Compensate Differently: Use Employee Engagement Tactics
Money is a tricky motivator for employees. Based on an infographic from Bolt Insurance, 22 percent of employees leave their jobs because of pay/benefits issues. But the biggest reasons have more to do with non-monetary factors:
· Heavy workload — 43 percent
· Lack of opportunities for growth and advancement — 43 percent
· Unrealistic job expectations — 40 percent
Yes, people want raises (especially if you’ve been in a salary freeze for three years), but more money won’t always keep people if the job or environment is awful.
Compensation doesn’t have to be only about the money. Instead, expand your definition to include rewards and engagement. A few dollars can go a long way if you apply them effectively. Let’s break it down based on these other turnover factors:
· Heavy workload: People wear more hats than ever in their jobs, and at some point they’ll burn out. See where people are working under, at and over capacity. If the workload on a team isn’t distributed properly, redistribute. Then continuously check with your employees, celebrating big wins. If someone’s going above and beyond, say “thank you” with a long weekend.
· Lack of opportunities for growth and advancement: Have you told your employees about all their career options? Create an internal site for job postings and positions. Make it easy for people to get information and apply. Then take it a step further and provide internal networking opportunities. These could be in-person happy hours if everyone is local, or virtual brown bag discussions for the remote. You’re helping people to get to know one another and then to see what else is going on in your company.
· Unrealistic job expectations: This is something you can catch early when recruiting candidates. Are they being hired for the job they interviewed for? Set the right expectations upfront and keep them. Help managers have regular discussions with employees to make sure everyone’s on the same page. If there’s a major discrepancy, encourage employees to come up with solutions to make their job more inline with their expectations.
Compensation is only one part of the equation, so think about the reasons your employees might be frustrated or leaving. Find alternate rewards and ways to encourage engagement before employees become dissatisfied. You’ll be using budget more efficiently and seeing greater productivity from your teams.