on which your business stands.”

And an essential element of that involves developing engaged employees.

Workers Desire Fulfillment

“Strong organizational values help cultivate fulfillment, where employees become active participants in, and ambassadors of, a company’s purpose,” Miller says.

People’s desire for fulfillment at work is strong, according to a PwC/CERC survey, which found that 70% of those surveyed said they would leave their current job for a more fulfilling opportunity, and one in three would consider lower pay to find more on-the-job fulfillment.

Meanwhile, Glassdoor’s Mission and Culture Survey 2019 found that 79% of adults would consider a company’s mission and purpose before applying for a job.

But one additional hurdle companies face in keeping employees engaged these days is that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on work and culture, Nokes says.

“Many companies will never go back to a full-time, in-person workforce,” she says. “Figuring out how to manage this new style of part physical and part virtual workplace is at the forefront.

“The pandemic and its reverberating effects raise new challenges for putting a company’s purpose into practice in day-to-day situations. How do you keep your people tethered to the culture in times of stress? How do you keep employees invested in and passionate about your brand when they’re not physically together?”

Miller and Nokes say it’s important to get employees involved in helping develop the solutions to those nagging questions.

Keeping It Simple – And Ambitious

While a company’s purpose and values can and should be ambitious, they don’t need to sound grandiose, peppered with flowery language or impenetrable prose, Nokes says. Some of the most successful companies state their purpose and values in simple and straightforward language.

For example, Patagonia’s purpose is “to save our home planet” and its values are “build the best product; cause no unnecessary harm; use business to protect nature; not bound by convention.”

Definitely ambitious. Also, easy to understand.

But purpose and values can’t just be feel-good ideas. They must be acted upon, or else employees will soon see that the company doesn’t really mean what it says, and they will go in search of a place to work where the purpose truly means something, Miller says.

“It doesn’t matter if you are in a beautiful corporate headquarters with your company’s values painted artistically on the wall,” she says. “Business leaders should ask themselves and their employees, ‘Do we make decisions based on these values? How often do we talk about them in leadership meetings?’ If the answers are ‘no’ and ‘never,’ it’s leadership’s job to get those words off the wall and into the hands of their people to use them.”

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Maggie Z. Miller and Hannah Nokes are ForbesBooks co-authors of Magnify Your Impact: Powering Profit with Purpose (www.magnify-impact.com). They also are co-founders of Magnify Impact, a company that helps business leaders create effective social impact strategies. Miller has developed social impact solutions with hundreds of company leaders globally. Previously, she founded an international nonprofit organization to provide microcredit loans for thousands of women in Peru. Nokes has led corporate social responsibility for global corporations and founded an impact collaborative of companies in Austin, Texas.

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How Recognizing Top Employees Can Cure The Quitting Epidemic

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A record 4.3 million workers left their jobs in August, continuing a trend in 2021. Reasons for quitting vary, but as one recent survey shows, a lack of appreciation from employers is a common driver.

Appreciation is an especially important factor to a large segment of the workforce – millennials and Gen Z. In a poll taken shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began, 79% of millennial and Gen Z respondents said an increase in recognition and rewards would make them more loyal to their employer.

With companies losing talented people and struggling to fill open positions, leaders need to know how to make employee recognition and appreciation a more consistent part of their work culture, says David Friedman (www.culturewise.com), author of Culture by Design: How to Build a High-Performing Culture Even in the New Remote Work Environment.

“Recognition is the best way to boost employee engagement, productivity and profit while significantly strengthening your culture,” Friedman says.

“It may seem intuitive that employees who are thanked and recognized for their work are happier and, as a result, perform better. But unfortunately, managers may be busy with other tasks or have an attitude of ‘If you don’t hear anything, assume you’re doing a good job.’ That approach loses good people who were very valuable.”

There are benefits to company leaders praising teams as well as individuals. A Gallup survey shows giving kudos to teams can encourage collaboration, inspire trust, clarify organizational goals, improve quality, and reinforce a team’s sense of purpose.

“Praise for a job well done should flow across all levels of the organization – peer to peer, manager to their direct report, and direct report to their manager,” Friedman says. “Remember your remote workers – they may already be feeling disconnected from the workplace, so remind them that you notice and appreciate their contributions.”

Friedman offers these thoughts on giving recognition and showing appreciation in the workplace:

It should be authentic and individualized. Friedman observes that employees are savvy and can see through an “everyone gets a trophy” mentality. “Saying ‘great job’ is nice, but it’s much more meaningful if you detail the specifics of the person’s actions and how they helped advance the company’s objectives,” he says. “And if their efforts merit more than a compliment, or such efforts are a trend for them, then leaders need to figure out a fair tangible reward. Promotions with pay raises and increased responsibilities go the next step to show consistent high performers that they are truly valued.”

Tailor recognition to the recipient. Some people enjoy being the center of attention, so a formal public recognition is ideal for them, Friedman says. Others avoid the spotlight and prefer a one-on-one acknowledgement. For a team acknowledgment, a company-wide or departmental meeting might be a fitting forum. “That’s a great way to show the link between the team’s accomplishments, company objectives, and the importance of working well together,” Friedman says.

Convey your appreciation in person. Friedman notes this may be difficult with remote workforces, and sometimes a phone call or email will have to do. “But the in-person touch has a lot more impact,” he says, “especially when it comes from an executive with whom the employee has very little exposure.”

Create a culture of recognition. “Culture change starts with identifying the specific behaviors that drive success in your company,” Friedman says. “One of them should be showing meaningful appreciation. That means regularly recognizing people doing things right, rather than frequently pointing out when they do things wrong.”

“Recognition leads to happy employees, better retention, and better business results,” Friedman says. “When your people know they are appreciated, really valued, it will make a huge difference in your day-to-day culture and in your growth as a company.”

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David Friedman (www.culturewise.com) is author of Culture by Design: How to Build a High-Performing Culture Even in the New Remote Work Environment. He also is founder/CEO of CultureWise®, a turnkey operating system for small to midsize businesses to create and sustain a high-performing culture. He is the former president of RSI, an award-winning employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm that was named one of the best places to work in the Philadelphia region seven times. Friedman has taught more than 6,000 CEOs about work culture and led more than 500 workshops on the subject. With Sean Sweeney, Friedman formed High Performing Culture, LLC, based on the culture methodology Friedman created at RSI.

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Who’s the Best Person for the Job? 5 Tips to Find ‘Culture Fit’ in a Candidate

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Many factors go into a company’s decision to hire someone: the candidate’s experience, talent, skills, and ability to communicate, for starters.

But while a sparkling resume and impressive job interview are still important considerations, a job prospect’s ability to fit the company’s culture has never been more critical in the hiring process, says Joel Patterson (www.JoelPatterson.com), a workplace culture expert, founder of The Vested Group and ForbesBooks author of The Big Commitment: Solving The Mysteries Of Your ERP Implementation.

“Companies head into a new year full of uncertainty and are coming off a year of so much change and disruption,” Patterson says. “These challenges test the strength of a work culture, and as companies seek stability, adaptability, and growth, finding the right culture fit is the most crucial factor in choosing a new hire.

“An aligned team will work far better together, be more productive individually, and feel more satisfied in their roles overall. And with more people working remotely, keeping your culture strong and your workflow cohesive is imperative. Adding new people should only serve to enhance it.”

Patterson offers five tips on how to hire for culture fit:

Define and document core values. “First of all, ensure that your company has a set of values, which are the foundation of the culture,” Patterson says. “Company values show what the founder and management hold as important and the behaviors they expect employees to uphold. Spend time analyzing and fine-tuning your company values and document them into clear, specific words.”

Display company culture on the website and social media. “When researching the company, job candidates should get a glimpse of the work culture before the interview and decide if it fits them,” Patterson says. “The company needs to be clear about its core values and promote its environment so it can appeal to the best candidates. Value statements conveyed in content, slides and videos should appear in the company’s careers section, corporate blogs, and social media posts.”

Ask culture-focused questions during the interview. It’s vital for those interviewing candidates to have a firm grasp of the work culture and to ask questions that relate directly to it. “The interviewer should build a picture of who this candidate is both inside and outside the office,” Patterson says. “Ask them things like, what’s their most positive personality trait and their worst, and why for both. What type of team do they thrive in? Have they read our values? Which one resonates the most with them? What have their past relationships with co-workers, managers, and clients been like?”

Let candidates interact with staff. A prospect can say all the right things during an interview, but how they interact with employees can be more telling about whether they’re a culture fit. “Those who do well in interviews and make the short list should be brought back for extensive interaction with staff members,” Patterson says. “You can determine a lot by how engaged they are, what questions they ask, and how employees react to them generally in normal conversation.”

Research your process. Between hirings, Patterson says it’s a good idea to ask around and see if your process reflected your company culture. “Ask recent hires what worked and what didn’t,” he says. “If possible, track down candidates to whom you offered jobs but they turned them down. Find out why. You can always improve your hiring practices so they better align with the company culture.”

“Company culture provides your team with direction and is effectively the glue that binds the team,” Patterson says. “To keep improving it means hiring with culture fit top of mind. Employees who embrace your culture boost morale and productivity and positively impact future recruiting.”

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Joel Patterson (www.JoelPatterson.com) is the founder of The Vested Group, a business technology consulting firm in the Dallas, Texas, area, and ForbesBooks author of The Big Commitment: Solving The Mysteries Of Your ERP Implementation. He has worked in the consulting field for over 20 years. Patterson began his consulting career at Arthur Andersen and Capgemini before helping found Lucidity Consulting Group in 2001. For 15 years he specialized in implementing Tier One ERP, software systems designed to service the needs of large, complex corporations. In 2011, Patterson founded The Vested Group, which focuses on bringing comprehensive cloud-based business management solutions to start-ups and well-established businesses alike. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University.

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How To Be A Hands-On Leader In Social Distancing Times

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There are plenty of suggestions out there about how to best lead a company, but have you ever been told that an uninvolved, uninterested, hands-off leadership strategy is the way to go? Probably not. Being a hands-on leader is more important than ever these days, as many teams are working remotely.

The more a leader separates him or herself from the rest of the company, the less effective he’s likely to be. Here are a few things I’ve learned on my path to becoming a productive, involved, hands-on leader:

Honesty. Transparent communication is crucial when developing trust. Employees know when you are vague with your information or messaging. The more you can be completely open with your employees, the more they will trust you to lead them in the future. For example, if we have a complex implementation coming up, and I can see that we are going to need to work longer hours and possibly a weekend or two﹘ I tell my team precisely that. While it may seem like being the bearer of bad news, it’s better than leading them to believe they will be logging out at five every night when that’s simply not the case.

Approachability. It’s vital that every person in the company feels that they can come to you with their problems and you will hear them. The more you listen to your team, the more insight you will gain into how to lead them effectively. Never brush off an employee’s idea, opinion, or problem. Listen with intent, not apathy.

Offer Feedback. If a team or individual is underperforming but hasn’t gotten the feedback needed to address the issue, nothing is going to change. In the same way, if you have employees giving 110% effort and producing outstanding work, that needs to be recognized. Make sure your team knows that you are present; you see the work they’re putting in, and you are on the same side.

Lead by Example. I’ve found that leading by example is an essential element of leadership. The leaders set the attitude of the entire company. You can’t expect a collaborative workforce if you don’t collaborate with them. You can’t expect loyal, dedicated employees if you don’t fight for them as well.

Be the Leader You’d Want to Have. When making decisions, you have to think not only about the success of the company but the happiness of your employees. A solution carried out by an unhappy employee is never a sustainable solution. If you’re not sure about how your decisions are affecting your team, ask for feedback.

In every situation, try to put yourself in the shoes of those you lead. Are you the type of supervisor you’d want to work with? Each of your employees is a human being. It may seem like an obvious statement, but it’s easy to get caught up in the big-picture decisions and forget about the individuals that those decisions affect.

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Joel Patterson (www.JoelPatterson.com) is the founder of The Vested Group, a business technology consulting firm in the Dallas, Texas area, and ForbesBooks author of The Big Commitment: Solving The Mysteries Of Your ERP Implementation. He has worked in the consulting field for over 20 years. Patterson began his consulting career at Arthur Andersen and Capgemini before helping found Lucidity Consulting Group in 2001. For 15 years he specialized in implementing Tier One ERP, software systems designed to service the needs of large, complex corporations. In 2011, Patterson founded The Vested Group, which focuses on bringing comprehensive cloud-based business management solutions to start-ups and well-established businesses alike. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

With Jobs Eliminated Daily, is Now the Right Time to Buy A Business?

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The economy and job market have been on a roller coaster since the pandemic hit in the early part of 2020.

First, the stock market took a nosedive and reached some all-time lows, only to rebound to all-time highs. The same has occurred in the job market. First, we were experiencing the lowest unemployment in years, only to be followed by the highest unemployment since the Great Depression of 1929.

Presently the stock market is rising, but there is still unemployment, and daily you read about major companies that are either laying off or eliminating jobs by the thousands.

If you have lost your job and find it difficult to find another job in an area of your expertise, then you may want to consider taking control of your future and buying a business. By owning your own business, you have more control of your future. You are allowed to use the talents you were using at your old job and apply them to a vocation that will allow you more flexibility and income.

The pandemic has created chaos in all areas of our daily lives and business, but it has also created lots of opportunities, too. Remember, overall nothing has really changed. People still need to eat, shop, communicate with each other, travel, vacation, read, sleep, etc. The only thing that has changed is how we will do these things after the pandemic is over, and it will be over eventually. Our world will be different just as travel and security have changed since 9/11, but we will still continue to live and thrive, and life will go on.

Buying a business is the quickest and least risky way to get into business, because when you buy a business that is already operating with employees and customers you have a cash flow from day one. If you can’t or don’t want to buy a business, you can start a new business. And in today’s world, if you want to reduce your risk, you may want to consider buying a franchise. A franchise is a business with a proven track record in the industry of which the franchise specializes, and all you have to do is follow the business formula the franchisor provides to you.

If you are really passionate about a certain business idea or concept, then you can start your new business from scratch. Either way, whatever option you choose you will be in control of your future more so than what you would be if you were to get another job – if another job is available.

As I was taught many years ago and live by today: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Maybe there is a business calling your name now.

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Terry Monroe (www.terrymonroe.com) is the president and founder of American Business Brokers & Advisors. The author of four books, he most recently published Hidden Wealth: The Secret to Getting Top Dollar for Your Business, with ForbesBooks. Monroe is a professional intermediary, consultant, and market maker for privately-held companies and has been involved in the sale of more than 800 businesses. In his 35-plus years of service, he has owned and operated more than 40 different businesses. At American Business Brokers & Advisors, he serves as a consultant for business buyers and sellers throughout the nation. As an expert source he has been written about and featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, CNN Money, USA Today, CEOWORLD, and Forbes.