What’s Your Telecommuting Policy?

Telecommuting is a top desire for many employees, and a new recent survey reported by Live Science shows just how much employees want to work from home. According to the results of the survey, conducted by TeamViewer, five percent of employees surveyed indicated that they would even be willing to give up their spouse if they were allowed to telecommute.

The Desire to Telecommute

In addition to the five percent of employees who said they’d divorce if doing so allowed them to work from home, there were also a number of other things that many people would be willing to give up if it meant that they could work in their pajamas. For example:

• 29 percent of survey respondents said they would give up chocolate
• 25 percent said they would relinquish their smartphones
• 20 percent volunteered to forego shopping.
• 34 percent would go cold-turkey on all social media
• 30 percent reported they’d give up texting

Are You Offering Telecommuting?

With so many employees willing to give up so much just to work from home, it is clear that offering the opportunity to telecommute can be a big boon to attracting and keeping workers. Telecommuting may also help to increase employee productivity and reduce the costs of office space.

Of course, there are downsides to telecommuting as well. For one thing, it is not possible in all businesses. Ensuring accountability of employees is also more challenging and unless you allow everyone to telecommute, it can foster jealousy and resentment to provide the benefit only to some.

Still,  as the recent survey reaffirms, if you have the opportunity to explore telecommuting for your business, it may be worth looking into.

Employee Engagement And Organizational Goals

Doing more with less has become standard with business organizations across the country. Corporations are dealing with fewer resources and increased competition. Many companies are realizing that their best asset is the people that work for them. Employee engagement will become an important feature in organizations.

Employee engagement is a business concept in which employees are involved in their jobs and have a positive outlook in where they work. It is how employees are committed their workplace and can be an indicator of future performance.   There are several things that guide employee engagement including job expectations, management feedback, and quality of a work environment.

A Financial Factor

Surveys on employee engagement have found that engaged employees are more productive. They are more e customer-focused, safer, and more likely to leave an organization. Engaged employees help the company achieve its goals and improve its competitiveness. Employees work harder, are absent less, and help the organizations return on investing in training and hiring employees through their work ethic.

Performance and Recognition Divided

A survey by the Society For Human Resources Management found while many companies recognize the value of engagement they lack policies to increase it. Seventy one percent of respondents in one survey track engagement levels through employee exit interviews. Many companies are only learning about engagement issues at the time employees voluntarily leave the company. Only 37 percent of leaders said they tie employee recognition programs to corporate values while 43 percent recognize employees based on performance related to the organization’s financial goals.

Steps To Enhance Engagement

There are ways companies can develop engagement and initiate a strong work environment:

1. Invest More in Employees. Provide incentives such as work-life programs, such as flex-time, health benefits, and employee perks.

2. Retain Talent Through Culture Development. Communicate the organization’s mission and provide career development opportunities to make employees feel a part of the company.

3. Everyone One The Same Page. Communication is key to all parties involved from shareholders, management and employees to know what the organization’s value is and to sustain it.

Are Your Employers Satisfied? Studies Suggest They Aren’t

While a great deal of negative attention is associated with wage freeze and many workers complain about a lack of career advancement, low wages may not be the biggest cause of discontent among employees. In fact, a recent studyindicates that the reason employees are looking for new jobs has nothing to do with the fact that they aren’t being paid enough; it’s because they feel under appreciated.

The Survey

In September of 2011, an HR software company called Globoforce conducted a survey of 630 people over the age of 18 who were currently employed. The study found 38 percent of people are trying to actively find another job, mostly due to feeling management doesn’t recognize and appreciate their hard work. In addition, 39 percent of employees stated they do not feel appreciated at the moment, and 52 percent feel their work is not recognized by their employer.

Of those surveyed only 24 percent were happy with the level of recognition they were given at work, and 63 percent of those were not interested in other employment. The number of people who said being given acknowledgment would make them want to work harder was 78 percent, while 69 percent said they would be inclined to work more if their efforts were recognized.

The Takeaway

Often wages are the first thought when trying to make someone happy in their profession, yet money isn’t the only way to let someone know they’re doing an excellent job. In fact, the problem with offering financial or other external rewards or punishments is that these types of rewards are considered external motivators.

When a person is motivated by external items such as money or fear of being fired, the motivation can fade when the money isn’t enough, or the person is no longer worried about job security. In other words, the external motivators are temporary. Internal motivation, on the other hand, can be more lasting. Having employees who are motivated by internal motivation is optimal for employers, as these types of employees work because they care about their jobs and they often work harder and stay longer in their positions because of it. 

Creating internal motivation involves creating an atmosphere where employees work hard and do their best because it’s what they want to do.  So, how do you help create this and make sure employees find fulfillment in their jobs?

 

• Offering consistent praise and recognizing hard work verbally is one way in which to build a positive and healthy atmosphere. It goes back to the golden rule of “treat others the way you wish to be treated,” which is ideally in a fair and respectable manner.
• You can also aid in individual and team goal setting. Building a team atmosphere in the company makes people happier to come to work. You can, for example, celebrate team successes with an office lunch party. 
• Finally, know your employees strengths and abilities, and allow them to be used when needed. This helps people feel appreciated and recognized.

By following these simple tips to increase employee motivation, you can keep employees for longer and have a happier, harder working staff.  

Motivating Employees Through Benefits Education

Today, nearly one in four employees is experiencing a wage freeze and as many as 30 percent of employees work in a company that is laying off employees. With so many employees experiencing turmoil at their workplaces, it is no wonder that employee satisfaction is well below 2008 levels. In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, a 2010 survey conducted by Unum found that only 63 percent of employees felt that their employers valued their work, as compared to 70 percent of employees in 2008. Further, only 56 percent of employees felt that their employers cared about their well-being, as compared with 63 percent of employees in 2008. These survey results are troubling because most theories of motivation indicate that low employee morale can reduce motivation and productivity. 

Employee Motivation and Morale

Employee motivation has become more important than ever before, especially since the majority of Generation X workers indicate that finding meaningful work is a top priority. With an increasing competition for talent in certain fields and with many baby boomers retiring or scheduled to retire over the next several years, more and more employers are turning to various theories of motivation to try to capture, keep and encourage talented employees.

The vast majority of motivational theories show a direct correlation between motivation and a feeling of being valued. For instance, Maslow has outlined a hierarchy of needs, with basic needs like food and shelter at the bottom and self actualization at the top. Self actualization involves the fulfillment of one’s potential and typically requires the opportunity to be creative and to feel as if one is doing something meaningful.

Likewise, Herzberg has outlined a two-factor theory of motivation. Under this theory, dissatisfaction can be avoided if basic hygiene factors are present (such as safe working conditions), however, avoiding dissatisfaction doesn’t equate to happiness or fulfillment. Fulfillment requires motivating factors, rather than just the absence of dissatisfaction. In other words, both Herzberg and Maslow see a connection between employee satisfaction or morale and the motivation of an employee. 

Increasing Employee Morale

As an employer, you may recognzie the importance of employee motivation but it may seem as though boosting morale is impossible or improbable, especially if you do have to institute wage freezers or lay off employees. Fortunately, Bill Dalicandro, vice president of Ulum, indicates that there is a simple and easy way to boost employee morale: benefits education.  

Survey responses indicated just how big of an impact benefits education can have, with 80 percent of employees who rated their benefits education highly also indicating that their employer was an excellent employer and that their job was a good place to work. By contrast, only 31 percent of employees who reported receiving poor benefits education also indicated that their employer was a good one. Further, a full 77 percent of employees who reported receiving good benefits education indicated that they would remain at their job, even if offered a comparable job elsewhere. 

Benefits education can clearly have a major impact on employee satisfaction and, by extension, employee morale and motivation. Providing question and answer sessions, printed benefit information, information sessions or online information about benefits can be an inexpensive and simple way to change the way your employees view your company and these small efforts can pay dividends.