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2018 The Year of Change for Employers

Definition of change

Your Employees are your Company’s Most Valuable Asset!

Who or what is the most valuable asset (MVA) of your company? Employees should be considered the MVA of every organization. Without MVA’s how will your company meet the needs and demands of your customers?

The importance of retaining your MVA’s and reducing turnover is recommended to be the highest priority for your company this upcoming year. You have most likely experienced throughout 2017, the challenges of finding and retaining top talent within your company. Determining why employees are leaving your company and what attracts employees to your company is important to determine. No different than gearing your marketing towards specific industries or segments.

Some recommendations for uncovering what makes your employees tick or be ticked off:

  1. Employee Onboarding – Evaluate the onboarding process you are currently using. Investing time with a new employee on their first day leaves a lasting impression.
  2. Compensation Analysis – Have a compensation analysis done for all positions within your organization. Due to the recession, many companies put a hold on performance evaluations and increases due to financial restraints. Coming out of the financial stresses, many businesses have reinstated the Performance Appraisal and Salary Increases. The challenge here is, the value of duties and responsibilities has changed since 2008 and offering a minimal increase following years of no increase and no communication about performance may be insulting to employees.
  3. Implement Stay Interviews – The exit interview is not the best time to find out what your company can do to keep employees from leaving, by then, it’s too late.  It’s best to interview employees every 3-6 months to give them the opportunity to discuss what they like and don’t like about their current position, it gives the company time to address change and can help reduce employee turnover.
  4. Employee Surveys – Survey current employees to determine why they stay with your company and what will motivate them to make a move.
  5. Work-Life Balance – Evaluate the programs offered to employees to assist them with balancing work demands and life demands. Considering flexible work schedules and telecommuting are some options to consider.
  6. Culture – Is your work culture adaptable and acceptable to various generations throughout your workforce? Workplace Culture is the character and personality of your organization and is important for the organization as it directly impacts the ability to attract and retain talent.
  7. Diversity in the Workplace – Diversity is important because it introduces new ideas and adds to the workplace culture, it also increases employee morale and causes employees to work more effectively and efficiently.
  8. Mentors for Generational Gaps – In order for baby boomers to retire our millennials need to learn what makes “the other generations” stay with a company for extended periods of time. Who better to learn about work ethic, dedication, and respect from but our existing generation. Developing a mentoring program is a great tool to educate employees about work ethic and responsibilities while providing value to the baby boomers who don’t want to retire because they believe no one will respect the job and/or company like they do.
  9. Management Training – Promoting employees to management positions without providing them with the necessary tools and training is a recipe for disaster. Invest in helping your employees to be successful instead of leading them to think they are just filling a void.
Work-Life Balance

Work-Life Balance

When you’re an entrepreneur your time is your most valued asset.  It is important to stay focused on BOTH your business and your personal life!

For small-business owners, and entrepreneurs with a growing business work-life balance has become one of their biggest challenges. Many owners love what they do but find themselves caught up in the day-to-day needs of their company with no free time to spend with loved ones, or on personally fulfilling activities like getting enough sleep, eating healthy and exercising, all the necessary elements of a well-rounded life. But there is hope, many successful entrepreneurs have found a way to juggle their ultra-busy professional lives with their personal and social lives to include a healthy work-life balance. Here are some helpful tips that help me get through the day:

Delegate your work:

Many entrepreneurs are working to fulfill their client projects on their own and doing everything themselves to keep their business running. A recent survey estimated that nearly 80 percent of entrepreneurs feel they work too much, and many would prefer to work fewer than 40 hours a week. The biggest reason they’re overworked? They feel there are some tasks that only they can handle, tasks they can’t easily delegate out to others.

Delegating work doesn’t stop with the business, it’s also important to consciously think about how you’re spending your time at home.  After a long day at the office, no one want’s to be spending what little free time they have on housework.  Consider delegating some of the daily chores to your spouse or partner and get the family involved with cooking, cleaning, and running errands.

 Manage your time: 

Managing your schedule is just as important as delegating your projects. Planning for your upcoming week is helpful with staying focused and on track. Take time to sit down one day a week and reflect on the previous week. Develop a work plan for the week ahead that includes work initiatives and goals, time for family and time for yourself.  Include not only work meetings and obligations but activities you enjoy like meeting with friends, sleeping in or exercising.

As an entrepreneur we try to fit as much as we can into every day, scheduling meetings earlier and earlier in the morning so we have more time during the day to focus on getting things done.  I noticed that by the end of the day I was feeling run down, tired and overworked with no energy to do things I enjoy doing in my spare time.  I found that if I start my workday at 9:00 AM it gives me a little extra time in the morning to wake up, do some yoga, and reflect on the day ahead.   Taking that extra hour or two in the morning really makes a difference in my piece of mind and overall well-being.

Being more organized and making time for both business and personal activities is important for my health and well-being.  I’ve decided that for my 2018 New Year’s resolution is to have healthy work-life balance.  What’s your resolution?