In academia, teachers and researchers are encouraged to take a sabbatical once every 7 years. It gives professors the chance to do something different, forge new relationships, and recharge their batteries and creative juices. This system works well for them.
There's no such thing as a sabbatical though, in most jobs, and after 7 long years in the same job (and often even before then), employees commonly begin to lose interest and start looking elsewhere. This "7 year job itch" can affect people in any profession, in any economic climate, anywhere in the world. When it's time for a change, it's time for a change.
These strategies are like Anti Monkey Butt Powder with Calamine Lotion, but for employee retention. Stop the itch.
Flickr/djeo
Unhappy faces, reduced social interaction, and frequent tardiness are telltale signs of burnt out, 7-year itch employees. The discontent associated with the mundane can build into frustration that ends in resignation. Keen managers and HR pros will make sure that this never happens.
Surely you already know the advantages of retaining staff, there are many: Less time spent recruiting and onboarding, faster task completion, great relationships, stored organizational knowledge, etc.
When measuring employee morale or tracking projects, pay special attention to medium term employees, as they are most at risk of the seven year itch. If you can identify what bothers them earlier rather than later, you can take steps to improve the situation. These approaches might help:
1. Offer a Role Change
Monotony is everone's biggest enemy. When employees learn to perform all of their job tasks with enough efficiency, it can quickly become very boring. An ideal job should be appropriately intellectually stimulating. If it isn't, after some time, productivity can decline quickly.
Talk to employees about their career development, and how they can align their current roles with their aspirations. Maybe they can mentor the next generation of team members? Maybe there's a similar job in the organization where their knowledge and experience would be very valuable?
If you can frame lateral moves as promotions (either of salary, of responsibility, or both), they're more likely to be accepted. This can boost your employee's sense of achievement and self-confidence. A clear development course helps to make employees' objectives clearer, and gets them more focused.
2. Offer a Break
Sometimes deadline after deadline after deadline burns your employees out. Tremendous work pressure can crack the most dedicated and strong-willed person. You should always encourage your team to cash in the paid time-off that they accumulate. If they don't have enough, consider offering unpaid time off, a cash incentive to take a vacation, or a company trip.
Employees will return from their break feeling refreshed and eager to work. Vacations are calamine lotion for your 7-year itch.
3. Release them to a different project or team
Sometimes the goals of employees are not aligned with those of their project group. Assigning them to another project or team within the organization can help move employees closer to their goals. Even if one project loses vital resources, another will gain them. In the end, if the employee comes out ahead, the organization does too.
4. Let them go
In the worst case scenario, employees feel trapped in the wrong job and at the wrong company. It's best that you separate on good terms. Help your employee find a new job. For example, a software programmer may want to become a professional photographer, or an unhappy accountant may want to run her own restaurant.
Be civil and help them pursue their dreams. If it doesn't work out, they'll be more likely to come back to your organization, or to refer a friend or colleague who would be successful in their old job.
Track employee projects to make sure that they're working on things they enjoy. Get started on TribeHR today with a free 60-day trial.
Many have embraced the ease and efficiency of recruiting through social media. Ramy Nassar is no exception! He is an advocate of efficient social recruiting and yet is able to create and maintain those personal connections that are integral to an effective hiring process.
Ramy Nassar, Myplanet Digital
Nassar currently functions as business development for Myplanet, a tech startup based out of Markham. At Myplanet he started out by developing recruitment programs. Formerly he worked in business development at RIM and also has experience in software engineering.
When asked for Myplanet’s lean recruitment take on hiring, he explains, “I think we just do things a little bit differently in a way, but the reason we do it in that process and that order is sort of to get out of the box a little bit.” Being active in the community through social events and networking with like-minded individuals is a great place to start. Nassar recalls, “We would just do things like have them come hang out in our office for a day and see what the environment was like.”
Nassar notes that perhaps the most crucial component of lean recruiting methodology in a startup is flexibility; “I think the most important part is that we are always trying to evolve our process, seeing what will work best.” A recent innovation in Nassar’s recruiting techniques has been the recognition that while having a hiring process is important, relentlessly following it may not always be the most efficient approach. Allowing yourself to get caught up in various steps throughout that process gives candidates more time to seek out other options. Here, flexibility could have saved that migration. “It may at times mean we’ve done an interview we wouldn’t have done otherwise, but at the same time it also prevents us from losing out on someone who may have gone somewhere else,” he says, on the advantages of being flexible.
In addition, Nassar says, “I think the biggest thing that we’re doing is trying to do things a little bit more backlog style.” Coordinating several times a week on sprint planning and meetings moves Myplanet toward the goal of “more agile processes in general” – that same agility mirrored within their recruiting approach.
Recognizing your limitations as a smaller company is also important. For example, Nassar quickly found that trying to recruit through campus visits was an ineffective method, because students were less engaged when they weren’t familiar with the company. In his experience, “You don’t necessarily have the pull that you think you do,” which further emphasizes the imperativeness of becoming a visible brand in your community.
Conversely, small businesses benefit from the advantage of recognizing inefficiencies and making changes without being bogged down by masses of corporate red tape. “The quicker we can find out what doesn’t work and the quicker we can cut that out, I think that’s one of the biggest advantages we have [as a smaller organization],” Nassar believes. “That’s a big part of being lean and being agile as well, sort of knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.”
Lindsay Purchase interviewed Ramy Nassar on behalf of Workplace Tribes in May 2012.
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Newlyweds are surrounded by a bubble of happiness, contentment, and a sense of overall well-being. Nothing can go wrong, and everything seems possible.
The same holds true for new employees, and fortunately for you, there are ways to prolong this stage.
Provide genuine positive feedback
Employees, like anyone else, like to feel that their work is appreciated and contributing to the betterment of the company. You can provide this feedback in a variety of ways.
Compliment your employees for a job well done. Friendly acknowledgment can include a face-to-face conversation, a quick pat on the shoulder, a sincere "thank you for doing such a great job on that project," or a quick online message. Sincerity goes a long way towards promoting loyalty and ensuring your employee has a long and productive tenure with the firm.
Promotions will do the job
Married to the job? Doesn't mean you can't drag out the honeymoon. Flickr/Jeff Weston
When an employee is doing a great job in their current position, and shows potential for advancement, don't hold them back. Promotions tell your employee that you value their competence, insight, work habits, and loyalty. If your competitors identify and support your superstars before you do, you'll lose the battle for talent.
Schedule some fun times
A well-oiled work environment which keeps employees operating at the newlywed stage has fun as a focal point. Socializing builds camaraderie and takes the ho-hum out of the workday.
Consider informal outings, like a family picnic, or take some time out during the day for unique team building workshops.
Publicly acknowledge accomplishments
Who doesn't like being recognized for doing a great job or doing something out of the ordinary? When this happens, let as many people as possible know about it. After sharing great accomplishments widely internally, consider issuing a press release, or inviting some media attention, which can boost your employee's personal profile, your company's public relationship, and your HR brand.
If you use social networks within or outside of the company, use them to spread the word. You may be surprised how fast the news travels in the viral world. Appreciated employees love the companies they work for.
Use HR software
HR software can enable manager and co-workers to give kudos to their deserving colleagues. This can boost motivation and prolong the newlywed stage. Paying attention to the little things is what makes a person's overall work experience a great one.
Use your HR software to keep track of anniversaries, birthdays, promotions, and other personal occasions. Plan parties and celebrations to not only foster a team environment, but to promote individual achievements too. Just try not to play favourites.
Feed your workforce
Keep your employees in the newlywed stage by feeding them like a wedding reception. Food and beverages are a great low-cost investment that foster productivity, loyalty, and motivation. Keeping your lunchroom supplied with food, fresh coffee, bottled water, and/or hot chocolate will not only satisfy employee palates, but keep them happy and satisfied with the workplace environment.
Put more simply, the newlywed stage of the employee lifecycle can be extended by treating your employees like you would expect to be treated. Respect, friendliness, dignity, consideration, and a little bit of innovation always pay off in the long run.
Discover the correlation between employee tenure, projects, and engagement, with powerful HR software from TribeHR. Follow TribeHR on Facebook to receive all of our news, and maybe even a wedding invitation.
In business, time spent equals money spent. This simple fact means that for the sake of accountability, it's a good idea to hold regular performance reviews. Assessing your team's performance at different points during the year keeps the lines of communication open between you and your employees, and it makes meeting goals a lot easier.
When your company's performance reviews are shorter and more frequent, you come away reassured that your employees know what you're looking for. Here are some of the other advantages:
You can point out strengths you've seen in your employees. No matter the job, people like recognition for the work they do. When an employer can see talent and coach those who need it, employees are more loyal and enthusiastic about their work.
Feedback in short, specific bursts is often more effective than all at once. Flickr/Sylvia Currie
High job satisfaction is key to retention. When you meet with your employees briefly, but on a consistent basis, you have the opportunity to develop a strong relationship, understand their day-to-day work, and clarify expectations, resulting in increased job satisfaction.
Whether someone is doing fantastic, is having issues, or has just been distracted, regular performance reviews can make sure they're on the right path. Most companies start the quarter with goals in mind, but if these are met quickly, employees can be left sitting around.
Regular performance reviews allow you to track and grow employee outputs, without the stress of infrequent and uncomfortable annual appraisals. This is a great opportunity to set short-term goals that will keep people focused.
The most common reason for a performance review is to let employees know where they need to improve. For new and entry-level workers, especially in Generation Y, frequent feedback is vital to providing mentoring and constructive criticism. Quick conversations and short messages help your employees develop without the fear of defeat or termination.
The opportunity to talk about where employees want to be in the future does not often arise naturally in the workplace. Shorter and more frequent performance reviews are a great chance to bring this up. How do you feel about your job? What would you rather be doing? How can we help you get there? These one-on-one communications can help fix minor issues before they become big problems.
Opponents of frequent reviews believe that the process is too time-consuming, which can detract from other important tasks. That's why it's vital that your feedback mechanisms are natural for your team, and compliment your other core managerial functions.
Employees appreciate when constructive criticism feels like great advice, instead of behavioral correction. Many managers prefer providing feedback over the course of the day, instead of on a schedule, when it can feel like a chore.
Reviewing your employees' performance often will let them know what they're doing well, and where they need to make improvements. For a thriving business, open and honest communication is an absolute necessity.
Track the time your team spends on specific projects, offer feedback, manage relationships, and engage employees, with powerful social HR software from TribeHR. Pricing starts at just $2/month per employee.
Why do seemingly ‘good’ and well-performing employees leave the companies they’re working for? To the casual observer, money may look like the biggest factor as far as resignations are concerned, followed closely by neglect from management. While both are indeed key factors behind employee-management problems, things aren’t as black and white as they seem. There are far more factors to consider if you want to keep a low turnover rate.
For starters, do you consider employee engagement as high up on your list of HR and management priorities? There are many ways to engage employees and keep them motivated, but few are as important as creating a sense of personal progress in individuals working within the organization. Employees don’t just value organizational stability and an income that pays the bills. They also need direction and a firm grasp on whether or not they actually fit in the organization and are doing a good job.
The differences between engaged and disengaged employees are immense. Engaged employees take pleasure in the work they do and feel zero to little stress, even when in the middle of challenging work. They completely immerse themselves in their tasks and lose sense of time, often remarking how workdays pass by so quickly.
In contrast, disengaged employees lack zeal and a desire to come to work. They often dread reporting for duty, and question what they’re doing in a company. Tasks are done because that’s “what the boss says” and not because they find a quiet contentment in the work they do. So as you can see, it’s not really surprising why this eventually leads to resignation.
With managers and HR personnel racing to streamline their companies in today’s tough economic times, it can be very easy to forget about the goals, aspirations and needs of the individual employee in the organization. Here are some innovative ways you can create a sense of progress in your employees and keep them happy over the long run.
Acknowledge and place value in individual contributions
Leaders must make it a point to illustrate to employees how their efforts as individuals play a big role in the overall direction and business strategy of an organization. People naturally want to be part of a team that’s winning, so talk and interact with employees and make them feel proud of the work they do. They need to feel that your company’s success is thanks to their efforts. Always remember: an employee who feels that he, or she, belongs is a happy employee. And a happy employee, is, more often than not, a productive employee.
Don’t neglect training
Investing a substantial amount of resources in training is a way for you to hit two birds with one stone. First, training teaches employees new skill sets and helps increase their productivity. From a business standpoint, training is good because it allows you to retain workers who can handle large responsibilities, instead of hiring new people, which can be expensive.
For employees, knowing that employees care enough to invest in their training is motivating, and the very concept of undergoing continuous learning is a major morale booster. It means the management actually wants to keep them by investing in their training.
Provide mentoring support
Mentoring can provide employees with a sense of how well they are doing within an organization. More importantly, mentoring allows them to sound off on issues revolving around work, allowing them to resolve their problems efficiently. Note than mentoring can be facilitated internally or outside the organization— choose whichever works best for employees.
At the end of the day, employees want to feel that they are doing a good job within an organization. That said, management must make an effort to demonstrate this to employees to keep them motivated.
Why sharing knowledge is almost always good
A big question that business owners and human resource officers often ask is how much information about the business they should share with their employees. Do employees really need to know everything about the business? Is there some information that must be kept confidential?
Transparency can be a powerful way to engage employees. When staff members know what's going on, businesses are able to run more smoothly. Consider these reasons:
It Prevents Confusion
People working within an organization want to know what’s going on, whether it's changes to the business, or just overall progress. By informing employees of these changes, they'll be able to adapt to them more easily, and predict the next steps too.
Don't hog the ice cream sandwich of knowledge! Flickr/Cayusa
If your staff are puzzled or surprised about day-to-day activities, their productivity will suffer. You owe it to your team to give them a heads up on important changes, as these will affect how they do their jobs and live their lives.
It Prevents Conflict
When everything about your business is out in the open, your team feels more empowered to talk to you about both successes and problems. Suppose that an inevitable layoff situation arises: Your team might be nervous about losing their jobs.
But if they're already aware that you're in a bit of a precarious situation, they'll be more comfortable talking about the options and difficult decisions that need to be made, without taking things personally.
It Builds Trust
Trust is the foundation of every relationship. When businesses are honest and open with their employees, they can expect their employees to be so too. People often say that they're trusting, but then fail to live up to their own words. Sharing everything about the business with your employees shows that you trust them.
Especially when it comes to employee relations, it's vital that you and your team are on the same page. As much as possible, anything about the business that might affect the employees, whether good or bad, should be shared with them.
Although every business has (of course) some things that should be kept private, it's best to keep these to a minimum. The more you share, the more you prevent confusion, prevent conflict, and build trust.
Share your plans, track projects, and engage your team. Get powerful HR software from TribeHR.
We all have our own goals and priorities. As a business manager, your goal is to make your business thrive and ensure that your team stays happy and productive. For employees, goals often center around individual careers and needs.
Personal goals affect how an employee performs. While they can serve as motivation to be more productive and more successful, they can also cause conflicts between staff or between work and home.
When the individual drives of smaller players align to pursue a common goal, amazing things can happen. Pictured: The microscopic cellular structure of a human colon. Flickr/Ed Euthman
Businesses are most successful when employees' personal goals are aligned with corporate goals. This can be difficult to do at times, but it is possible. Some companies, like Valve Software, make this happen by allowing any employee to make any business decision. If you're not ready to do that, read on.
The Team Goal Must be Understood
Before personal goals can leveraged in the pursuit of team objectives, employees first need to clearly understand what the team goals are. A clear understanding of your organizational values and goals will prevent any potential conflict and confusion.
Once employees understand team goals, they're better able to—and more likely to—integrate them into their personal goals. Team leaders, HR, managers, and senior executives can help to smooth this process by offering feedback and having one-on-one consultation sessions.
Find the Middle Ground
Most of the time, personal goals should still be work-related, such as achieving a sales volume, working a number of hours, organizing a specific project, or improving a specific skills. Finding common ground between these personal goals and your organizational priorities can be hugely productive.
The easiest way to do this is to simply ask employees what they think the team can do to help them reach their personal goals. Make sure you follow up by clarifying how their own goals are contributing to the overall team objective.
When team members help each other to grow personally, they also help the team grow as a whole.
Value Personal Goals
Managers and team leaders should value the personal goals of their team members. It’s wise to let employees grow both within and outside of the business. Don’t suffocate your team by focusing only on corporate objectives. Of course, don't neglect the business by focusing only on personal ambitions, either.
Prioritizing and finding the balance between personal goals and team objectives shouldn't be a battle. Both are important. Synchronize them, and watch your business soar.
Track projects, engage employees, and tie goals and progress to organizational values, by using HR software from TribeHR. Packages start from as little as $2/user/month. Start with a free 60-day trial.
10. Nepotism doesn’t work
Vader isn't a very good recruiter. @egerlach
9. If your culture sucks, referrals don’t work
"We also give recruitment referral bonuses... That General Solo guy would make a great member of our team, too."
8. Don’t ask your employees to kill their offspring (or anything else that extreme/illegal/dramatic/etc)
Your employees might resent it... or throw you into the reactor shaft of the Death Star.
7. Motivating with fear leads to poor performance
How many Admirals did Darth Vader force choke in his career? Did the next ones perform any better? Maybe they were so afraid of meeting the same fate they could never focus on their jobs.
6. Give your employees freedom to learn what they need to
It wasn’t until Luke left the Rebel fleet to learn with Yoda that he became a true Jedi.
5. Money isn’t the only motivator
Han Solo got his payment for delivering Luke & Leia to the rebellion successfully. And off he went. But it was his dedication to his colleagues and the cause that brought him back in the nick of time to save Luke from Darth Vader in his Tie Fighter.
4. Invest in technology - it helps with employee performance
How could Luke have survived Jabba’s Palace and his encounter with Sarlak if R2-D2 and C-3PO hadn’t been there to help? Not to mention the lightsaber that R2-D2 returned to him. Those were vital pieces of technology in Han Solo’s rescue.
3. People can screw up under pressure, but that's no reason to give up on them
Lando Calrissian caved to Darth Vader and had his friend trapped in carbonite, but he still was essential to the successful attack on the second death star.
2. Trust your employees - they’ll often find new solutions to problems
"Luke, you've turned off your targeting computer" "Use the force, Luke". The targeting computers had already failed the Y-Wings. Plus, would Luke have developed into a Jedi if some General had shouted him down the first time he tried to use the Force?
1. Hiring the right team and getting the right culture is vital to success.
The Rebels had the right people in place, and were working in a culture of optimism and hope, the right one for their mission. The Imperials hired a bunch of faceless drones and were working in fear. Guess who won when they clashed?
May the 4th be with you.
When it comes to employee reviews, less is not always more. An overwhelming number of companies provide annual performance appraisals. But is there a better way? Certainly, some changes can provide a breath of fresh air to managers and employees. Why not start with more frequent reviews?
Project-Based Reviews
If an employee's job can be easily divided into projects, then try evaluating job performance after each one. This make it easier for reviewers to pintpoint specific instances of strong action, or areas that need more work. For example, try offering feedback to credit analysts after each credit analysis, or to bookkeepers after each monthly set of books.
Kids do peer review in school for a reason: Because it works. Flickr/MsH_ISB
Project-based reviews can be overwhelming if projects are of a shorter nature, but that's an easy problem to overcome. If it's more feasible, try having reviews after every project of a certain size, or after every five, ten, or even twenty projects.
Project-based reviews make it easy for employees to see where they've gone wrong before they repeat the same problems on multiple projects, which helps them be confident that their hard work will be valuable and appreciated.
Monthly or Quarterly Reviews
Simply shortening the time between performance reviews can make all the difference. Set up a schedule of monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or even bi-annual reviews. Quarterly evaluations can work wonders for newer employees, or even for older employees in new positions.
Frequent reviews help employees gain and understand feedback, implement suggestions immediately, and capitalize on strengths that have been newly developed.
Peer Reviews
If management and HR simply can't make the time for more frequent reviews, you can utilize peer reviews instead. Peer reviews are often best if they're anonymous, so that any criticisms don't affect morale or employee relationships. Anonymity promotes honesty, too.
People who work closely with each other can be assigned a new co-worker each month for whom they should complete a simple peer review survey. Even the assigning process can be automated. Before employees receive copies of their reviews, a manager of HR officer can review them to clarify any issues and offer solutions to any problems.
Feedback is a poweful motivator. Of course, it's important to have a healthy mix of positive feedback and productive criticisms. Waiting a whole year for them, though, will only hurt job performance. People thrive when they know they're doing a good job; Those who need guidance can't improve until they know what to change.
Waiting for reviews wastes time and effort. Frequent reviews head off future problems.
Track projects, review performance, get feedback, and build a culture of success. Use HR software from TribeHR: Learn more.
Resources That Help Employees Transition
Every employee is going through a different phase in their career. Some are just entering the work field and need help to transition. Other employees are taking on more responsibilities at work. The transition process affects the comfort level that workers experience. Employers can help employees on every level through Human Resources. This applies to excelling on-the-job and in other areas of life.
The transition process sometimes includes learning more information about your company and its goals. Having resources available that give this information allows employees a chance to build a firm foundation. Those starting a new position will have a some valid concerns as they transition. Through intuitive resources employers can smooth this process. Being a supportive employer clearly defines the company's expectations for each employee.
Transition is about more than simply reading information. It is also about experiencing the friendly and social environment that your job offers. Next generation tools allow workers to track their own progress. Depending on the phase that a worker is going through, their needs will vary. Transition isn't simply a negative experience, but it is a time to build a firm foundation during this new phase.
Offer a Positive Environment
Working in a positive environment makes it easy to do goals. Having a positive environment doesn't mean that the work is easy. It simply means that workers are able to recognize the benefits that their company offers. Each phase of transition should include the knowledge that your work is important and valuable. This knowledge encourages many workers to become even more productive.
Be a Transparent Employer
Transparency is necessary whether you are a long-time employee or a new hire. Workers are more comfortable working for employers that they understand. It doesn't matter, what challenge a job may hold. If a worker feels confident, he or she will stay loyal to the company. Well defined rules and expectations play a role in delivering this transparency. Employees that know what's expected of them tend to deliver through their tasks and accomplishments.
Encourage Each Employee
Each employee will be able to do their work goals. It's a breath of fresh air to find a company that cares about your transition. This means not dropping you into some alien world. Employers that encourage employees find that these workers achieve more. Encouragement offered through the tools and resources that make success possible. Workers that receive encouragement have a better attitude about the future and what they can do for the company.
Workers benefit from having employers that care about their transition. This is true no matter, what phase they are going through. The emotional side of this process is just as important as the actual work that it leads to. A well-rounded employee is a positive and productive employee. These are people that provide company's with long-term security as it relates to qualified workers. The transition process for each stage of a career impacts the next stage of that career.