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6 Smart Ways to Manage HR in the Healthcare Industry
Today, HR managers in the healthcare industry go far beyond recruitment to take up a more holistic role.
In this post-pandemic era, their roles and responsibilities have dramatically expanded. HRs are actively taking part in research, analysis, and implementation of new-age HR management strategies to bring the best out of the healthcare workforce despite the current labor shortage.
The healthcare staffing shortage is real and has dire consequences.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were nearly 2.1 million job openings in this industry and the second highest openings rate in the country.
The demand is not only for surgeons or specialist medical practitioners. The shortage of labor is at every level of the healthcare industry including nurses, DNP graduates, doctors, therapists, technicians, and all kinds of non-medical workers.
A shrinking talent pool and ever-growing demand for the healthcare workforce have pushed HR heads to come up with more sustainable strategies to manage this department.
If you are a healthcare HR, you know the healthcare recruitment challenges firsthand. And to tackle them, you need to put on your problem-solving hat and look for practical solutions. LIKE.TGs can be your perfect companion in better managing human resources and creating a positive work culture in your organization.
6 Effective Ways to Manage HR in the Healthcare Industry
Here are the 6 practical and effective tactics to manage HR in the healthcare industry in 2022 and beyond.
1. Stay on Top of the Recruitment Game
The primary responsibility of HR managers in healthcare, as in any other industry, is to scout for the best talents and recruit them.
In the healthcare industry, managers may struggle to stay on top of the recruitment game as the availability of candidates is quite limited due to the strict qualification requirements.
HR managers need to use advanced HR software like LIKE.TG solutions to effectively manage different stages of the hiring process and deliver a delightful employee onboarding experience.
For instance, to expedite the paperwork, you can use different DocuSign alternatives e-signature tools to get the documents signed at the convenience of the recruit.
You can share comprehensive videos for knowledge transfer, come up with an effective mentoring program, and ensure the recruit is engaged and set up for success right from day one.
2. Streamline Training and Skill Development
Once you hire a good healthcare workforce for your hospital, it is imperative that you nurture and mold them.
In an industry like healthcare, adequate training and skill development can sometimes be the difference between saving lives and losing them. And that's why HR managers have the great responsibility of getting every new recruit trained thoroughly before they start working with the patients.
So, if you want to successfully manage HR in the healthcare industry, work with employees to set professional goals for themselves and come up with well-designed training programs to reach them.Everything from their daily tasks to hospital work culture, soft skills, getting acquainted with the latest equipment, stress management and so much more should be covered in the training sessions. It’s the same for being an HR in the graphic design industry.
Ensure the training is tailored to the specific needs of their work areas.
3. Minimize Turnovers with Internal Mobility Programs
The effects of the “Great Resignation” is evident in the healthcare industry too.
According to the NSI Nursing Solutions report, there was a sharp increase in the hospital turnover rate in 2021.
The responsibility to reduce turnover and improve retention rates greatly rests upon the shoulders of HR managers.
One of the best solutions HR managers have before them is internal mobility programs.
Most HRs agree that internal recruiting helps retain their most valuable talents. It is also a great employee engagement technique.
If you want to successfully manage HR in the healthcare industry, you have to come up with a comprehensive internal mobility strategy. Some of the major components of this program could be:
Creating a database of your present employees’ KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities)
Identifying the promotions or new roles they qualify for
Identifying the skill gaps
Partnering with LD teams to bridge the skill gaps
Building an internal career page exclusively for your employees
While recruiting current employees for new positions, you should look beyond their skills or qualification and consider qualities like leadership, teamwork, and their contribution to your hospital.
You might be aware of how the affiliate marketing concept works. Why not create a similar program for your employees to refer professionals, both internally and externally, for different positions and get rewarded for doing so?
Not only will the employees enjoy the benefits of employee recognition programs but it will bear a positive impact on your employer branding too. And LIKE.TG offers best-in-class solutions to help HRs plan, strategize, and execute such programs in the most effective manner.
4. Combat Employee Dissatisfaction and Burnout
It wouldn't be wrong to say that healthcare professionals are some of the most stressed-out employees in the world, resulting in most of them getting married later in life.
And this is where the HR managers have a major role to play.
They should strategize to manage HR in the healthcare industry in a way that even in the midst of stressful situations, medical professionals are highly productive.
Not just occupational stress, but there are several other reasons why healthcare professionals could be dissatisfied and quit their jobs.
For instance, according to GoCo, the expectation for workplace safety is highest in the healthcare industry. Besides GDPR compliance in healthcare, HR managers and healthcare center leaders must implement safety measures like hospital security cameras, mental health resources, and other precautions to protect their employees.
When managing HR in the healthcare industry, ensure that your hospital’s aim to deliver exceptional care to the patients should not take a toll on the employees.
Your job is to develop a strong healthcare employee engagement strategy that reduces their stress levels. Work on helping doctors and nurses to serve with the required level of enthusiasm without experiencing burnout.
Some of the steps you could take to reduce dissatisfaction and burnout include:
Providing protection from injuries
Providing job security
Promoting positive mental well-being by creating a healthy working environment
Implementing pro-employee regulations
These can greatly contribute to enhancing employee lifetime value, which in marketing terms, is similar to customer lifetime value.
5. Welcome New Technology
Along with building deep talent pipelines, HRs in the healthcare industry need to manage plenty of other responsibilities. And to efficiently deliver at every front, they need to rely heavily on technology.
As a HR manager, it is your responsibility to stay up to date on emerging technologies and introduce the right tools to your team to be highly productive.
You should stay well aware of the integration of AI and IoT in healthcare, and other technologies that are revolutionizing the industry and making work easier.
A comprehensive solution like LIKE.TG can boost your performance and efficacy by helping you manage everything from recruitment to onboarding new staff, collaboration, and performance management using a single platform.
For an efficient and quick adaptation of new technology, the learning curve has to be as shallow as possible.
Adopt an effective technology assessment and training program to get everyone in the HR department future-ready.
6. Maintain Patient Satisfaction
As you can see in this ACIS report, around 70-75% of patients said that they were satisfied with the in-patient and out-patient care provided by hospitals.
Patient care goes beyond the treatment and nursing care that the patients receive. And that's where HR professionals have a significant role to play.
As HR managers, it is your responsibility to ensure cordial and professional interaction between patients and the staff, be it the doctors, nurses, or the admin team.
“Interim Healthcare SLC needed HR technology, and we’re pleased with the results we’ve gained from LIKE.TG’s solutions for recruiting, onboarding, and employee engagement. Yet it’s an opportunity for all Interim franchises. It would be so great if each franchise owner could implement similar solutions to replace legacy systems that might not work as well as they should.”
Michael Hawkins Franchise Owner of Interim HealthCare SLC
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Start by streamlining your scheduling process based on spikes in patient traffic and employee availability.
Ensure employees get the soft skills training, software, hardware, and other resources they need to ensure patient satisfaction.
Build a Strong Strategy to Manage HR in the Healthcare Industry
As we conclude, the role of an HR manager in the healthcare industry is far more inclusive than in many other industries. From boosting employee morale to developing a positive company culture and improving patient experience, your plate is always full.
And to successfully manage HR in the healthcare industry, they might even need to wear a cape and work like superheroes.
If you are an HR leader or manager in the healthcare industry, you know the challenges you face.
Go ahead and adopt the strategies we’ve shared to create a comfortable working environment for your hospital’s healthcare workers. Along with that, consider incorporating the tools offered by LIKE.TG to perform to your full potential.
Your efforts will surely lead to enhanced employee and patient satisfaction.
10 Virtual Team-Building Activity Ideas to Boost Employee Morale and Engagement
Remote working is now pervasive, which means in-person communications are often limited to virtual meetups. But that doesn’t mean you should sacrifice workplace interactions. Doing so can lead employees to feel isolated and demotivated.
As technology has advanced over the past decade, communications software like cloud phone systems has presented exciting new methods to help remote teams feel engaged and motivated. By establishing some fun virtual team-building activities, you can help your workers stay engaged and enthusiastic no matter where they are.
Once you get the hang on how to do team building activities, the next step is to take a look at an employee engagement platform. Learn more with a free demo.
We’ll explore ten mood-boosting activity ideas you can try out with your team today.
1. Icebreakers
Improving relationships between staff boosts team morale. But, this can prove challenging in a remote working environment, particularly when it comes to introducing new employees to an established team. Even employees who have worked together for a long time can benefit from learning more about each other’s backgrounds, passions, and points of view.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to help coworkers forge bonds is through icebreakers.
Playful icebreaking questions reveal workers’ likes, interests, and sense of humor in a short space of time.
You could ask questions like- “Would you rather speak to an angry client or an angry coworker?” or “This or That: Forget your morning coffee or forget your lunch?”.
This activity allows employees to find common ground and get to know more about one another in a light-hearted way, bringing them closer together. It’s also the perfect way to kick off a virtual happy hour.
2. Interactive Web Games
In recent years, the gamification of professional spheres has supercharged employee satisfaction and productivity. Encouraging employees to take a bit of time off work and play games together will keep them engaged and enthused.
For some, more simple exercises like icebreakers can become repetitive, so introducing more involved games is always a good idea. Creative teams might enjoy online drawing activities (think Pictionary!), and larger groups might be engaged by puzzle-solving virtual Murder Mysteries.
Supporting collaboration among your team is a brilliant way to build morale. You can even use icebreaker activities as the foundation for virtual team games and create personalized quizzes to test each other on coworker trivia.
3. Coordinated Breaks
With flexible working becoming the new normal, the challenge of maintaining a good work/life balance is being faced by many. Alongside encouraging employees to get a business phone number and providing specific tech for use within work hours for only work purposes, you should take more steps to prevent the line between home and work from getting blurred.
One possible solution is to encourage employees to coordinate lunch or coffee breaks over video calls. This will help workers bond as teams and reduce feelings of isolation and monotony at work.
4. Film and Book Clubs
One unique and engaging way to foster a positive environment within your team is to develop special interest clubs, which meet virtually to discuss shared passions, like books or films.
By setting out a collective goal for your team (to read a particular book or watch an ongoing series or film for group discussion), employees can develop common ground and find new ways to bond.
Setting up groups like this will open up healthy, fun debates among colleagues, which is key to improving morale and engagement.
5. Chef’s Club
When working from home, it can be easy to fall back on simple but repetitive meals at lunch or even dinner, making the days merge into one.
To offer your staff a way of challenging themselves to try new things and fostering a sense of togetherness as a team, why not set up a cooking club or recipe share, where employees can take turns sharing a dish of their choice – or even their own recipe – to spice up mealtimes across the virtual office.
Getting to know each other’s preferences and cultural backgrounds through food is a great way to reinforce employee relationships, and trying new things will enhance team engagement.
6. Workout Challenges
One of the most significant challenges of working from home is maintaining a routine when it comes to keeping up with exercise and workout regimes.
A fun and morale-boosting solution to this is the introduction of group lifestyle challenges. These encourage healthy living and an atmosphere of encouragement and peer support.
Tracking the office water goals and step counts will help employees stay up-to-date with each other’s progress, allowing team members to offer encouragement when they notice coworkers’ efforts flagging and their congratulations when new milestones and achievements are attained.
“Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.”
Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC.
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7. Team-Building Apps
Using apps will improve the variety of team-building activities available to remote teams. Ad Hoc system testing and rigorous regulation ensure the best user experience for individuals and professional teams.
One example of an exciting app-based team-building activity is HeyTaco!. This allows remote teams to acknowledge one another’s goals and attainments by gifting “tacos” through the app, which can be redeemed to earn prizes.
Implementing apps like HeyTaco!, which align well with company values and goals, will create a positive working environment and keep employees engaged, motivated, and connected.
8. Mental Health Debriefs
Among the most prevalent concerns related to the rise of remote working is an increase in social isolation.
One way to ensure all team members are encouraged to be sociable and reach out when under stress, even while working remotely, is to introduce mental health debriefs.
These could take the form of weekly meetings in which employees are given a safe space to share their feelings and offer advice to others who may be struggling with the same issues.
Fostering trusting group relationships and implementing proven strategies to maintain mental health in the workplace are vital steps in preventing employees from experiencing burnout, loneliness, or extreme stress at work.
Improving employee experience doesn'tneed to be difficult - or expensive!
Learn how
9. Video-Call Games
Video conferencing is arguably the best-known means of virtual communication in modern workplaces.
However, you can use this software for more than just meetings. Many now support and facilitate interactive games, with no extra downloads or sign-ups necessary!
Even a game as simple as charades can provide endless fun and requires no extras besides your imagination and a sense of humor. Another great exercise is a Guess Who-style quiz, where employees show their workspace to coworkers on the call to guess who it belongs to.
You can take advantage of the functionalities offered by business phone platforms and use three-way calls to rotate different team members onto calls to reveal their workspaces.
Activities like this bring humor into workplace team-building, allowing employees to relax and have fun with minimal preparation and maximum effect!
10. Personality Tests
Personality tests are an engaging and interactive team-building activity that helps to promote understanding and empathy in your workforce. These allow team members to learn more about themselves and their colleagues.
Many methods, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, can reveal a lot about a person’s personality type, grouping people into categories based on their responses to various questions. Employees can have fun comparing themselves and others’ results to those of celebrities, historical figures, and even fictional characters!
Crucially though, learning more about how your group works together and individually can allow you to gel better as a team. Organize a post-test team call to discuss the different personality types and how they fit in with team dynamics. This will help you accommodate the different types’ preferred working and communication styles and, therefore, boost engagement.
Make Virtual Team-Building Work for You
Of course, not every team-building or employee engagement strategy will work for everyone, and knowing your team inside out is the best way to ensure that each member feels comfortable, listened to, and involved as part of a team.
Just as the top contact management software tracks contract timelines from inception to signing, it’s your responsibility to monitor employee morale and engagement from onboarding to termination. By meeting with employees regularly and encouraging them to suggest and feed back on activities themselves, you’ll be able to grow closer as a workforce, building team relationships, morale, and engagement as you go.
Crafting a Winning Job Posting: Strategies for Attracting Top Talent
In today's competitive job market, an estimated 7 million job listings are posted on online job boards each month, making it increasingly challenging for employers to attract top talent. With such fierce competition, the key to standing out and capturing the attention of the best candidates lies in crafting an exceptional job posting.
Creating a Compelling Job Description
A captivating job description is vital in attracting the right talent and setting the foundation for a successful recruitment process. To create an appealing job description, begin by using straightforward, accessible language that encapsulates the essence of the position. Concentrate on essential elements, such as primary responsibilities, necessary skills, and desired experience levels.
Next, showcase the distinct advantages of your organization and the specific role. Emphasize aspects like your company culture, the potential for growth, and any enticing benefits or perks on offer. Address any possible concerns or challenges candidates might face and underscore your dedication to their professional growth and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Lastly, prioritize inclusivity and diversity. Use gender-neutral language and avoid industry jargon that could deter potential candidates. By adhering to these principles, you'll craft an enticing job description that speaks to top talent and lays the groundwork for a fruitful hiring experience.
Writing an Attention-Grabbing Headline
An attention-grabbing headline is crucial for enticing top talent to explore your job listing further. A well-crafted headline sets the tone for the entire job posting and piques the interest of potential candidates.
To write a captivating headline, focus on the following elements:
Be clear and concise:
Use straightforward language to convey the essence of the role. Aim to be specific while keeping it brief, allowing job seekers to quickly identify if the position aligns with their goals and expertise.
Highlight key selling points:
Incorporate unique aspects of the role or your organization that will resonate with potential candidates. This could include emphasizing opportunities for growth, a dynamic work environment, or a mission-driven company culture.
Use action-oriented language:
Employ action verbs and compelling phrases that inspire candidates to envision themselves in the position and motivate them to learn more about your organization.
By crafting a powerful, eye-catching headline, you'll increase the likelihood that top talent will engage with your job posting and explore what your organization has to offer.
Utilizing Keywords and Phrases for Searchability
To ensure your job posting reaches the right candidates, optimizing its searchability by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases is crucial. This strategy will improve your listing's visibility among top talent actively seeking new opportunities. Follow these tips to elevate your job posting's searchability:
Research relevant keywords:
Identify commonly used terms and phrases in your industry or for the specific role. Tools like Google Trends API and keyword planners can help you pinpoint popular search terms that potential candidates are likely to use.
Prioritize natural integration:
Seamlessly incorporate these keywords into your job description, headline, and responsibilities. Aim for a natural flow that maintains readability and does not appear forced or repetitive.
Focus on job titles and skills:
Ensure that your job title accurately reflects the role and is a term that candidates are likely to search for. Additionally, highlight key skills and qualifications sought-after and relevant to the position.
Consider location-based keywords:
Including your location in the job posting can improve searchability among candidates looking for opportunities in specific regions or cities.
Highlighting Core Responsibilities Qualifications Needed
Effectively presenting the core responsibilities and qualifications needed for a role and testing them is vital in attracting suitable candidates for your job posting. Follow these guidelines to ensure clarity and appeal in this crucial aspect of your listing:
Focus on key responsibilities:
List the most critical tasks and expectations associated with the role, providing a clear snapshot of what the position entails. This allows candidates to gauge whether their skills and experience align with your requirements.
Specify essential qualifications:
Clearly outline the necessary skills, education, and experience for the position. By stating these explicitly, you'll help potential applicants assess their suitability and compatibility with the role.
Prioritize readability:
Format your list of responsibilities and qualifications using bullet points or numbered lists to improve readability and make it easy for candidates to grasp the core aspects of the job quickly.
Balance requirements and flexibility:
While it's important to outline the key qualifications needed, also consider showcasing your organization's willingness to accommodate candidates who may possess transferable skills or be eager to learn and grow within the role.
Articulating Benefits Perks to Prospective Candidates
In a competitive job market, effectively highlighting the benefits and perks your organization offers can make all the difference in attracting top talent. To showcase these enticing aspects, consider the following tips:
Showcase unique perks:
Differentiate your organization by emphasizing exclusive perks, such as flexible work arrangements, professional development opportunities, or a thriving company culture that supports employee well-being and growth.
Highlight competitive benefits:
Clearly outline the standard benefits you offer, including healthcare, retirement plans, and paid time off. This information helps prospective candidates evaluate the comprehensive value of your organization's offerings.
Appeal to candidate values:
Align your benefits and perks with the values and aspirations of your target talent pool. For example, if you're aiming to attract environmentally conscious candidates, emphasize your organization's commitment to sustainability or green initiatives.
Use storytelling:
Rather than simply listing benefits and perks, weave them into a narrative using presentations that illustrates the positive impact they can have on employees' lives. This approach creates a more engaging and memorable presentation.
Establishing a Sense of Urgency for Timely Action from Applicants
Encouraging prompt responses from potential candidates is key to a smooth hiring process, ensuring that you secure top talent before they consider other options. To create a sense of urgency in your job posting, consider the following strategies:
Set a clear deadline:
Include a specific closing date for applications, signaling to candidates that they need to act promptly to be considered for the role.
Highlight timely opportunities:
Emphasize any immediate projects or initiatives that the successful candidate will be involved in, showcasing the exciting and dynamic nature of the role.
Use action-oriented language:
Employ compelling, active language throughout the job posting to inspire candidates to envision themselves in the position and take immediate action.
Create a sense of exclusivity:
Convey that the position is a unique opportunity with limited availability, making it clear that candidates should not delay their application if they're genuinely interested in joining your organization.
Marketing Your Opportunity with Social Media Outreach
Leveraging social media is a powerful way to amplify the visibility of your job posting and reach a wider pool of potential candidates. To effectively market your opportunity through social media outreach, consider the following tips:
Choose the right platforms:
Focus on social media channels that are popular among your target audience and relevant to your industry. LinkedIn, for example, is an excellent choice for professional networking and job opportunities.
Craft engaging content:
Create eye-catching visuals and concise copy highlighting the role's most appealing aspects, encouraging users to share and engage with your posts.
Utilize hashtags and keywords:
Incorporate relevant hashtags and keywords in your social media posts to improve discoverability among users actively searching for job opportunities.
Encourage employee advocacy:
Involve your current employees by asking them to share the job posting on their social media accounts, tapping into their networks to reach a broader audience.
Utilize an Applicant Tracking System
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a valuable resource in today's competitive hiring environment. It helps you manage candidate applications more effectively, enhancing your talent acquisition process: from streamlining recruitment to improving the candidate experience.
Here are the key advantages of utilizing an ATS:
Organized candidate management:
An ATS consolidates all applicant data in one easy-to-navigate platform, streamlining the review and comparison of applications and enabling better decision-making.
Improved communication:
The ATS facilitates seamless interaction with candidates throughout their recruitment journey, keeping them engaged and informed while promptly addressing their queries.
Team collaboration:
By offering a shared space for your hiring team, an ATS promotes collaboration and transparency, making it simple for team members to exchange feedback and insights about candidates.
Customizable workflows:
An ATS can be adapted to your organization's specific recruitment process, allowing you to develop workflows that best suit your needs and goals.
Insightful analytics:
Equipped with valuable data and analytics, an ATS helps you assess your recruitment strategies' effectiveness and make well-informed decisions to refine future efforts.
By implementing a cutting-edge Applicant Tracking System, you'll streamline the hiring process, save time, and enhance your chances of attracting top talent.
Conclusion
The art of crafting a winning job posting is essential to attracting the best talent in today's competitive market. By focusing on the key aspects - engaging job descriptions, eye-catching headlines, keyword optimization, highlighting responsibilities and qualifications, showcasing benefits and perks, instilling urgency, leveraging social media, and utilizing an Applicant Tracking System - you'll set the stage for a successful recruitment process and connect with the right candidates.
We hope these tips elevate your hiring efforts and contribute to the growth of your organization. If you found this blog insightful, we encourage you to share it with your friends, colleagues, and professional network.
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Author Bio
This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.
HR Management Software Tips To Run An Effective Company
Remember the first time computers started managing data in the 1970s? Since then HR management software has come a long way.
HR Management software is a programmed solution for managing or streamlining HR-related processes. In today’s modern age, optimizing one’s time is crucial.
Top HR management software helps you to allocate tasks, automate workflows and save time. As per Statista, the HR tech market size will reach $90 billion by 2025 from $47.4 billion.
So, here are a few benefits of HR management software that can save time and money for businesses:
Smooth recruitment process
Automation of boring and repetitive tasks
Allowing employers to handle their data
Maintaining an accurate database on deadlines
Providing real-time data into HR metrics
Take a look at HR software solutions from onboarding to employee engagement.
Importance Of Effective HR Management Software For Running A Successful Company
From administrative efficiency to recruitment process simplification, HR management software improves processing. These softwares are designed to collect as well as distribute HR information across the entire organization.
It further helps to decrease the extreme burden on the executive section of a business. You can customize your software as per your business needs and cut down on costs for less important things.
Understand The Needs Of Your Company
When a business grows, you enjoy a fair share of revenue growth. But on the other hand it gets complex to deal with workflow optimization. Before we go further into the details of buying the best HRMS, here are a few things you should contemplate:
Identify The Specific HR Tasks That Need To Be Automated
Even big companies like Mckinsey with over 15 billion in revenue have started using the new HR operating model.
They have started elevating administrative tasks through automated onboarding, gathering and analyzing employee data.
“We have to start thinking of solutions, data, and employee experience when talking about digitalization in HR.” said the CHRO of a European chemical company.
Different software's functions differently for business. This is the reason you need to understand what your business needs. Whether it's updating employee data once or sending reminders to the employee or securing sensitive documents.
Determine The Features And Functionalities Required To Meet Those Needs
To manage things better, you need better features in HR management software.
HR management tools like smooth onboarding, and maintaining good employee records features like analytics, reporting, and security are useful.
As per Clickboarding stats, 69% of employees are likely to stay with a company for 3 years if they experience great onboarding.
In short, better features, a better employee satisfaction rate.
Consider The Size And Scope Of Your Company When Selecting A Software Solution
Whether you have 10 employees or a 100-employee company, the basics are the same. You need to handle, onboard and manage people databases accurately. That being said as your businesses grow, you need to understand when to incorporate new software.
While looking for the best HR tools for a smooth onboarding process, consider the size and range of your company.
According to an HBR survey, promoting the right person is the most satisfactory way to grow your business.
Choose The Right Software
Did you know 64% of employees believe that celebrating employees’ accomplishments creates job satisfaction? Learn a few HR management tips and never miss any chance to celebrate with your employees.
Back to the basics: Here are a few things to look for in top HR management software:
Research And Evaluate Different HR Management Software Options
This is a no-brainer since having a clear objective of why you need an HR management solution is important. Different HRMS work differently, some are best for managing payrolls and some are best for automating the workflow.
Ask yourself: What are the issues your HR team finds hard to tackle? Or can your team learn quickly about this new software and work their way up? Is integration flawless with this new HRMS software?
Do thorough research on your needs.
Factors such as user-friendliness, and scalability are important
You need a strategy whether it's for making money on Instagram or utilizing HR management tips for small businesses. Strategies that include testing software for their costs and their user-friendliness is crucial before you make any investment.
The software should eliminate the cost of training your team, and increase user engagement with fewer errors and more user-friendly features.
Look For Software That Integrates Well With Your Existing Systems
Implementation and integration are a huge part of any HR management system. When you install a new system in your business process, there are going to be changes and ups and downs.
Make sure your software vendor knows how to handle the implementation process. It's good to understand how to integrate specific HRIS with other tools, and what other tools you can connect with a specific HRIS.
Look out for an HR system that is customizable and includes integrations with other popular software applications. This will allow you to have all the features that you need in a single system.
Implement The Software Successfully
Selecting a good HR software is confusing but implementing it is another battle in itself. Employees today want fast, accurate and easy-to-consume content. As per EmploySure, 80% of employees prefer to get immediate feedback rather than waiting for performance reviews.
Now the question is “How to implement HR management software successfully?” Develop a plan for implementing the software. Start with a comprehensive plan. Maintain an HRMS checklist so that you don’t get lost in the process while implementing it within your business.
The HRMS implementation checklist includes:
Change management
Hiring an HRMS consultant
Data migration
System testing
User training
Budget
Go-live
Challenges
Furthermore, there are two pillars for implementing the software.
Pillar 1: Organizational Design
HRIS promotes organizational consistency by automating key data collection processes. It relieves the HR team from the burden of remembering to request information. The need for a centralized, scalable, and consistent data space becomes vital.
As per the latest HR trends, 74% of companies are either implementing or planning to implement hybrid or work-from-home, working models.
Pillar 2: Employee Data Management
Employee Data Management enables HR teams to not just collect data, but also utilize it. With HRIS software, HR can easily track and plan employee career paths, including growth plans and promotion milestones.
This permits for quick identification and resolution of areas needing adjustments, while also enabling the management and tracking of career growth paths.
Train HR Staff And Other Employees On How To Use The Software
To equip your HR staff, you can start by creating an employee training plan. This can often include sharing departmental goals objectives and managing documentation. Also, it supports the wider organizational strategy to focus.
It is crucial to provide the new hire with a safe environment. So that they can understand how their role contributes to department and organizational success. This creates a sense of ownership, purpose, and belonging in new hires.
For employees to be successful in their roles, they need to grasp how the work is carried out, including the various processes and workflows involved.
Ensure That All Necessary Data Is Transferred To The New System Accurately
According to a report from KPMG, 92 per cent of senior executives have the same concern. They are apprehensive about the potential negative impacts of data and analytics on their organization.
Well, HRMS systems don’t allow any compromises when it comes to data. The HRMS system utilizes advanced encryption standards (AES) with 256-bit encryption to safeguard user credentials that are stored in an encrypted format.
The application is configured to comply with GDPR regulations and GDPR secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate in place. Utilize The Software To Its Full Potential
Encourage Employees To Use The Software For HR-Related Tasks
To maintain a seamless flow of work, it's essential to train your employees to make use of the software. They can use HRMS for sourcing employee data, streamlining onboarding processes and managing other administrative tasks.
HR software solution acts like a convenient, searchable repository for employee records and information. Furthermore, employee data can be safely and easily accessed by stakeholders.
Monitor Usage To Identify Areas For Improvement And Additional Training
To measure and maximise the R.O.I of HR software, monitoring the usage of HRMS is important. You can gain insights into how the system is being utilized and identify areas for improvement and additional training.
You can define key metrics, utilize reporting features, conduct user surveys and analyze user behaviour to get insights into how the software is being used.
Continuously Evaluate The Software's Effectiveness And Make Adjustments As Needed
Organizations spend a lot of time and money getting people to work for them. Evaluating and making adjustments within your HRM software is the key as you grow your business.
Conclusion
Stats show that in terms of performance management, 48% of companies focus on increasing productivity and engagement in 2022.
To conclude, HR management software helps businesses to make smarter decisions. When there are smooth conversations between departments, it leads to more efficiency and less chaos.
In addition, these full-fledged HR softwares are now acting as business supervisors. For businesses that innovate, create and manage time and labour, HR management software can lead to the elimination of weaknesses and areas that are non-performing.
So, are you ready to equip your team with modern HR Tools?
Improved Employee Engagement for ADP users
Employee engagement is an important aspect of a successful organization. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with their company, more productive, and more likely to provide exceptional customer service. In recent years, employee engagement software has emerged as a powerful tool to help organizations boost employee motivation and satisfaction. These software solutions offer a central platform for employees to communicate, collaborate, and build stronger relationships with one another.
Employee engagement software can help organizations create a more inclusive work environment and foster a team spirit among team members. In turn, this can result in better performance, reduced turnover, and a more positive overall company culture. With so many benefits to offer, it's not a surprise that more and more organizations are choosing employee engagement software to unlock their full potential.
What is the Workmates App?
The Workmates App is a comprehensive employee engagement platform designed to help organizations create a more connected, engaged, and productive workforce. With a focus on communication and collaboration, the app provides a centralized place for employees to share information, ask questions, and provide feedback. The Workmates App also includes a variety of features designed to improve employee recognition, streamline performance management, and foster a culture of continuous learning and development.
As a cloud-based solution, the Workmates App is accessible from any location and any device. This helps employees in staying connected and engaged, whether they're working in the office or remotely. With an intuitive and user-friendly interface, the Workmates App is easy for employees to adopt and use on a day-to-day basis.
Integrating Workmates App with ADP
One of the key advantages of the Workmates App is its seamless integration with ADP. By integrating the Workmates App with ADP, organizations can unlock a whole new level of employee engagement and collaboration.
The integration between the Workmates App and ADP allows for single sign-on (SSO) capabilities, making it easy for employees to access both platforms with a single set of credentials.
Key Features of the Workmates App for ADP Users
The Workmates App offers a wide range of features designed to help organizations create a more engaged and connected workforce. Some of the key features include:
Communication and collaboration tools: The Workmates App provide a variety of communication channels, including group chat, private messaging, and company-wide announcements. This makes it easy for employees to share updates, seek answers to many questions, and collaborate successfully on projects.
Employee recognition: The app includes an in-built recognition system where employees can give and receive kudos for a job well done. This can help boost employee morale and encourage a culture of appreciation and recognition.
Performance management: The Workmates App offers tools to set goals, track progress, and provide constant feedback. This can help employees stay focused, motivated, and accountable for their performance.
Learning and development: The app provides access to a library of training materials and resources, making it easy for employees to learn new skills, develop their expertise, and stay up-to-date with industry trends.
Employee surveys: The Workmates App includes customizable employee surveys that organizations can use to gather feedback and gain insights into employee satisfaction, engagement, and overall well-being.
Enhancing Employee Communication for ADP Users
Effective communication is essential for building trust, fostering collaboration, and maintaining a positive company culture. The Workmates App provides a variety of tools and features designed to help organizations already using ADP improve their internal communication and create a more connected workforce.
With group chat, private messaging, and company-wide announcements, employees can easily share information and collaborate on projects. This can help break down silos, facilitate cross-functional teamwork, and ensure that all employees or team members are on the same page.
In addition, the Workmates App allows organizations to create custom channels based on departments, teams, or interests. This can help keep employees informed about relevant news and updates and provide a platform for them to share their knowledge and expertise.
Boosting Employee Engagement for ADP Users
Employee engagement is closely linked to job satisfaction, performance, and overall well-being. By providing a centralized platform for communication, collaboration, and recognition, the Workmates App can help organizations currently using ADP to boost employee engagement and create a more positive work environment. The app's built-in recognition system allows employees to give and receive kudos for a job well done. This can help boost employee morale, encourage a culture of appreciation, and reinforce the organization's core values.
Furthermore, the Workmates App offers tools for setting goals, tracking progress, and providing ongoing feedback. This can help employees stay focused, motivated, and accountable for their performance, leading to increased engagement and job satisfaction. A number of organizations have already experienced the benefits of integrating the Workmates App with ADP. By implementing the Workmates App, this organization was able to improve communication and collaboration across its global workforce. As a result, they experienced a significant increase in employee engagement, leading to higher productivity and reduced turnover.
Benefits of Workmates App for ADP Users
For ADP users, the integration between the Workmates App and ADP offers a number of benefits, including:
Single sign-on (SSO): Employees can access both platforms with a single set of credentials, streamlining the login process and reducing the need for multiple passwords.
Consolidated employee data: Organizations can consolidate their employee data, making it easier to manage employee information and reducing the risk of data discrepancies.
How to Get Started with the Workmates App for ADP Users?
Getting started with the Workmates App for ADP users is simple and straightforward. To begin, follow these steps:
Sign up for a free trial of the Workmates App to explore its features and functionality.
Contact the LIKE.TG Workmates App team to discuss your organization's needs and goals, and to learn more about the integration process.
Work with the Workmates App team to develop a customized plan for implementation that aligns with the specific requirements of your business or organization.
Train your employees on how to use the Workmates App, and provide ongoing support and resources to ensure a smooth transition.
Continuously monitor employee engagement and satisfaction, and use the insights gained from the Workmates App and ADP to make data-driven decisions and improvements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Workmates App offers a comprehensive solution for organizations looking to boost employee engagement, improve communication, and create a more connected workforce. By integrating the Workmates App with ADP, you can leverage the full potential of employee engagement software and experience the many benefits it has to offer. Don't wait any longer to harness the power of employee engagement software. Get started with the Workmates App today and see firsthand the transformation it can bring to your organization.
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Navigating the Challenges of Remote Employment: Tips for Employers and Employees
While remote work offers many benefits, such as flexibility, reduced commuting time, and increased productivity, it also comes with its own set of challenges. In this article, we'll provide some tips for both employers and employees to help them overcome the challenges of remote employment. Remote work brings about numerous benefits, including flexibility, increased productivity, and reduced costs. However, working remotely also presents several challenges, such as isolation, communication barriers, and difficulty with accountability. In this article, we will explore some tips for employers and employees to navigate the challenges of remote employment.One way to make it easier for you is to implement an onboarding software for remote workers. Take a look at what LIKE.TG's onboarding solution can do for you.
Establish clear expectations:
One of the biggest challenges of remote work is ensuring that everyone is on the same page. When employees work remotely, it's important to establish clear expectations regarding communication, work hours, and deliverables. Be sure to communicate these expectations clearly and consistently to avoid confusion or misunderstandings. Establishing expectations early on can help employees stay focused and productive and can prevent potential issues down the road. Remote employment can make it challenging to maintain employee engagement. To improve engagement, consider the following strategies: Communication, virtual team building, recognition and rewards, professional development and flexibility. By implementing these strategies, remote employers can improve employee engagement, motivation, and satisfaction.
Provide the necessary tools and technology:
Remote workers need access to the right tools and technology to do their jobs effectively. This includes access to communication tools like video conferencing software, project management tools, content management system (CMS) and cloud storage solutions, Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution, and even virtual mailbox solutions. Providing employees with the necessary tools and technology can help them stay connected and engaged, which is essential when working remotely. Using these tools allows you easy collaboration on content creation and management, it also provides you a centralized location for all digital content while making it faster and more efficient. Integration with open APIs to your corporate enterprise systems and external cloud providers to enable inter-application workflows and data retrieval. All of this helps you store, access, and visualize any relevant data from any of your sources.
Salary:
One of the most significant challenges of remote work is ensuring timely and accurate financial payments. Employers must ensure that remote employees are paid on time and receive the correct amount of compensation. These services offer fast, secure, and reliable payment processing, making it easy for employers to pay remote employees, regardless of their location. Employers must ensure that remote employees are paid on time and receive the correct amount of compensation. One way to ensure accurate payment is to use reliable payment processing services. These services offer fast, secure, and reliable payment processing, making it easy for employers to pay remote employees, regardless of their location. These can range from benefits that make an employee's work-life easier to navigate, like virtual credit cards for employees in managerial roles to more customized benefits based on lifestyle. One of these methods is benefit programs such as retirement benefits, health insurance plans, paid time off, equity, and many more. They can have a significant impact on employee engagement and retention.
Establish a routine:
When working remotely, it's important to establish a routine to help you stay focused and productive. Set a schedule for when you'll start and end work each day, take breaks, and engage in other activities. Creating a routine can help you avoid distractions and stay on track, which is essential when working remotely. This includes setting a regular work schedule, taking breaks as needed, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It is also essential to communicate effectively with supervisors and coworkers, providing regular updates on work progress and being responsive to feedback. It is also important to take care of one's physical and mental health, including taking breaks throughout the day, getting regular exercise, and seeking support when needed.
Stay connected with colleagues:
When working remotely, it's easy to feel disconnected from colleagues. Make an effort to stay connected by scheduling regular check-ins or participating in virtual team-building activities. Staying connected with colleagues can help you feel more engaged and invested in your work and can also help you build strong relationships with your coworkers.
Communicate with your employer:
Communication is key when working remotely. Make sure to communicate regularly with your employer to stay on top of expectations, deliverables, and any potential issues. Keep your employer informed about your progress and any challenges you may be facing. By communicating regularly, you can avoid misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is on the same page. For employers, it is essential to establish clear communication channels and expectations for remote employees. This includes setting expectations for communication and work schedules, as well as outlining the tools and platforms that will be used to stay connected. It is also important to provide adequate training and support for remote employees, including access to necessary software and hardware, as well as IT support. Providing regular feedback and recognition for good work is also critical to maintaining employee morale and productivity.
Set boundaries:
Working remotely can sometimes blur the line between work and personal life. It's important to set boundaries to ensure that you're able to disconnect and recharge after work hours. Set clear boundaries around when you're available and when you're not, and avoid checking work emails or messages outside of work hours. This can help you maintain a healthy work-life balance and prevent burnout.
Conclusion
Remote work offers many benefits, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. Employers and employees must navigate these challenges to ensure that remote work is a success. By following the tips outlined above, employers can help their employees stay engaged and productive, while employees can stay focused and avoid burnout. With clear expectations, the right tools and technology, and a focus on communication and self-care, remote work can be a viable option for many organisations and individuals. LIKE.TG’s Onboard solution automates the entire field of onboarding approach to save time, increase data accuracy, and help ensure compliance with industry regulations and requirements. Onboard solutions help to save so much valuable time and effort while increasing data accuracy, improving compliance and achieving the best results.
LIKE.TG Wins 2023 ADP Marketplace Best Service and Support Award
El Segundo, CA – May 3, 2023 - LIKE.TG®, a cloud-based human resource management (HRM) suite, has been awarded the 2023 Best Service and Support award at the 2023 ADP Marketplace Partner Summit. The recognition acknowledges LIKE.TG’s exceptional service and support to ADP® clients.
LIKE.TG provides innovative solutions that can help ADP clients streamline their HR processes. Their employee engagement and recognition platform, integrated with ADP Workforce Now®, provides clients with a unique and efficient solution to help enhance the employee experience and assist organizations in improving their company culture.
"I am so impressed with LIKE.TG's response times, which is one of the main reasons why I think they are so successful. I never felt that I was on my own or had to try to figure something out since the LIKE.TG team was always there to support me." - Shilery Garcia, Auditing and Operations Administrator, Medlinks
LIKE.TG is committed to providing high levels of service and trusted innovative solutions to ADP clients. Learn more about the integrations here on ADP Marketplace.
About LIKE.TG
LIKE.TG was founded in 2012 with the mission to simplify HR processes through technology. LIKE.TG is a cloud-based human resource management (HRM) suite that caters to businesses across various industries. Solutions offered by LIKE.TG include Onboard Software, Workmates Employee Intranet, Recruit ATS, People HRMS, Time Clock and Time Off. Learn more here.
About ADP (NASDAQ – ADP)
Designing better ways to work through cutting-edge products, premium services and exceptional experiences that enable people to reach their full potential. HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits and Payroll. Informed by data and designed for people. Learn more at ADP.com
ADP, the ADP logo, and Always Designing for People are trademarks of ADP, Inc.
Copyright © 2023 ADP, Inc. All rights reserved.
LIKE.TG Media Contact
Krishna C SurendraLIKE.TG
310 658-5786
[email protected]
ADP Media Contact: Jason LedderADP, Inc.201 650-8160 [email protected]
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5 Unique Ways to Create a Strong Company Culture In A Remote Environment
In the last few years, remote work has taken precedence over in-office work in a way that was never expected.
In early 2022, The Pew Research Center reported that 60% of workers want to work from home all or most of the time.
We can expect this number to increase further this year as an increasing number of employers and employees embrace the “flexibility” offered by remote work.
However, it also can’t be denied that remote work also comes with problems like miscommunication and disconnection with the team, leaders and managers. Employees can also feel disengaged and isolated. That is the reason, business owners and managers managing remote teams, developing and maintaining a strong company culture is critical.
What is company culture?
Ask 10 different people what company culture is and you’ll get 10 different replies.
However, at core, the company culture can be defined as the sum total of all formal and informal processes, behaviors, and values that create an experience for your workforce and customers.
Company culture can be felt by everyone who works and even visits your organization.
For instance, you walk into a company as an outsider and its employees greet you with a warm smile and a firm handshake. You can instantly feel a distinct, positive energy, and you get a fair idea of how things “work” there.
You’ve understood what company culture is, now we’ll have a look at its benefits.
Why company culture matters?
Let’s take a look at some statistics that underline the importance of company culture in today’s dynamic work environment.
86% of job seekers avoid companies with a bad reputation, and a culture that attracts high-caliber employees leads to a 33% revenue increase.
It’s evident that a strong company culture paves way for the organization’s success.
Here are a few substantial benefits of a good company culture for both employers and employees alike.
Increased productivity
Happy, engaged employees are more productive than others. A strong company culture makes employees feel valued and they work with a greater sense of fulfillment and job satisfaction.
When your employees’ goals and organization’s objectives are aligned, they display more passion and commitment that shows in the form of better quality work, increased productivity, and consistency.
Decreased turnover
Retaining highly skilled employees has become more of a challenge for today’s organizations. If people don’t feel valued and recognized, they switch jobs.
On the other hand, a good company culture recognizes and rewards top performers, which helps reduce the staff turnover as they feel a sense of belongingness, shared accomplishment, and a shared community.
Turns employees into advocates
When employees feel connected to an organization and team members, they are likely to be your brand’s best “word of mouth” advocates. They will invite other skilled professionals they know to come and work beside them. Highly satisfied employees not just contribute to your company culture but also advocate it both internally as well as outside the organization.
Makes recruitment easier
Your company culture is something that’s noticed even by job seekers, and they’ll consider it while making the final decision. They can sense your culture even during the interview. So, to keep their interest, prioritize building an organizational culture that leaves a strong first impression on your potential employees.
Effective onboarding
Effective onboarding is one of the best ways to ensure new employees get familiar with the core values and mission of their business.
Onboarding practices such as training, orientation, and performance management programs enable new employees to access the right resources and make a smooth transition into new job roles and responsibilities.
What if you have an automated online onboarding software, like LIKE.TG, where HR can actively track all the checklists, tasks, and nothing will miss, no matter from where you are working.
Next up, we’ll have a look at the best ways that, when implemented, can help you create a thriving company culture in a remote environment.
Five best ways for building a strong culture with remote teams
Define your company’s mission
Your employees need a mission to work towards.
Stephen Kohler, the CEO of Audira Labs, says, “As humans, we have a fundamental need for a sense of purpose and meaning in what we do".
In a remote work setting, distractions and apathy can negatively influence your team members. So, it’s important to remind them why they are doing what they do. How are their contributions helping a large number of people be more efficient in what they do?
How does your company plan to help people enjoy a healthy work-life balance?
Make your employees understand the value of their contributions and how everyone stands to benefit from them, including your team members.
Prioritize communication
68% of people say they’ve personally wasted time as a result of communication issues in their business.
Timely, smooth communication among your remote team members helps to keep your entire unit together, which further shows in improved coordination on work and better team camaraderie.
It’s important for managers to conduct regular one-on-one and team meetings with direct reports to ensure projects progress as planned and any underlying remote working issues are identified and resolved in time.
Providing your team with the right communication tools also go a long way to help them exchange crucial information with others, which prompts timely response by recipients.
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Make your employees feel valued
Your remote team employees are not just working for a paycheck at the end of the month. It’s much more than that. What separates your organization from other organizations?
All companies pay salaries but employees prefer to stay longer with organizations that value and appreciate their efforts, which gives them high job satisfaction and further fuels them to contribute to the company’s mission.
Remote employees can easily feel isolated as they are “out of sight, out of mind” for their reporting managers. Not giving feedback can demoralize them and lower their self-esteem. They might be discouraged from working hard when their efforts are not appreciated and valued.
So, how do you appreciate and reward employees who work from home? Here, an employee recognition and reward software can really help you out. How can you have fun with your employees? Reward them in front of all, offer them gift cards, and much more. It helps to boost their morale and engagement.
Incorporate team building activities
Thanks to video conferencing platforms like Zoom, it’s easy and quick for widely dispersed team members to have virtual face-to-face conversations with each other, which helps to keep team members feel connected to each other. HR pros, managers, and team leaders should use video conferencing effectively to organize virtual team-building activities that will also improve their work-life balance.
For instance, once a week, you can organize a video conference session revolving around casual conversations where your team members can share their personal lives and other areas of interest outside of work. There are numerous virtual team games, like Team Dinner, Tiny Campfire, Gingerbread Wards, etc, that can improve your remote team camaraderie.
Ask for feedback and measure employee engagement
How would you know if your remote employees are happy or not?
Ask them. Quite simple, isn’t it?
Monthly or quarterly anonymous surveys are one of the most widely used and effective ways to help managers and team leaders gauge how exactly your employees are feeling and how well your organization is upholding its values.
Employee pulse surveys give you a clear picture of what’s working and what’s not. You can identify bottlenecks and take corrective action before the situation gets worse.
However, a lot of thought has to be given on questions that are featured in employee surveys. These should primarily focus on work issues, employee well-being, team collaboration, productivity, relationships with peers and supervisors, etc.
The constructive feedback will help both team leaders and remote team members be on the same page to create a thriving remote work environment.
But the important challenge is how to conduct such polls with your remote team. Planning such surveys is easy when you work in an office, but with a remote team, it can be difficult because everyone is scattered and not always in touch.
In this case, you can use employee engagement tools to build and share online employee polls, surveys, and pulse surveys. Employees may fill out and easily return forms using the same platform.
The Final Thought
These five ways centered around how to create a robust company culture in a remote environment help leadership and remote team members stay on the same page for improved work coordination as well as strengthened team bonding.
When your remote team members are driven by organizational values and mission, they’ll have a clear roadmap and purpose to accomplish. When implemented, expect higher engagement, productivity, and transparency within your distributed team.
Improving Employee Engagement and Satisfaction in the Food and Beverage Industry
When we feel hungry, we usually get food from a grocery store or restaurant without thinking about how it got there. We're just happy that the food is available because we want to eat something delicious and satisfy our hunger. We often overlook the people behind the scenes in the food and beverage industry.
These people are responsible for making the industry function and include workers in various businesses such as growers, producers, distributors, service providers, restaurants, and retailers. They are the ones who keep the industry running smoothly.
So, how does one improve employee engagement and satisfaction in the food and beverage industry? How can you ensure your employees enjoy working at your workplace daily? Here are strategies that business owners can implement to enhance employee involvement at every level and raise long-term retention rates.Check out an employee app for frontline workers to improve employee engagement.
Incorporate work-life balance
If you work in the food and beverage industry, you may face many difficulties, such as a limited pool of available workers, intense competition, and high staff turnover. Promoting work-life balance is the best way to combat frustration and negative experience at work.
According to a 2021 Deloitte report, many Millennials and Gen Z respondents believe flexibility in their work is crucial when selecting an organization. It is important to give employees the time to recharge, even if it means adjusting their work schedule to accommodate personal commitments. This may improve their trust and job satisfaction in the long run.
Simple yet effective communication
When communication between managers and employees is hurried and unclear, it can cause staff frustration and mistrust, ultimately reducing their level of engagement. Improving communication can lead to better engagement by establishing open, transparent, and understandable communication channels.
Regular communication with your employees is essential. Instead of simply providing job descriptions and leaving them at that, engage in ongoing conversations about their performance, priorities, and progress.
To help them understand how their work ties into the bigger picture, establish smaller goals aligning with the company's strategic or annual objectives. This will demonstrate to employees how their roles contribute to the organization's success. Moreover, adopting an internal communications software like Workmates guarantees smooth communication within the team and reduces employee turnover.
By utilizing technology such as mobile platforms and the best tools to manage remote employees, managers can improve communication by enabling real-time interaction and gathering feedback, leading to effective communication.
Smooth onboarding process
Following various regulations and procedures to ensure safety is important in the restaurant industry. However, ensuring all employees know about these procedures can be challenging, especially for new employees.
To address this, consider creating short instructional videos and materials that employees can easily reference. This approach avoids relying on employees' memory and enables them to review specific protocols and procedures. Some companies even use technology to provide employees access to knowledge and resources from anywhere and at any time. In addition, LIKE.TG’s onboarding solution includes customized checklists so managers can monitor if team members are on track with their required periodic training.
Good financial compensation
The financial impact of the pandemic has been felt widely, especially among food and beverage industry workers. They faced a labor shortage, which only worsened as the pandemic continued. Due to high employee turnover, jobs in the service industry are often viewed as temporary and easily replaceable. Therefore, as a restaurant owner, ensuring that employees are well-compensated and feel safe in their job is crucial.
Providing good pay is essential in increasing employee engagement, happiness, and retention, which ultimately reduces turnover and costs of hiring and training new workers. One solution to increase wages is to raise menu prices and transparently explain to customers that the increase is to provide better wages for employees, resulting in happier employees who can deliver exceptional service.
Healthy management
It's important to delegate tasks and be transparent about expectations to reduce workload and increase employee autonomy. Trusting employees and giving them responsibility without micromanaging will boost their engagement in the company.
If you want a good employee tracking solution, include a fair monitoring system for your employees to improve productivity. Using a management style relatable to your employees can establish a lasting working relationship and reduce employee turnover. So always prioritize autonomy, care, and communication in your management approach.
Offer advancement opportunities
To prevent disengagement among employees, it is important to provide them with adequate training and advancement opportunities. According to a survey, 72% of Millennials believe that their skills are not being fully utilized at work, leading to lower engagement levels.
Giving employees opportunities to advance or learn new skills not only allows them to showcase their strengths but also reduces the likelihood of them seeking employment elsewhere.
Ask for feedback
Encouraging a culture of staff engagement can help improve restaurant operations. Seeking feedback from employees on decisions such as adding new menu items or addressing internal challenges can be valuable as they contribute to the restaurant's success.
To increase employee engagement, it's vital to understand what motivates them and why they chose to work for your restaurant. By asking your employees about their passions and listening to their responses, you can discover what they value and what they experience on a daily basis.
Most likely, your employees are looking for a job that provides a balance between income and meaningful work. For millennials, this may also include having access to digital tools that optimize their work experience and help them stay productive and connected during their shifts. It's important to take action based on the feedback you receive from your employees to improve their work experience and keep them engaged.
Employees should feel valued and like they are part of the team, and their perspectives should be heard and used to enhance operations. Therefore, consider an engaged employee a co-collaborator in building a better restaurant.
Still in the process of searching for the right platform to assist you with your employee engagement surveys? LIKE.TG's Workmates platform features a poll and survey builder to aid you in gathering staff feedback and jumpstarting your business at the same time.
Open-book management
To ensure employee engagement and retention, consider using open-book management, a business strategy that involves sharing the financials of the business with employees.
The concept of open-book management is based on the notion that a company performs better when employees are invested in the success of the business beyond just performance metrics like quality or efficiency. It's not just a program but a comprehensive system that is understandable and valuable to both frontline employees and senior managers. By incorporating the why of improved performance into the system, employees and managers are motivated to work together to discover the how.
By giving employees a clear understanding of how their work contributes to revenue, they develop a sense of ownership and a greater understanding of their business impact. This can lead to a more dedicated workforce and potentially improve employee happiness.
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Organize fun weekend getaways
Large companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple understand the importance of engaging their employees through outdoor activities. This is also true for the food and beverage industry, where employees need a break from their usual kitchen and customer-facing duties.
Engaging in outdoor activities can boost productivity and promote team spirit while focusing on employee health and wellness. These activities include hiking, trekking, cycling, among others.
Employees appreciate the opportunity to take a break and engage with the outside world while participating in activities that challenge them physically and mentally. Organizing outdoor activities with your team can also be enjoyable and solve employee retention issues in the long run.
Happy employees equal successful business!
To keep your restaurant thriving, it's not only essential to focus on maintaining profit margins, creating new menu items, and attracting repeat customers, but also to prioritize your staff's engagement and dedication. You can improve employee happiness through simple actions such as asking for feedback and providing useful benefits. Remember that your employees are the backbone of your restaurant and treating them well will help ensure its success.
Why Employee Engagement Is Important for an Innovative Work Culture
Employee engagement is a complex topic. Difficult to promote and even harder to measure, it’s all too often oversimplified – or worse overlooked completely. In fact, findings from a recent Gallup report show a mere 21% of global employees are engaged at work.
What Is Employee Engagement?
Though often taken to mean the same thing, there is a considerable difference between job satisfaction and employee engagement. Job satisfaction implies a person gets a sense of fulfillment from their work. They may be satisfied with their role, pay and working hours, but that is where their personal investment ends.
Engagement, on the other hand, covers every aspect of employment. Not just the work of the individual but also the people they work with and the organization they work for.
A highly engaged employee feels a positive connection on all fronts. They:
Enjoy and take pride in their own responsibilities
Care about the success of their teammates
Hold a strong affiliation with their employer
Are motivated, supportive and have a genuine interest in the continued growth of the company they work for
On the other end of the scale sits the disengaged employee. These people show little interest in their employment, essentially working for a paycheck and nothing more.
At best a disengaged employee will show up, fulfill their duties, and go home again. At worst, they’ll spread negativity around the workplace, cause disruption among teams and limit a company’s growth potential.
There is of course a sliding scale between the highly engaged and the disengaged. Those who fall somewhere in between may do no harm to an organization, but neither will they contribute to its success.
If you can create a work environment in which all employees are highly engaged though, you’ll find you also create a culture of innovation – and that is what lies at the heart of every successful business.
How Does Employee Engagement Encourage Innovation?
Before we explore how and why employee engagement contributes to innovation, we should first stress that we’re not limiting innovation to RD or technical advancement. We’re referring to any new approach that improves some aspect of business performance.
In this context, innovation may mean a new marketing strategy that sees greater ROI or improvements to your customer-service model. It may relate to new efficiencies in your supply chain or streamlined workflows that boost productivity.
Essentially, to innovate is to bring new ideas to the table with the aim of driving better outcomes than those seen through current practices. When you have a highly engaged workforce, those ideas are more forthcoming.
This is because engaged employees are:
More Productive
With high levels of engagement come high levels of productivity. That’s not just an empty claim – it's something 81% of business leaders strongly agree with. But how does this fact relate to innovation?
Well, a productive worker gets more done in a shorter time frame. Their to-do lists are ticked off at a much quicker rate than those of unproductive workers, leaving more time for reflection. This ‘thinking time’ encourages critical analysis, where an employee may identify working inefficiencies and put forward innovative ideas to fix them.
Increased productivity also gives employees more time to bounce ideas off of each other, fueling creativity and constructive debate.
Team Players
Engaged employees aren’t out for themselves. They’re invested in collective achievement, and as such make strong team players. This helps drive innovation in a couple of ways.
First, it creates a supportive team environment built on trust and mutual respect. This makes it easier for team members to voice their ideas without fear of rejection. It also makes them more inclined to take calculated risks, knowing they have a supportive team to fall back on.
Second, team players welcome diversity in collaboration. They know that a collective is greater than the sum of its parts, and that the best results are achieved when people with different backgrounds, skills and experience work together. By happy coincidence, this is also how the most innovative ideas come into being.
Happier and Healthier
Employee wellbeing plays a big role in engagement. Organizations that focus on the former – through initiatives like flexible work schedules and enforced lunch breaks – see an increase in the latter, whilst at the same time encouraging a happier and healthier workforce.
Healthier staff are more alert, energized and focused, meaning they’re far more likely to have those eureka moments. It also goes without saying that a happy employee is more inclined to go the extra mile, potentially breaking new ground in the process.
In It for the Long Term
An engaged employee feels a strong sense of loyalty to their employer and is unlikely to seek out new job opportunities. They are in it for the long term, so you hold on to your most creative talent.
Commitment and longevity contribute to innovation because those responsible for new ideas are there to oversee and guide their implementation. If a disengaged employee brought something new to the table (which is unlikely to happen), you have no guarantee they’ll stick around to see it through.
With more engaged employees, you’ll also see lower staff turnover, which means fewer resources spent on recruitment and training. That’s time and money you can invest in innovation.
Invested in Company Growth
Last but not least, highly engaged employees care about the future of the organization they work for. This is because:
Their employer treats them well
There exists a shared set of values
They feel valued as an integral part of the business
It’s also because, as we’ve established, they’re in it for the long haul. Most will see themselves progressing up the managerial chain so it’s in their best interest for the company to do well.
Given that innovation is a key driver of business growth, those invested in that growth will be key drivers of innovation.
How to Improve Employee Engagement for Innovation
Employee engagement should be seen as a long-term strategy rather than a set of isolated activities. That strategy must be based on the needs of each individual business, but there are core practices every organization should incorporate:
Design an Effective Recruitment Process
Employee engagement starts with recruitment. HR teams must attract the right talent and focus on an onboarding process that firmly cements that talent as a vital part of the organization.
Have an Open Communication Policy
Open communication helps to establish a united work environment – one in which a shared vision exists and all voices are heard and respected. It drives engagement by helping employees connect their role with wider business goals.
Encourage Growth and Development
Organizations should provide training opportunities that enable continued growth. This shows an employee that their potential is recognized and that career progression exists within the company. The act of learning new skills is also a driver of engagement in itself.
Recognize and Reward Achievement
To keep employees engaged, their hard work and commitment should always be acknowledged and their achievements celebrated. Organizations that focus on employee recognition not only retain top talent but also motivate them to achieve even more.
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Focus on Employee Wellbeing
Wellbeing initiatives are critical to employee engagement. They alleviate stress and contribute to a healthy work–life balance, as well as being a welcome gesture of appreciation. All of this goes a long way to promoting a deeper connection between an organization and its workforce.
HR to Drive Employee Engagement and Innovation
HR has a vital role to play in an employee engagement strategy. From initial recruitment and onboarding to training and development, HR departments must ensure engagement initiatives are designed, implemented and overseen to full effect.
They must also work collaboratively with top-level management in the rollout of new approaches that maintain engagement, and subsequently promote an innovative work culture.
Final Thoughts
Employee engagement is more than job satisfaction and shouldn't be considered a 'nice-to-have'. Organizations that want to thrive, innovate and grow need to implement policies and practices that lead to fully engaged employees. They will reap savings in time, money and resources, and have happier, healthier employees who are in it for the long term.
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With a background in journalism, Jen uses effective writing techniques to educate, engage and entertain readers on her client's behalf, driving brand exposure with cleverly crafted content.
3 Performance Review Best Practices for Top Talent in a Growing Tech Startup
The pandemic brought about a paradigm shift in workplace values and priorities and led to a mass exodus of workers across various industries.This triggered a talent shortage, and companies soon struggled to fill key positions and train new hires as they needed to invest more time and resources in them. Many companies have chosen to hire freelancers to tackle initial pending projects, while others have made a complete transition to remote work.
Collaboration between employees and managers is made seamless through LIKE.TG's tools, which also foster recognition and reward initiatives. Additionally, the 360-degree feedback feature allows for a comprehensive and holistic review of employee performance, ensuring a thorough assessment.As surprising as it sounds, when done right, performance reviews cause employees to feel validated and stay longer at an organization.
This article explores some best practices managers must follow while conducting performance reviews and why startups can no longer treat these reviews as a nice-to-have if they want to foster long-term growth and success.
3 Best Practices To Conduct Effective Performance Reviews
The term "performance review" often carries negative connotations; even top performers associate it with "harsh criticism" and "flaws" and view it as a chore they should endure.
This is because many startups conduct one-sided reviews where managers assign scores and give surface-level feedback on where employees can improve without initiating a two-way conversation.
However, with a few simple changes, it is possible to transform these reviews into conversations that inspire productivity and growth in your top talent.
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Educate Your Managers
According to a McKinsey survey, performance reviews don't help CEOs identify top performers, and more than half of employees think their managers don't get their reviews right.
Findings from a Gallus study are no better either— only one in five employees agreed that their company’s review practices motivated them to do better.
In other words, performance reviews don’t serve any purpose. And this happens because managers avoid difficult conversations due to the stress they bring.
As a result, the review meetings become mere announcements of compensation revisions, and even top performers consider them pointless or unfair due to the lack of comprehensive feedback.
To transform these mediocre reviews into impactful ones that benefit your top talent and the top brass, you need to help your managers master conversations around critical feedback and compensation.
Equipping your managers with relevant resources, such as curated content and training, can help make the process easier.
For instance, you can provide a simple template that helps your managers initiate a meaningful conversation with top performers, indicating that the company is invested in their success.
Alt-image: A template to help managers create effective performance reviews (Image source)
Give Consistent Feedback
A successful performance review should be an ongoing conversation between the employee and their manager, with the employee having a clear understanding of what will be discussed before the meeting.
And the best way to do that is through consistent feedback — managers should be upfront about what the employee did well and highlight what they could've done better after every task, and schedule regular 1:1 meetings to discuss progress.
This approach provides valuable data for managers to understand why an employee may fall behind in certain areas.
For example, a top performer may work hard but lack certain skills. Consistent evaluation and feedback enable the manager to determine the root cause and provide the right guidance and training.
Another benefit of offering consistent feedback is that it gives employees time to course correct and leads to improved performance over time without overwhelming them.
Frame feedback with positive intent
Every employee, even your best ones, has room for improvement. While pointing out areas of improvement during review meetings is crucial for their growth, it's also important to ensure that they feel valued and appreciated.
So, managers need to offer constructive feedback and discuss the next steps in a way that boosts employee morale and motivates talent to make improvements to their work.
Milo Cruz, a marketing leader who has handled diverse teams in tech startups, recounts a situation in which constructive feedback helped one of the best performers in his organization move up the ladder.
“Six months ago, I handled a talented team member whose creativity was off the charts. In fact, most of his teammates looked up to him because he was self-sufficient and could still excel in his job, even without my supervision. "
“However, collaboration is vital in our team, and he lacked the social skills to communicate effectively with his colleagues."
“During our performance review, I highlighted his achievements and how the management appreciated his innovative marketing ideas. "
“But at the same time, I emphasized that while he can work independently, he needs to open up a bit to others and share his best practices within the team. I also let him understand how team effort could elevate his ideas and ultimately bring more success to the business."
“He is now one of the supervisors in the company and handles more than ten people. Though he was naturally introverted, he tried his best to socialize with other employees and got promoted four months after I had a one-on-one session with him,” he says.
Milo’s feedback helped the employee move forward in their career path for the following reasons:
Specificity: Milo highlighted his improvement's positive impact on the team and how it could translate to long-term success for the organization. This helped the employee understand why it's important for them to make the changes.
Balance: Milo didn't just point out the employee's shortcomings. He also appreciated their skills and pointed out how they are valuable to their company.
Respect: It's common for managers to see traits like introversion in a negative light. But instead of asking the employee to be more extroverted or making a comparison, Milo guided him towards opening up to his colleagues and managing them effectively.
While it's clear that startups should invest time in creating impactful performance reviews, most of them still don't prioritize them, given their limited time and resources. Plus, they don't realize the positive effect it will have on their organization in the long run.
Why Startups Should Invest More Time In Performance Reviews
According to Farhan Virji, “Performance reviews shouldn't be an annual or bi-annual event. At Keyhole, we think about Performance as a culture, where people understand what's expected of them and how they can progress to the next stage of their career/role. Within a performance-based culture, managers should be having ongoing performance discussions with their people by providing regular feedback.
One of the mistakes many startups make is not outlining the expectations of each role. Developing a scorecard that outlines these expectations for each role level is a good way for people to understand what's expected of them now and which areas they can focus on to develop their careers.
Don't get hung up on the design of the scorecard. What's important is that there is a mutual understanding between the manager and the employee on what's expected of them, and what success looks like.
Furthermore, too often, people link performance reviews with compensation reviews and I think these should be decoupled. Performance is about regular and ongoing feedback to help people improve in areas they are not meeting expectations. If someone is not meeting expectations, why wait until a formal review?
Tell them right away so they have time to adjust and improve. Compensation reviews should happen at specific intervals, and the performance of the individual should be input."
Most companies tend to treat performance reviews as an item they have to check off their to-do list. But talent trends and employee priorities are constantly changing, and great performance reviews indirectly contribute to long-term growth for two reasons:
Enables managers to learn what employees want
In the LinkedIn Global Talent Trends report published in 2022, employees cited upskilling themselves and learning new, highly desired skills as one of their top priorities apart from compensation and flexibility.
Plus, companies that offer employees opportunities to make internal moves through promotions or lateral changes have higher employee retention rates.
Conversely, companies that do not provide such opportunities have experienced a significant decrease in their retention rates over time.
Linda Jingfang Cai, LinkedIn’s VP of Talent Development, explains the reason in the same report:
“Just as businesses need new skills, employees need to discover their career possibilities and change, too,” she says.
“We know people want to learn and grow at work, regardless of economic and market conditions.
“This almost always translates to employees asking themselves and their managers, How can I do a better job so that I can get paid more, promoted, or land my next dream role?
“Our new data insights show us that, even with some industry and regional nuances, if companies leave those questions unanswered, in most cases, people will leave the moment they find a better opportunity elsewhere,” she adds.
This means you need to give your employees, especially top talent, more control over their career paths at your organization. And the best way to achieve this is to conduct regular performance reviews.
According to Sanjay Goel, “By asking questions about career goals, work preferences, and job satisfaction, managers can better understand their employees' needs and tailor their management approach accordingly. At NachoNacho, we believe that an open and honest dialogue during performance reviews is key to fostering a positive and productive work environment."
Performance reviews offer a valuable opportunity to engage 1:1 with your top talent and gain insight into their goals. They also serve as a means to assess their skills and pinpoint areas for development and growth.
This information can help you provide additional resources, such as training and development programs, to support their professional development.
Improve job satisfaction
The best employees are without doubt the most hardworking and goal-oriented employees in an organization.
But just because they’re performing well and meeting targets on time, managers shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming that they’re satisfied in their workplace.
Top talent can also feel stressed and burnt out and their performance might dip later if companies fail to meet their emotional needs.
Consequently, productivity will plummet and the employee turnover rate will increase — the U.S. loses an estimated $550 billion every year due to unhappy employees. For an average company, this roughly translates to 18% lower productivity and 15% lower profitability, according to a recent Zippia report.
The most significant reason for declining job satisfaction rates among employees is not lower salaries. It’s the lack of respect, meaning, and long working hours that they need to commit to.
To determine the specific cause of employee discontentment, conducting company-wide surveys can be helpful.
However, performance reviews provide a platform for two-way communication and enable managers to obtain valuable feedback and make necessary changes to enhance job satisfaction and employee engagement.
Best Performance Review Example
"The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed up in these two: common-sense and perseverance." - Owen Feltham
The self-evaluation process, or employee performance reviews, at InVideo, is designed with an emphasis on the fact that. consistent effort, along with practical and rational thinking, can lead to significant results in performance and personal growth. It goes beyond a one-way evaluation from managers to employees and encourages employees to reflect on their own performance and take ownership of their growth and development.
The review structure is designed for quarterly cycles, allowing for regular check-ins and feedback sessions. This frequent review cycle ensures that performance is regularly monitored, and any areas of improvement or achievements are acknowledged in a timely manner. It also creates a sense of urgency and accountability for employees to consistently perform at their best.
The self-evaluation process fosters a culture of open communication and trust within the organization. Employees are encouraged to provide feedback on their own performance and identify areas where they excel, and areas where they need improvement. This promotes self-awareness and self-reflection, allowing employees to recognize their strengths and weaknesses objectively.
Wrapping up
In today’s competitive landscape, startups and larger organizations must focus on retaining their best talent. While employee recognition programs are an effective retention tool for MNCs, startups can make the most of performance reviews to improve employee engagement and reduce turnover rates.
To conduct effective performance reviews, managers must educate themselves, give consistent feedback, and frame feedback with positive intent.
By following these best practices, startups can transform performance reviews from one-sided conversations to meaningful dialogues that inspire productivity and growth in their top talent.
Employee Recognition Software For Hospitality Industry
Are you looking for an employee recognition software tailored to the hospitality industry? Many businesses in the hospitality industry struggle with finding ways to effectively recognize their employees. With tight budgets, limited time, and a diverse workforce, finding meaningful rewards that make everyone feel appreciated can be difficult.
Employee recognition software is an innovative solution that empowers companies to build powerful recognition programs without sacrificing quality or budget. This technology helps hospitality businesses create meaningful recognition experiences that drive employee engagement, loyalty and satisfaction.
Benefits of Employee Recognition Software in Hospitality Industry
The following are the key benefits of employee recognition software in the hospitality industry:
Increased employee engagement and satisfaction
Employee recognition software in hospitality industry helps to increase employee engagement and satisfaction by providing meaningful rewards and recognizing outstanding performance. This software allows employers to customize rewards, create automated recognition programs, and build employee loyalty.
The result is improved employee morale, increased productivity, better customer service and higher turnover rates. Additionally, this software can help hospitality businesses create a positive and lasting impression on their employees.
Improved employee retention
Employee recognition software in the hospitality industry helps to improve employee retention by providing meaningful rewards, recognizing outstanding performance and building loyalty. Creating a positive work environment with recognitions and rewards strengthens the emotional connection between employers and employees, improving job satisfaction and reducing turnover rates.
This increased engagement leads to improved productivity, better customer service, higher morale and ultimately, stronger retention rates.
Enhanced productivity and quality of work
Employee recognition software in hospitality industry helps to enhance productivity and quality of work by providing meaningful rewards, recognizing outstanding performance and creating a positive work environment. This improved engagement leads to better employee morale, increased motivation, improved customer service, higher retention rates and ultimately higher levels of productivity and quality of work.
Additionally, this software helps to build loyalty and trust among employees and employers, which leads to improved collaboration and better work.
Boosted company culture and reputation
Employee recognition software in hospitality helps boost company culture and reputation by creating a positive work environment where employees feel appreciated. This can lead to increased loyalty, improved customer service, higher retention rates, enhanced productivity and quality of work, and strengthened relationships between employers and employees.
Ultimately, this helps to build a more positive brand image and create a workplace culture where employees are highly engaged and motivated.
Features of Employee Recognition Software for Hospitality Industry
Customizable recognition programs
Customizable recognition programs allow hospitality businesses to create individualized rewards and recognition programs that meet the specific needs of their workforce. They can be tailored according to the goals and objectives of each business, allowing employers to set up automated processes for recognizing employees on an ongoing basis.
This means that businesses can recognize outstanding performance in real-time, creating a positive work environment and motivating employees to continue to perform at their best. Furthermore, customizable recognition programs can create loyalty, build relationships and boost morale among the workforce.
User-friendly interface
Employee recognition software for hospitality industry is designed with an easy-to-use and intuitive user interface that makes creating, managing, and customizing rewards and recognition programs simple. The platform includes various features such as customizable templates, automated processes, real time tracking of employee performance, and reporting tools.
This allows employers to quickly set up and manage recognition programs that suit their employees’ needs, saving time and money. Furthermore, the user-friendly interface makes it easy for employees to participate in the recognition process, offering more engagement opportunities and encouraging better performance.
Integration with existing HR systems
Employee recognition software for hospitality industry integrates with existing HR systems, allowing businesses to sync data from multiple sources and automate employee reviews and performance tracking processes. This helps employers to quickly identify high-performing employees and reward them in a timely manner.
Furthermore, integrating disparate systems simplifies administrative tasks and reduces manual work, saving businesses time and money. Overall, this helps create a more efficient and effective working environment where employees feel valued and engaged.
Analytics and reporting capabilities
Employee recognition software for hospitality industry provides businesses with analytics and reporting capabilities that help to identify employee performance trends, analyze recognition programs, and measure the impact of rewards. These tools allow employers to get an in-depth view of their workforce’s engagement levels and productivity, enabling them to make better decisions regarding promoting and rewarding employees.
Furthermore, the analytics and reporting tools can be used to assess the success of recognition programs, including which rewards are most effective in motivating employees. This allows employers to continually optimize their recognition strategies for maximum impact.
Mobile accessibility
Employee recognition software for hospitality industry is designed to be mobile-friendly, allowing employees to access and manage their recognition programs from any device. The platform includes various features such as customizable templates, automated processes, real time tracking of employee performance, and reporting tools optimized for mobile use.
This allows employers to quickly set up and manage recognition programs on the go and from any location, giving employees more flexibility when receiving rewards. Furthermore, mobile accessibility makes it easy for businesses to reach out to their workforce and stay connected with them, creating a better working environment.
These features enable employers in the hospitality industry to create, manage, and track employee recognition programs easily.
Implementation and Best Practices
To further understand the impact of employee recognition software for the hospitality industry, let’s look at some of the top solutions in the market and their features.
Steps for successful implementation of Employee Recognition Software.
To ensure the successful adoption of personnel recognition software, the following actions must be taken:
Clearly define goals and objectives
Create a culture of appreciation that encourages employees to be engaged
Find the right solution that fits the organization’s needs
Provide adequate training for staff on how to use the software
Track performance through reports and analytics
Continuously evaluate the program for desired outcomes
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Best practices for creating effective recognition programs
The best practices for creating effective recognition programs include:
Setting measurable goals.
Providing clear performance criteria.
Creating tangible rewards that employees value.
Engaging employees through communications and feedback.
Using technology to automate processes.
Tracking results.
It is also important to ensure the program is tailored to the organization’s culture and values to maximize its effectiveness. Additionally, recognizing employees regularly is essential for keeping them motivated and engaged.
Finally, regularly reviewing the program’s results and making necessary adjustments should help ensure its success.
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Tips for ongoing employee engagement and participation
Useful tips for ongoing employee engagement and participation include:
Reward staff members regularly for their efforts and accomplishments.
Foster a positive and inclusive company culture through team building and social activities.
Encourage management and staff to communicate openly and provide feedback.
Offer chances for career advancement and professional development.
Provide a supportive work environment that prioritizes work-life balance.
Solicit employee input and involve them in decision-making processes.
Continuously assess and improve upon recognition programs and employee engagement initiatives.
In Conclusion
The success of any hospitality organization is dependent on the engagement and performance of its staff. Employee recognition software provides an effective way to motivate employees, boost morale, and increase productivity. Recruiters, hiring managers, and small business owners should consider implementing such solutions to ensure their employees are appreciated and rewarded for their hard work.
Additionally, it is important to set clear goals, provide adequate training, and continually evaluate the program’s results for effective implementation. Lastly, continuous communication with employees is essential to ensure ongoing engagement and participation in recognition programs.
Final thought: Employee recognition software can help make hospitality organizations more successful by motivating staff members and increasing productivity.
From Turnover to Tenure: The Top Strategies for Improving Employee Retention in Manufacturing
Employee retention is a critical factor in the success of any business, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing companies face unique challenges with employee retention due to high demand as well as higher competition for skilled workers.
In this article, we will examine the importance of employee retention in manufacturing, the common reasons for higher turnover rates, and top strategies for improving employee retention in this field. Employee retention is essential for manufacturing companies to remain competitive and thrive in today's fast-paced business environment where many companies opt for shifting production capacity to Mexico or similar countries with lower production costs.
Manufacturing companies can become competitive by creating a positive corporate culture through Workmates, an innovative employee engagement application.
The Importance of Employee Retention in Manufacturing
Focusing on employee retention in the manufacturing industry is very important since repeated recruitment and training of new employees leads to financial burden. Furthermore, the chances of high employee turnover rates can adversely affect both the productivity and the quality of the manufactured products. Here are some of the key reasons why employee retention is important in the manufacturing sector:
Cost savings: Hiring and training new employees can be expensive and time-consuming. Retaining skilled and experienced employees can save a company a significant amount of money in recruitment and training costs.
Quality and efficiency: Experienced employees are often more efficient and produce higher quality work than new hires. Using strategies to retain top performers can lead to better production processes, fewer errors, and improved overall performance.
Company culture: Employee turnover can negatively impact company culture, as it can create uncertainty and instability in the workplace. By retaining employees, manufacturing companies can build a strong culture of loyalty and teamwork, which can improve employee morale.
Knowledge transfer: Skilled workers share specialized expertise and knowledge that can be challenging to replace. Retaining these employees ensures that their knowledge and experience remain within the company, which can be crucial for long-term success.
Nature of Work: The manufacturing sector has a unique challenge in retaining employees due to the nature of the work. The work can be physically demanding, repetitive, and monotonous, leading to employee burnout and dissatisfaction. It is therefore key for manufacturing companies to prioritize employee retention to achieve success in their overall business strategy.
Common Reasons for High Turnover in the Manufacturing Industry
There are several reasons for high turnover rates in the manufacturing industry. One of the primary reasons is a lack of engagement and motivation among employees. When employees feel disconnected from their work or do not feel valued, they are more likely to look for employment elsewhere.
Another reason for high turnover rates is the lack of opportunities for growth and development. Employees who feel they have limited opportunities for career growth are more likely to leave. Additional factors that contribute to high turnover rates include poor compensation, inadequate work-life balance, and a negative work environment.
Average Employee Turnover Rates by Industry
By the end of 2021, as the pandemic abated, organizations worked towards hybrid work setups, telecommuting, and safe health protocols. These improvements resulted in decreased rate of turnover. However, the turnover rate accounts for every worker that left in the same year due to retirement, termination, or discharge. Upon closer inspection of voluntary resignations, however, 2021 boasts a record-breaking figure. An astounding 47.4 million individuals relinquished their jobs over the course of the year, a figure that surpasses previous records. The average turnover rate was 47.2 and manufacturing in specific recorded a 39.9% turnover rate in 2021.
According to the 2020 Retention Report from Work Institute, the resignation of every employee could lead to losses that account for one-third of their annual salary. Furthermore, high turnover rates can dampen the morale of the remaining staff, compounding the issue at hand.
Manufacturing is among the top five industries with the highest turnover rates and here are some of the reasons:
Workers in this industry were unable to work from home like in other industries.
Workers continued going into the workplace to perform demanding work during stressful times.
Benefits of Higher Employee Retention
Higher employee retention in manufacturing can have numerous benefits for the company. Some potential benefits include increased productivity, lower absenteeism rates, cost savings, and a more positive work environment.
When employees stay with a company for a longer period, they become more efficient and effective in their jobs. This increased efficiency can lead to increased productivity and cost savings for the company. Additionally, when employees are engaged, it can create a positive work environment, improved morale and better customer satisfaction.
Conducting Employee Engagement Surveys
One way to improve employee retention is to conduct an employee engagement survey. This survey can help identify areas where employees feel disengaged, undervalued, or unappreciated. The survey can also provide insight into what motivates employees and what they value in their work. Once the survey is complete, management can analyze the results and create a plan to address the areas of concern. This include implementing new policies to improve employee engagement, employee recognition and appreciation.
Using Workmates to conduct employee engagement surveys can have several benefits, including:
Familiarity: Workmates is a right solution that is in tune with the organization's employees, culture, and work environment. This employee engagement tool makes it easier for organizations to connect with employees and gain their trust, which can result in more honest and accurate feedback.
Cost-effective: Using Workmates, to conduct surveys is more cost-effective than hiring an external consultant. This can be especially beneficial for smaller manufacturing organizations with limited budgets.
Timely feedback: Workmates can gather feedback quickly and efficiently, and help in addressing any issues or concerns raised by employees in a timely manner.
Better response rates: Employees are more likely to participate in an anonymous survey through a familiar software such as Workmates. This can result in higher response rates and more representative data.
Actionable insights: Workmates can use the knowledge of the organization to interpret the survey results and provide actionable insights to management. This can help the organization identify areas for improvement and develop targeted strategies to enhance employee engagement and satisfaction.
Using Employee Engagement Software to Improve Retention
Another effective way to improve employee retention is to use employee engagement software. This software can provide real-time feedback on employee engagement levels and can help identify areas where employees are not properly engaged.
The software can also provide tools for managers to create action plans and address areas of concern. Workmates is an all-in-one Employee Engagement Software (EES) solution that offers effective employee engagement and surveys. It offers several benefits, including:
Increased adoption: Workmates can help to promote and drive adoption of the EES among employees. As employees will already be familiar with the software, they can explain the benefits of the software to their colleagues and encourage participation.
Better data accuracy: Workmates is an effective employee engagement portal that can ensure the accuracy of the data collected as well as monitor responses. This can result in more reliable data that can be used to make informed decisions.
Improved communication: Workmates can use the EES to facilitate communication between the employees of a company and its management. This can help to build trust and transparency, as well as create a more collaborative work environment.
Personalized insights: Workmates is an employee engagement platform that provide personalized insights to employees based on their responses. This can help employees to better understand their strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for improvement.
Enhanced engagement: Using an EES can help to increase employee engagement by providing opportunities for feedback, recognition, and development. Workmates is a popular Employee engagement survey tool that can facilitate this process by encouraging participation and promoting the benefits of the software.
Creating a Culture of Appreciation and Recognition
Creating a culture of appreciation and recognition can significantly improve employee retention. Organizations that make employees feel valued and appreciated can achieve long-term success. This can include recognizing employees for a job well done, providing regular feedback, and employee appreciation, and offering opportunities for growth and development.
Additionally, creating a culture of appreciation and recognition can lead to a positive work environment and increased employee morale. This can lead to higher productivity and job satisfaction.
Offering Competitive Compensation and Benefits
Providing reasonable yet competitive benefits and compensation is also essential for improving employee retention. Employees who feel they are being compensated fairly and have access to quality benefits are more likely to stay with a company long-term.
This can include offering competitive salaries, health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefits. It is essential for manufacturing companies to regularly review their compensation and benefits packages and make adjustments as necessary to remain competitive.
Providing Opportunities for Professional Development and Growth
Providing opportunities for professional development and growth is another effective way to improve employee retention. Employees who feel they have opportunities to learn and grow within their roles are more likely to stay with a company long-term.
This can include providing training and development programs, offering mentorship opportunities, and providing opportunities for advancement within the company. It is essential for manufacturing companies to invest in their employees' growth and development to retain manufacturing workers and top talent.
Creating a Positive Work Environment and Company Culture
Creating a positive work environment and company culture is essential for improving employee retention. Employees who feel they are part of a positive work environment and nurturing work culture are more likely to stay with a company long-term.
This can include fostering open communication, creating a supportive and collaborative work environment, and promoting work-life balance. Additionally, creating a positive work environment and company culture can reduce high turnover rates, and lead to increased employee morale and productivity.
Conclusion - Implementing a Comprehensive Strategy for Employee Retention in Manufacturing
In conclusion, employee retention is critical in the manufacturing industry. High turnover rates can lead to negative consequences such as loss of skilled labor, decreased productivity, and increased costs associated with hiring and training new employees. Manufacturing companies that prioritize employee retention are more likely to have a skilled and experienced workforce, increased productivity, and a positive company culture. By implementing the strategies outlined in this article, manufacturing companies can attract and retain top talent in the manufacturing industry, leading to increased productivity, cost savings, and a more positive work environment.
Using Workmates, a quality recognition software to conduct employee engagement surveys can be a valuable tool for organizations looking to improve employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity. Overall, using Workmates Employee Engagement Software from LIKE.TG helps organizations to enhance employee engagement, productivity, and retention through employee recognition. By leveraging the expertise and familiarity of Workmates, organizations can ensure the success of their EES implementation and maximize the benefits for both employees and management.
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A Beginner's Guide to HR Advanced Recruitment Tools
Human resources (HR) is a continually developing subject, and as technology advances, so does the way we attract and hire personnel. In today's competitive employment market, HR managers must remain ahead of the curve by using modern recruiting techniques to attract top applicants. These technologies not only speed up the recruiting process but also give vital insights into a candidate's credentials, abilities, and organizational fit. In this beginner's tutorial, we will look at some of the most popular advanced HR recruiting technologies and why they are so important in today's workplace.
ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems)
The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a commonly used and fundamental HR recruiting tool. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a piece of software that automates and streamlines the process of collecting, storing, and managing candidate data. It enables human resource professionals to generate and publish job postings, monitor applications, and interact with recruiting teams. To access a larger pool of possible applicants, ATS also allows for the integration of job boards and social media sites. Solutions like Recruit ATS by LIKE.TG increase productivity, communication, and candidate experience by centralizing candidate information and automating administrative duties.
Intelligent Resume Screening
HR professionals spend a lot of time reviewing resumes and shortlisting individuals. Smart resume screening software uses AI algorithms to assess resumes, find keywords, and match applicants with job requirements. These technologies drastically minimize the amount of time and effort necessary for the first resume screening. By automating this process, HR personnel can devote their time to more strategic tasks like interviewing and analyzing applicant suitability. Smart resume screening also aids in the elimination of unconscious bias by objectively assessing applicants based on their credentials and abilities, resulting in a more equitable and inclusive hiring process.
Machine learning is increasingly being used to develop smart resume screening solutions. You can try to use off-the-shelf products, develop your product with machine learning outsourcing, or hire developers yourself.
Cognitive Assessments
Cognitive evaluations are HR tools that are used to measure a candidate's cognitive talents, problem-solving ability, and critical-thinking abilities. These tests give essential information about a person's intellectual capacity, which is especially important for positions that involve analytical thinking or complicated decision-making. Cognitive exams may be performed online and offer objective data to help HR managers make educated recruiting choices. Organizations may guarantee they are choosing individuals with the correct cognitive ability for their jobs by introducing cognitive exams into the recruiting process.
Video Interviews Analysis
Video interview analysis technologies have become more significant in the HR business as remote work and virtual interviews have grown in popularity. During video interviews, these technologies use AI algorithms to assess facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. HR professionals may acquire deeper insights into a candidate's communication skills, confidence, and cultural fit by examining these nonverbal signs. Video interview analysis tools not only aid in the evaluation of a candidate's credentials but also give useful information about their interpersonal skills and capacity to adjust to virtual work settings. This allows for a more thorough review of prospects, even in a distant situation.
Personality Assessments
Understanding a candidate's personality attributes and work style is critical for determining their fit within the culture and team dynamics of a company. Personality tests are HR tools that give information on a person's behavioral tendencies, preferences, and interpersonal abilities. HR professionals may discover applicants who connect with the organization's values and can contribute positively to the work environment by introducing personality tests into the recruiting process. These evaluations aid in the formation of well-rounded teams and lessen the likelihood of cultural misalignment, eventually enhancing employee happiness and retention.
Chatbot Software
Another crucial applicant sourcing method for recruiting is chatbot technology. Candidates may quickly and easily get clarification on any question or concern thanks to this cutting-edge technology.
Insufficient details in the job description often force applicants to clarify matters before applying for the position. A chatbot is the finest option for flawless hiring in this case. Additionally, it facilitates communication between recruiters and prospective employees, decreasing the likelihood of losing suitable candidates.
What Is the Importance of Machine Learning In the HR Industry?
Machine learning is becoming more important in the HR business, particularly in the context of enhanced recruiting tools. These technologies can evaluate enormous amounts of data, detect trends, and generate predictions based on past data by applying machine learning algorithms. This helps HR managers make data-driven choices, improve applicant assessment accuracy, and decrease bias in the recruiting process. Machine learning also allows these technologies to develop and adapt over time as they learn from fresh data and user input. HR professionals may use machine learning to make wiser, more informed choices about talent acquisition and retention.
Conclusion
In the fast-paced world of human resources, being ahead of the curve is critical for recruiting and maintaining top personnel. Applicant tracking systems, smart resume screening, cognitive testing, video interview analysis, chatbots, and personality evaluations have transformed the recruiting process. These technologies help HR workers be more efficient and productive by streamlining activities and providing vital information. When it comes to picking the finest applicants for their businesses, HR managers may save time, decrease prejudice, and make better-informed judgments by employing these sophisticated technologies. Embracing technology and applying it to recruiting methods will surely equip HR professionals to prosper in today's workplace.
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What Is Employee Burnout? How Can You Help Employees Struggling With It?
Have you noticed an uptick in requests for sick days? Reduced productivity in employees that used to be top performers? Or even a lack of motivation to start and complete a task?
Well, these could all be symptoms of burnout.
Employee burnout is an upshot of work-related stress that creates a state of physical and mental exhaustion, manifesting as absenteeism, emotional drain, lack of enthusiasm, detachment from work, or depression.
The World Health Organization also describes it as a syndrome from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
When an organization is evasive towards burnout, it saps out liveliness from their employees and affects the ability to retain talents.
In this article, we highlight burnout warning signs and suggest actionable tips to help employees experiencing burnout.
How to Recognize Burnout Warning Signs
Burnout warning signs are physical, behavioral, and psychological indicators that an employee suffers from burnout. To help employees experiencing burnout, first, you need to learn how to spot these indicators.
Burnout experience can be a little different from one employee to another, but here’s a breakdown of typical indicators:
Physical burnout warning signs
Headaches
Illness
Chronic fatigue
Heart disease
Loss of appetite
Substance abuse
Muscle tension
Psychological burnout warning signs
Depression
Anxiety
Sleep deprivation
Irritability
Emotional fragility
Behavioral burnout warning signs
Lack of motivation
Cynicism
Absenteeism
Helping Employees Struggling With Employee Burnout
Now that you can spot burnout warning signs, the next step is to be supportive. Here’s a rundown of how to help burnout employees.
Identify burnout as a workplace phenomenon
We often see workplace burnout as an individual problem, solvable with “self-help hacks” such as journaling, deep breathing techniques, yoga, and meditation. However, these solutions are only band-aids to an ever-growing workplace phenomenon.
Jennifer Moss in her book describes burnout as a:
“Complex constellation of poor workplace practices and policies, antiquated institutional legacies, roles and personalities at higher risk, and system, societal issues that have been unchanged, plaguing us for too long.”
Most burnouts are from work stress. Employees endure poor workplace practices/policies like tight deadlines, massive workloads, micromanagement, and disorganized team structures till they hit the breaking point (burnout).
So, employers should start seeing workplace burnout as a phenomenon that stems from working in a place, instead of an individual problem.
Prioritize mental wellness
Poor working environments pose a serious threat to mental health. Employees dealing with toxic work environments, unfair treatment, inequalities, and discrimination can experience mental illness.
While it’s understandable that your priorities are growth and the smooth running of your organization, if your employees’ mental health is in shambles, you may start struggling with absenteeism, decreased productivity, and employee turnover.
Dr Sarah Watson, a psychologist and Chief Operating Officer at BPTLAB suggests some ways to prioritize mental wellness without being intrusive:
Open Communication: You can encourage your teams to open up about their mental health concerns and well-being without fear of judgment or consequences. This makes employees feel comfortable and find the support they need.
You can also promote a culture of open communication anonymously. Employees might choose to voice their concerns without the risk of exposing their identity. This is where Worksmates comes in.
Workmates is an intranet solution that gives you insight into your employees’ feelings and concerns using anonymous custom survey forms. The custom survey forms have multiple questions formats such as:
Different question fields
Single choice
Multiple choice
Yes/no answers
Short answers
Star ratings
Flexibility: Offering flexible work hours and remote/hybrid work options can create a more balanced and controlled environment for employees. This may also help prevent burnout by allowing workers to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Training for Managers: Chances are your managers are not mental health professionals. But equipping managers with the knowledge and tools to spot the burnout warning signs early on can position them to help employees struggling with depression and anxiety.
Mental Health Days: You can also set aside mental health days for recharging and refreshment. The mental health days should be separate from vacation or sick days.
Employee Assistance Programs: Providing access to professional counseling service or therapy as part of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can give employees the support they need to prevent or deal with burnout.
Wellness Programs: Implement workplace wellness initiatives like workshops and seminars on stress management. Also, providing access to fitness facilities can help employees maintain their mental and physical well-being.
Implementing a 4-day workweek
A trial by the University of Cambridge Boston shows that a 4-day workweek can improve employees’ feelings of burnout and stress. The workweek pilot follows a 100-80-100 model: 100% of the pay. 80% of the time. 100% productivity.
Literal Humans, a Content marketing agency is an example of an organization operational as a 4-day workweek pilot. According to the Co-founder, Paul David, since they’ve swung to the model, the result has been rewarding:
“Our team now knows they have less time to get roughly the same amount of work done at a high level of quality.
Well-being has improved because our team has more time for themselves and their families/friends, it's fairly simple.
We also see how our team carries themselves in the workplace (their demeanor). Now they take fewer sick days because they have more time for self-care.”
To sum it up: Implementing a 4-day workweek model is a great way to help employees experiencing burnout. When it’s done right, it can improve your productivity while ensuring that your employees have a healthy work-life balance.
You can also provide a flexible working schedule that allows employees to maintain productivity while working from home.
Invest in employee management software
When an organization recognizes its employees’ hard work, it instills a sense of communality and makes the team feel valued and appreciated.
Investing in employee management software can increase employee engagement and boost workforce productivity. Employee management software like Workmates streamlines employee recognition and rewards.
With customized kudos badges, you can reward and recognize your employees’ efforts. Here are other notable features of Workmates:
Simplifies team communication and collaboration
Lets you gather feedback with polls and anonymous survey forms
Responsive customer support
One-on-one interaction features
Streamlines communication with announcement tools
Provide Support for Burnout Employees
Burnout is never an “employee’s” problem, it also affects you, the employer.
While burnout takes a toll on your employee's well-being and happiness, it slowly erodes your organization’s potential to actualize its objectives.
The bottom line: Employers and the human resource department should provide support to employees experiencing burnout instead of leaving them to handle it on their own.
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Why is Employee Involvement Important in Times of Uncertainties?
In this ever-changing business dynamic, your company is likely to face changes and uncertainties due to mergers, market shifts, or acquisitions. It can create significant stress on employees and leaders of the company, which is why it's more than necessary to keep the employees engaged and harbour a positive environment. This boosts employee morale, enhances productivity, and increases employee retention.
You can ensure employee involvement with soft skills activities within the company for skill development of the employees. In this article, we'll cover eight ways to make sure you have high employee engagement, even in times of uncertainty.
8 Ways to Increase Employee Involvement During Uncertain Times
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Have a Frequent and Clear Communication
Uncertainties are known to cause extreme anxiousness for employees, leaving them drained and stressed about what their future holds for them. In such scenarios, employee involvement becomes crucial; hence, keep updating your team with the company goals, plans, and strategies, and be transparent about any changes taking place in the company.
For effective employee involvement, conduct regular feedback sessions to listen to your employee's concerns and thoughts regarding the uncertain period. You can easily send out polls and surveys through our employee engagement survey software which can help to create a sense of openness and fosters a community of trust where your employees feel valued and are likely to stay committed to the organisation.
Give Proper Coaching and Training
The next step in engaging your employees is to create a proper training and coaching environment where your employees can foster development and build their skills to excel in their jobs. By providing employee training methods, the employees feel like the organisation values them and their potential. You cannot underestimate the impact of training and development on employee performance, as they'll feel positive about the organisation's willingness to invest in their development, resulting in more engagement.
Provide Resources and Support
Changing and uncertain times call for increased support and resources from the managers and leaders of the company to the employees. Leaders need to be genuine and empathetic in their care and concern for employees, as the situation can be extremely stressful and overwhelming.
Encourage employee involvement in these times by providing employee assistance programs like support services or counselling. You can even conduct development and training sessions for employees to help them acquire new skills to adapt to the changes.
Reward Your Employees
Uncertain times can definitely make even the best employees doubt their talent and skills. To encourage employee involvement, you need to show your employees that their hard work is appreciated and reward their contributions to the company. This can include giving them promotions or bonuses or verbally praising them. Proper recognition boosts morale, which can significantly impact your employee's productivity and loyalty toward the company.
Additionally, you can utilize our employee recognition and rewards software to make peer-to-peer rewards and recognition fun and create a culture focused on teamwork and excellence.
Nurture a Positive Work Environment
For employee involvement, it's incredibly essential to facilitate a positive work environment that's supportive, respectful, and inclusive. Make sure there's an excellent teamwork factor between employees to encourage a work-life balance and provide equal opportunities for development and growth.
As a leader, focus on creating positivity in the workplace during uncertain times by building a positive environment and giving constant constructive feedback that can effectively improve the quality of everyone's work.
Foster Adaptability and Flexibility
Providing engagement training and development to employees during times of uncertainty or changes can help foster adaptability and flexibility. This encourages a positive change and splurge of openness to new ideas and changes as employees adapt and acquire new skills.
Empower and Involve the Employees
To increase employee involvement during times of uncertainties in the workplace, it's crucial to involve your employees in the processes and decisions taken by the company rather than simply imposing changes on them. This is the time to fully leverage their talents and skills and delegate authority to them to encourage accountability, enhance ownership, and make them feel valued.
Share Learning Moments
Lastly, in addition to employee engagement training and development, sharing your broadened learning experiences with your staff can also increase employee involvement during times of uncertainties and changes. Conduct impromptu sessions where you share your learning moments with your employees, which can help build positivity in the workplace while also keeping your employees engaged. Such sessions can empower your employees while strengthening their belief in you.
Set Uncertain Times as an Opportunity to Advance Your Leadership
Uncertainties can be overwhelming for everyone in the company, but using it as an opportunity to advance your leadership and serve others rather than making it an escape to push your career forward allows for improved employee involvement. True leaders keep their staff focused and engaged despite the dark road. So, make yourself available to your team and listen to their concerns carefully.
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The Impact of Florida's E-Verify Requirement on Businesses and HR Practices
What is E-Verify
E-Verify serves as a vital tool for verifying employment eligibility. It plays a significant role in the context of Florida's E-Verify requirement. This user-friendly system allows employers to confirm the legal status of newly hired employees, promoting a compliant workforce. By electronically cross-referencing employee information with government databases, E-Verify helps businesses ensure they hire authorized workers.
Understanding the inner workings of E-Verify is essential for businesses and HR practices navigating Florida's requirements. Employers submit an employee's Form I-9 information to the system. Then checks it against records from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Within seconds, employers receive a confirmation or tentative non-confirmation, allowing them to proceed accordingly.
The significance of E-Verify lies in its ability to assist businesses in maintaining a legal and authorized workforce, promoting compliance with immigration laws. It provides peace of mind by reducing the risk of employing individuals without proper work authorization. Thereby safeguarding businesses from potential penalties and legal consequences.Take a look at Onboards E-Verify solution for smooth sailing.
How E-Verify works
E-Verify streamlines the process of employment verification, providing businesses with a reliable tool to ensure a legal workforce. Understanding how E-Verify works is essential for grasping its impact on businesses and HR practices in the context of Florida's requirement.
Initial Submission: Employers enter employee information from the Form I-9 into the E-Verify system, including name, Social Security number, and work eligibility status.
2.Cross-Referencing: E-Verify electronically cross-references the submitted information with records from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
3.Verification Results: Within seconds, employers receive a verification result. There are three possible outcomes: "Employment Authorized," "Tentative Non-Confirmation," or "DHS Verification in Process."
Employment Authorized: This confirmation means that the employee's information matches the government records, indicating work eligibility.
Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC): In some cases, E-Verify may generate a TNC. This means that the information provided by the employee does not initially match the government records. The employer must notify the employee to resolve the discrepancy.
DHS Verification in Process: Occasionally, E-Verify may require additional verification from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) before providing a final result. In such cases, employers should follow the instructions provided by the system.
4.Resolution Process: If an employee receives a TNC, they have the opportunity to contest the result and resolve any discrepancies with the appropriate government agency. Employers must provide the employee with a referral letter and allow them a reasonable amount of time to take necessary actions.
5.Final Confirmation: Once any issues are resolved, E-Verify provides a final result. If the employee is confirmed as authorized to work, the employer can proceed with confidence, knowing they have met their obligations under the E-Verify system.
By simplifying the process of employment verification, E-Verify empowers businesses to maintain a compliant workforce. It minimizes the risk of employing unauthorized workers while facilitating efficient and accurate verification procedures.
As we delve into the impact of Florida's E-Verify requirement on businesses and HR practices, understanding how E-Verify works is crucial for comprehending the practical implications and adapting to the evolving landscape of employment verification.
Florida's E-Verify requirement on businesses and HR practices
Florida's E-Verify requirement has brought significant changes to businesses and HR practices within the state. This legislative mandate compels employers to use the E-Verify system for employment verification, ensuring a legal and authorized workforce. The requirement encompasses all employers in Florida, with exceptions for federal contractors and agricultural employers. By implementing E-Verify, businesses aim to promote compliance with immigration laws and reduce the risk of employing unauthorized workers.
Explanation of Florida's legislation and its key provisions
Applicability: The requirement applies to all employers in Florida with 25 or more employees.. There are certain exemptions for federal contractors and agricultural employers.
Mandatory Use of E-Verify: Employers must use the E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. This involves electronically submitting the required employee information for verification.
Retention of Records: Employers must retain records of the verification process and related documents in compliance with state and federal record-keeping requirements.
Non-Discrimination: Employers must ensure that the E-Verify requirement is applied uniformly. Without discrimination against job applicants or employees based on their national origin or citizenship status.
Challenges faced by businesses in implementing E-Verify
Implementing E-Verify poses several challenges for businesses as they adapt to the requirements and incorporate the system into their existing HR practices. These challenges include:
1.Learning Curve: Businesses may encounter a learning curve when initially using E-Verify, especially if they are unfamiliar with the system.
2.Increased Administrative Burden: E-Verify adds an additional layer of administrative tasks for HR departments. This includes entering employee information accurately, verifying documentation, and managing the compliance and record-keeping requirements associated with the system.
3.System Downtime and Technical Issues: Like any technological platform, E-Verify may experience occasional system downtime or technical glitches.
4.Limited Non-English Language Support: E-Verify primarily operates in English, which may present challenges for businesses with a multilingual workforce.
Keeping Pace with Changing Regulations: Immigration laws and E-Verify requirements can undergo updates and modifications over time. Staying up to date with these changes and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations pose ongoing challenges for businesses. Regular monitoring of legal updates and proactive adjustments to HR practices become essential to maintain compliance.
Solutions for Florida’s E-Verify Requirement
As businesses navigate Florida's E-Verify requirement, leveraging efficient solutions becomes crucial for streamlining the employment verification process. One such solution is the feature-rich offering provided by LIKE.TG. Our software simplifies the E-Verify process, offering businesses a comprehensive platform to manage Form I-9 compliance and seamlessly integrate with the E-Verify system.
LIKE.TG solves these issues with a modern I-9 compliance solution. As part of our industry-leading Onboarding solution, our I-9 software automates the process of collecting I-9 forms and then integrates this workflow with the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system. I-9 forms are then cross-checked with the appropriate government departments for full compliance.
With LIKE.TG's software, businesses can automate the collection and storage of employee information, reducing manual data entry errors. The user-friendly interface guides HR personnel through the verification process, ensuring accurate submissions and compliance with E-Verify requirements.Take a look at our Onboarding software solution.
Integration for ADP UsersYou can integrate ADP with our Onboarding solution.
Upon onboarding, individuals are guided through essential processes to ensure the proper completion of forms and adherence to deadlines. With Onboard anyone can electronically sign, save, revise, and audit I-9s using any device. The HR department has the capability to directly submit employment verification requirements to agencies or establish recurring tasks to maintain compliance throughout each employee's lifecycle.
Conclusion
Florida's E-Verify requirement has brought significant changes to businesses and HR practices within the state. This legislative mandate aims to ensure a legal and authorized workforce, promoting compliance with immigration laws.
As businesses adapt to this requirement, it is crucial to address challenges through proactive measures, such as comprehensive training, effective integration of E-Verify systems, and staying informed about evolving regulations. By leveraging innovative solutions like LIKE.TG's E-Verify software, businesses can streamline the employment verification process and enhance compliance. Embracing these strategies will enable businesses to navigate Florida's E-Verify requirement successfully and maintain a compliant workforce while contributing to a thriving and legally compliant business environment.
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The Future of HR: Exploring Emerging Trends and Best Practices
In today's rapidly evolving workforce, it’s crucial for human resources to remain at the forefront of emerging trends and practices in order to enhance the overall employee experience. Human resources’ main responsibilities include keeping employees safe and satisfied. It’s important for this department to stay updated with the latest practices in order to continually provide the best experience for their employees. Below, we’ll be discussing not only the importance of understanding the latest trends, but how human resources can utilize these trends to best fit their organizations.
Using Artificial Intelligence in HR
Human resource management is an industry that’s continuously evolving and due to that there needs to be proper systems put in place to navigate those changes. When it comes to the new trends and practices that are arising in human resources, artificial intelligence is one that stands out.
Artificial intelligence has been on the rise and has become more popular in recent years. Many different companies are learning how to utilize artificial intelligence and figure out how they can benefit from the different uses. In the human resource management industry, artificial intelligence can be used to help streamline processes and improve overall productivity. There are many different AI tools out there that can assist with these different tasks.
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Utilizing AI can enhance the efficiency of the hiring process by automating candidate screening and selection. Various algorithms have the capability to assess resumes, identify the most suitable candidates, and offer valuable insights to aid recruiters in making more informed hiring choices.
AI can also help in the onboarding process by decreasing the amount of time spent on training new employees through decreasing the amount of administrative work by automating the process. AI can be seen as a useful tool for assisting human resources and recruiting by adding more insight into the information that they currently have and finding the information faster.
Enhancing Employee Engagement
In addition to staying well-informed on the latest technology advancements, having a strong understanding of the state of current employees and their needs is just as vital. With the increasing popularity of remote work, there have been many adjustments made in order to accommodate employees to ensure that they feel well-supported and connected with the company.
Remote work has posed challenges for companies, as one of the biggest issues with remote work is employee engagement. When people are working remotely, they aren’t getting as much face time with others as they normally would if they were in an office space. Due to that, it’s been up to human resources to figure out how to create and maintain that sense of culture and engagement while being in a remote space.
This has led to the use of tools such as Workmates. Workmates is an employee recognition and rewards software that allows employers and employees to give recognition towards others through kind words or “kudos” which are points that can be later redeemed for different items.
By introducing tools such as this into the workplace, it creates the ability for more engagement opportunities, which in turn can improve overall employee satisfaction. Other challenges that remote workers face include, having trouble unplugging from work, time management, trust, and loneliness. While remote work does have its perks, without the right balance, it can lead to these different challenges coming through.
Employee engagement is essential in the workplace as it can improve the company culture and help to reduce turnover. In today’s economic climate, there have been many different obstacles that employees have faced that have impacted their future at a company.
This could be through leaving their job because they feel unsatisfied with their position or pay, or it could be due to feeling undervalued and unappreciated. Depending on the circumstances, it’s important that there is a great effort to improve employee engagement, as it directly impacts the success of the company as a whole.
Improving the Employee Experience
In addition to employee recognition tools, implementing ways to support employees is also essential to their success in the workplace. When it comes to cultivating a great employee experience, encourage employers to have frequent conversations with employees to learn more about them and find ways to help foster their growth personally and at the company.
By employers making the effort to engage with employees and have career conversations, it’ll not only motivate employees to perform better, but it’ll also give insight to the employer about what type of people their employees are.
Along with having these career conversations, implementing different types of training to help educate employees on how to grow in their career and grow their skill set can help improve the employee’s value. Enhance the employee experience by fostering growth through learning initiatives. Demonstrate commitment to employees' development by offering training programs and valuable resources. By providing support and opportunities for advancement, it shows that their professional and personal growth is valuable within the organization.
In addition to that, extend assistance beyond the workplace and acknowledge that employees face challenges outside of work. Offer classes that equip them with practical life skills, such as budgeting, to empower them in managing their personal finances and achieving their future aspirations. For instance, teaching them how to build credit or about the financial details of the home-buying process can help your employees reach their personal goals, which can improve their overall well-being. Considering all aspects of employees and making an effort to build personal confidence can build confidence in the workplace, allowing employees to perform to their full potential.
By embracing emerging trends and best practices, organizations can find and retain exceptional employees while creating a culture that promotes productivity and success. Human resources play a crucial role in ensuring that these trends are effectively implemented, leading to a thriving and engaged workforce.
Author Bio:
This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.
Building a Strong Remote Work Culture Through Communication and Collaboration
The working world has changed dramatically in recent times. The rise of e-commerce and online transactions has seen digital business take precedence worldwide, and as a result, companies everywhere are now facing increasingly fierce competition from overseas. In order to succeed in a crowded digital marketplace, companies are seeking to transcend the limits of their geography by recruiting elite talent from around the world, and this has led to a considerable increase in the popularity of remote work.
While the shift to remote work has opened up a wealth of new opportunities for both employers and workers, the fact remains that this development is a wholly unprecedented one, and as such, it comes with its own set of challenges, namely how to get maximal benefit from remote workforces. To ensure that remote workers can bring them maximum value, HR teams must seek to be proactive in creating a strong remote work culture by fostering clear communication and effective collaboration.
In this article, we will provide insight into how to go about creating a strong remote work culture, highlighting strategies and tools which can help HR teams to engage and empower remote workforces.
Establishing a Communication Framework
In a remote work environment, it is imperative to create a solid framework for communication that enables remote teams to work effectively as part of a wider organization, and HR plays a pivotal role in this.
First and foremost, HR should seek to establish a set of communication guidelines for remote teams. These guidelines should provide a bassline for communications going forward by setting out clear expectations concerning response times and outlining channels of communication intended for specific purposes.
Additionally, HR should conduct regular check-ins with remote workers. This will enable a company to elicit valuable feedback from its teams and maintain a strong connection with employees. Furthermore, it will provide HR with an opportunity to discuss potential obstacles to productivity.
Fostering Collaboration with Tech
Nowadays, there are a wide variety of technological tools that organizations can utilize to help create an efficient remote work culture. The following are some solutions that can enable companies to get the most out of remote workforces:
Human Resource Management Systems
To effectively create a robust remote work culture, HR teams must also have the right Human Resource Management System (HRMS) in place. Applications such as LIKE.TG are essential to the creation of such a culture as they provide a centralized platform for managing remote teams.
A quality HRMS will come with a comprehensive suite of features that can make HR teams' jobs easier. Pulse surveys, for instance, can enable HR to efficiently gather feedback on the employee experience of remote workers, allowing them to address potential issues more quickly.
Additionally, a Human Resource Management System enables a company's HR department to easily log and monitor employee performance data, conduct check-ins, and share important resources for onboarding. In this way, an HRMS allows HR to facilitate a smooth experience for remote workers.
Virtual Private Networks
One issue that remote workers commonly encounter is an inability to access key resources or cloud-based tools. This is due to the existence of geo-blocking restrictions, which preclude users from accessing specific sites or services if they are outside of a certain supported region. Needless to say, this can significantly hamper the productivity of remote teams, but VPNs can provide can play a major role in empowering remote teams to work effectively.
VPNs enable users to reroute their Internet traffic via remote servers, essentially acting as intermediaries between users and the websites they visit. This means that by installing a VPN client or VPN extension on their device, a remote worker can mask their IP address and change their location to access online services that they would not be able to otherwise. As a result, remote workers can easily access the tools they need to work together effectively, regardless of where they are.
Video-Conferencing Applications
As has been mentioned, facilitating communication is key to the creation of a strong remote work culture, so video-conferencing applications are indispensable in a remote work environment.
Most notably, video-conferencing applications enable all-important face-to-face communication through virtual meetings. This helps teams to express their meanings clearly and succinctly to improve productivity and aids collaboration by helping to build familiarity and rapport with remote employees. Additionally, video-conferencing applications also offer other useful features such as an online teleprompterandscreen sharing which can make remote collaboration simpler and more convenient or audio transcriptions that makes call analysis much easier later on in the business lifecycle.
Through the provision and consistent use of video-conferencing applications, companies can bridge the gap between remote workers, fostering organizational cohesion and enabling brainstorming sessions that yield more effective initiatives.
Project Management Tools
Disorganization can be a genuine issue in remote work. With multiple team members working from different locations in different time zones, projects can quickly become disjointed, and progress often suffers as a result. This is why it is so essential to have the right project management tools in place.
By furnishing remote teams with a comprehensive project management solution, a company can enable team members to easily assign tasks, set key deadlines, and track the progress of projects. In addition, remote employees can utilize key features like file sharing and workflow automated to ensure projects are managed more effectively.
Simply put, project management tools enable team members to stay on the same page at all times. As such, they are essential to enhancing collaboration and reducing project turnaround time.
Implementing Software Tools for Remote Work
Implementing the right software can benefit a company's remote work culture enormously. However, as with all worthwhile pursuits, it is easier said than done. As such, it is advisable to adhere to best practices when it comes to the implementation of new technologies.
The following can help a company to effectively incorporate new software tools for remote workers:
Comprehensive Training
To enable remote workers to communicate and collaborate, companies must provide them with thorough training on how to use essential software tools effectively. This means furnishing them with the appropriate learning resources, such as walk-throughs, tutorial videos, and, in the case of more complex software, digital adoption platforms to provide real-time guidance.
Additionally, HR must establish a clear support network with dedicated communication channels for dealing with issues workers may experience during onboarding.
Regular Auditing
Regular auditing and evaluation of software tools are essential to the creation of a strong remote work culture. HR teams should engage in routine audits to collect employee feedback on software tools and analyze key metrics to gain insights into overall performance.
Should a shortcoming be uncovered in this process, HR can take the appropriate steps to adjust or replace systems to better facilitate the work of remote employees.
Strong Security and Data Privacy
When working with remote employees, there is an elevated risk factor with regard to cybersecurity and data privacy. To avoid potentially catastrophic breaches, HR teams should work with IT departments closely to ensure the implementation of comprehensive security measures such as access controls and encryption to safeguard crucial data.
In doing this, HR can enable remote employees to communicate and collaborate effectively without putting their organization at risk.
Final Thoughts
As remote work becomes more and more common, HR will have an increasingly important role to play in fostering communication and collaboration between remote workers. By establishing a solid framework for communication, leveraging cutting-edge software, and providing employees with comprehensive onboarding and support, HR departments can empower remote teams and drive collaboration, productivity, and employee success in the virtual workplace.
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Is Employee Development Really A Good Investment?
"What if you train your people and they leave? Worse is not training them, and they stay."
There you have Henry Ford's opinion on employee development. And, of course, we agree with him. A business will only go as far as the workers can carry it, and the average business starts with a handful of people.
In time, it’ll grow to a point where these people can’t handle every aspect of the business. Here, you may start to outsource customer services. Eventually, the business will grow to become a company requiring many capable employees.
If your company is at that point, there are a few things you need to consider. First, you need to ensure you have dedicated HR solutions in place. Software like that provided by LIKE.TG, offers a range of solutions that are designed to meet your business needs and streamline your HR processes.
The second is that you need to have skilled employees working for you to keep your business on track. But more importantly, you must invest in their development. Why? We'll get into it shortly.
But first, let's have a look at what employee development entails.
What is Employee Development?
Nowadays, employee development is a buzzword in work discussions. People use it in almost all workplace culture and corporate compliance conversations. And as you may have guessed, it simply means training your employees to be better at their jobs and be able to take on new responsibilities.
Employee development has several facets, and your approach to it will depend primarily on your business processes. Most times, employee training will involve imparting technical skills to the group. But it may also include other aspects such as workplace safety or CRM competencies.
However, a comprehensive training regime will also promote managerial competencies alongside core disciplines. For instance, contact center employees can learn the fundamentals of leadership alongside how to monitor a call.
Nevertheless, note that you can't force growth on an employee. For the employee development program to be effective, it must be a collaborative effort by employers and workers. The employer must be willing and the employee ready. With adequate planning you can avoid 11% of your resources being wasted.
Is the ROI on Employee Development Worth It?
A comprehensive employee development regime will take time. But of course, the investment will more than pay off in the long run. Let's examine some of the dividends you'll enjoy when your company’s employee perk includes personal and skill development.
Improved Employee Performance
Only an employee who doesn't care about growing your business or doing better in their career won't be interested in improving. However, these kinds of people are few and often have specific reasons for such attitudes. Often, employees are eager to improve, especially if it means they'll have a chance to qualify for better positions.
Then again, 74% of workers are willing to learn new skills to remain employable. Innovative trends mean the industries are ever-changing, and the players must constantly improve. As such, to stay employable is to grow consistently. So, most employees know they have to develop to retain their jobs. Therefore, you can count on them to do better in their careers when you train them. A good performance management software can also help boost employee productivity and morale.
Additionally, a carefully structured employee development strategy won't just give the workers tools for their jobs; it'll also cultivate continuous learning habits. It'll push them towards consistent personal growth without losing focus on their primary assignments.
But the best part is that training also helps to increase employees' confidence in their abilities. Plus, they'll have more motivation to work and be grateful to you for assisting them in growing. These three factors will encourage them to stay and repay you by using their skills for the company.
Better Employee Response to Disruptions
Nowadays, industry trends are widely unpredictable as disruptions are becoming more commonplace. So, it's now more crucial than ever for companies to be ready for the unexpected. And, of course, your readiness will show in how you respond as situations arise.
The same applies to all your employees. Your company's readiness for disruptions will show in how your employees stand up to the task when necessary.
Putting your employees through comprehensive developmental programs will prepare them to respond like professionals whenever necessary. Additionally, disruptions often bring challenges that can become opportunities depending on how you react to them.
Proper training programs will help you create adaptable employees adept at managing spontaneous situations. And eventually, you'll have a group of workers who won't only stand up to challenges, but are also engaged enough to find and maximize the opportunities in them.
Attract Top Talents
Naturally, most people will love to work in an organization with several bright minds and capable employees. That's why excellent companies often attract the top talents in the industry. Most prospects will love to work in a naturally engaged workforce that's also constantly developing.
Additionally, many will love to take on new roles that'll afford them opportunities to gain new skills and experiences. As a result, such high-value prospects will be willing to work with you, provided you can help them obtain such competencies.
Conference Board’s latest survey says 96% of respondents deem work-related development as important, and 58% will leave a company without any employee development plans. The data proves potential employees will be happier to work for you if they know you'll provide growth opportunities for them.
In that case, you can attract top talents, especially among millennials, by offering development opportunities as part of the employee perks. It shows your company cares about and actively invests in its employees' growth.
Nurture Future Leaders
Organizations must have competent employee leaders to operate at an acceptable efficiency level. Of course, your organization probably already has capable leaders, but you should also be planning for the long term.
Ten years from now, some of the current leaders won't be with the company anymore. When that happens, the employees you've nurtured with managerial skills will come in handy.
Investing in a comprehensive employee development program helps you impart the necessary leadership and managerial capabilities to your staff. This way, your call center employees can take charge when necessary and not only transfer calls or listen to complaints all day.
But of course, there's the risk that the workers may leave after you invest in them. To that, we'll refer back to the quote at the top of the article. It's better to train them, and they leave, than not to teach them though they stay.
Why? Because if you don't train them and they stay, your company won't grow as it should. Then, you may eventually have to lay them off because they're not competent.
Then again, aside from the management staff and key decision makers, most employee groups have a few members that the rest look up to. Such individuals often have a remarkable influence on general work attitudes. Putting your employees through development programs will help create more workers with positive work attitudes that others can look up to.
Therefore, when you invest in an employee development program to nurture future organization leaders, you'll create a pool of competent and loyal de facto leaders for the company. They'll know their responsibilities towards the organization's goals and won't slack off on duty.
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Enables More Flexibility For Innovation and Expansion
Companies need to be nimble and innovative to stay ahead in their industry. But of course, the employees make up the support system enabling everything a company achieves. So, for a company to be flexible, the workforce needs to inculcate the necessary values.
Therefore, having a well-trained, flexible workforce that can adapt to changing situations is a significant advantage to an organization. Such a group of employees will be able to manage changes and make the most of them.
You can impart an innovative mentality to your employees with suitable developmental courses. A comprehensive program will develop their existing skills and equip them with competencies to adapt to changes.
Moreover, well-trained employees tend to be more invested in achieving the organization's objectives. Having a group of employees with this work attitude creates a highly engaged workforce, a crucial workplace culture for success.
Lastly, employee development creates a receptive space for innovative expansions. For instance, say you have plans to implement mainframe modernization and integration plans. You’ll have no reservations about this when knowing that your employees can now handle such systems after their training.
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You Trust Your Workforce More
Investing in employee development gives more incentive to believe in your workforce's ability. Because you were involved in their growth, you know the skills they have acquired and can vouch for them. That way, you can trust them to take on tasks they previously might not have been able to.
For example, you'll be able to confidently apply automated test scripts to your process after having trained your employees in how it works.
Employee Development Opens You Up to More
Employee development liberates you to be more futuristic in your processes. The quality of your employees' contributions will also improve.
Take a contact center. Proper employee training means it would bother you less if the customer service rep had a call recorded. You trust them to do an excellent job with the clients because you have provided the developmental tools to do the job.
Overall, your company will grow, the employees will be more satisfied with their jobs, and everybody will be happier with their roles.
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Rewards vs. Recognition: Key Differences and Why Both Are Important
Job satisfaction is crucial to get optimal effort from your employees and achieve maximum productivity.
According to The Conference Board’s 2023 survey, 62.3% of US employees felt satisfaction with their jobs—the highest number since surveys started in 1987.
This number tells a story of HR teams nationwide paying more attention to achieving employee satisfaction.
Employee satisfaction extends beyond paying workers handsomely or setting up a comfortable workspace. Many other factors contribute to the employee experience, ultimately influencing job satisfaction.
Reward and recognition are two key factors. Here, we'll explore employee reward vs recognition, how they differ, and their importance for a positive employee experience.
What’s the Difference Between Employee Rewards and Recognition?
HR personnel often interchange employee rewards and staff recognition. While both concepts complement each other, they’re not the same and won’t work as substitutes for each other in your workplace.
Though employee rewards and recognition are both viable means of appreciating employees, the activities involved are usually different.
Employee Rewards
As the name suggests, rewards refer to tangible benefits you offer employees in response to their performance or achievements.
These incentives may include financial bonuses, gift cards, paid vacations, promotions, or material possessions like company-branded merchandise.
Generally, you give rewards to acknowledge the achievement of specific goals or objectives. The primary intention is to motivate employees to perform at a higher level. As such, rewards often serve as extrinsic motivators to drive desired behaviors and outcomes.
Employee Recognition
Employee recognition is a more abstract concept involving acknowledging and appreciating an employee's efforts, contributions, or achievements. While rewards usually feature an incentive, the prize in employee recognition is the action itself.
A common form of recognition involves publicly commending individuals or teams for their hard work, dedication, or positive impact. Recognition may come as verbal or written appreciation, public announcements, awards, or symbolic gestures like a round of applause.
It’s important to remember that recognition should come from multiple directions. As an employer or manager, you should make sure you celebrate your team's good work. But, alongside this, you should also use tools like recognition software to provide a public feed where fellow workmates can show appreciation to each other.
Unlike rewards, recognition focuses on intrinsic motivation by fulfilling the basic human need for validation and a sense of belonging.
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Other Differences Between Employee Reward and Recognition
Rewards feature tangible incentives, while recognition is mostly abstract.
Rewards are conditional and often transactional because you give them in response to an action or achievement. Conversely, recognition is relational because you give it to appreciate the individual (you don’t need a specific reason to do it).
Rewards usually appeal in an economic sense and have physical utility, while recognition appeals in an emotional sense and offers a positive psychological impact.
Inherently, these concepts sound like two sides of the same coin, and, in most cases, one often precedes the other. Remember, however, that neither is a substitute for the other, and it’s important to give adequate rewards and recognition to your employees where due.
The Importance of Employee Rewards
Rewards enhance employee motivation, engagement, and overall job satisfaction.
Increased Motivation
Rewards serve as powerful motivators for employees. Giving tangible incentives to your workers when they achieve a predetermined objective indicates that you want them to continue creating such results.
In addition, rewards also serve as compensation for effort and time invested into an activity.
In the future, the expectation of an incentive will encourage your employees to recreate a result, even if it means going the extra mile.
Improved Productivity
Using potential rewards as a motivator often translates to increased performance from employees. And, since you set the incentive, you determine what operational goals employees must achieve to receive them.
This makes it easy to help employees achieve more for the company; you only need to set goals in line with the productivity metrics you want them to hit.
Also, when employees feel valued and know you’ll acknowledge and reward their hard work, they’re more likely to invest time and energy into their tasks. The result of this is increased productivity and efficiency in the workplace.
Increased Employee Engagement
Nothing gets staff entrenched in work culture like the promise of a reward for their actions. Employee rewards contribute to higher levels of staff engagement, among other things.
Engaged employees are committed to their work, passionate about their roles, and aligned with organizational goals.
Even when they hit roadblocks, engaged staff are more motivated to circumnavigate these obstacles to reach their goal quicker. They have a clear picture of the prize and won’t let anything stop them from getting it.
Why Employee Recognition Matters for the Employee Experience
Here’s why you need employee recognition initiatives as part of your workplace culture.
Employees Feel Valued and Appreciated
While a reward is an extrinsic motivator, recognition appeals to emotions and the intrinsic human desire to be noticed. As such, it makes employees feel welcome, wanted, and needed.
This fosters a sense of belonging and camaraderie, making workers feel like they’re contributing significantly to a common cause. For example, if you use recognition software, it has the double effect of recognizing employees' hard work whilst fostering an environment of appreciation and positivity.
Knowing their input is crucial and also makes employees self-motivated to do more.
Makes Employees Take Pride in Their Contributions
Employee rewards target the human ego, massaging the average person’s pride. When you give due recognition to staff, you give them the ultimate respect.
Naturally, they’ll then take greater pride in their work, growing confident in their workplace contributions. They’ll also have more conviction in their actions going forward.
The need to protect their ego can also spur employees to go the extra mile in the future.
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Best Practices for Leveraging Employee Rewards Recognition Programs
Employee rewards and recognition programs are powerful tools for motivating and engaging workers. Here are some best practices to leverage these programs and significantly impact satisfaction.
Set Clear Objectives and Criteria
Before launching a rewards and recognition program, establish clear objectives and criteria.
Define the behaviors, achievements, or milestones you intend to recognize and reward. Ensure these criteria align with the company's values, goals, and desired outcomes.
Clear guidelines will help create a fair and transparent program that employees can understand and work toward.
Practice Timely and Specific Recognition
Recognition loses its impact when it’s delayed or generalized, so provide timely and specific recognition for employee achievements or contributions.
Acknowledge individual employee efforts as soon as possible, and be specific about what they did well.
For example, don’t just say "Good job." Instead, say "Excellent work on completing the project ahead of schedule. Your attention to detail, teamwork, and remarkable use of the virtual telephone system were instrumental in its success."
Practice Inclusive and Fair Distribution
Ensure that rewards and recognition are distributed fairly and inclusively across the organization.
Recognize achievements at all levels, from frontline employees to managers and executives. Avoid bias and ensure the program encompasses all workers.
Celebrate Milestones and Achievements
Apart from day-to-day recognition, celebrate significant milestones and achievements memorably.
Organize special events, ceremonies, or team-building activities to honor major accomplishments or project completions.
Celebrations create a sense of pride, foster camaraderie, and encourage a culture of excellence.
Employee Reward and Recognition Are Both Important
Employee rewards and recognition both matter. They increase motivation and improve productivity, translating to better job satisfaction, employee engagement, and employee retention.
The difference is that employee rewards are more physical, often taking the form of tangible benefits. Conversely, employee recognition is abstract, appealing to employee emotions and psychology.
By implementing both employee recognition and reward programs, you’ll create a supportive and rewarding work environment for your staff. Leverage the recommendations above for the best results.
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Maximising Employee Engagement Through HR Best Practices in IT
Are you tired of seeing disengaged employees wandering through the corridors of your IT organization? Do you find yourself grappling with the challenges of low motivation, decreased productivity, and high turnover rates? If so, you're not alone. In today's fast-paced digital landscape, where technology reigns supreme, the success of an IT company heavily relies on the engagement and commitment of its workforce. The problem is clear: disengaged employees can hinder growth, innovation, and ultimately, your organization's bottom line. Imagine a talented software developer, once driven and passionate, reduced to mindlessly completing tasks. Their potential remains untapped, and the impact reverberates throughout the organization.
However, there is a solution that can transform this bleak scenario into one of engagement, enthusiasm, and excellence. By implementing HR best practices tailored specifically to the IT industry, you can maximize employee engagement, reignite their passion, and create a thriving work environment that fuels innovation and success. In this blog post, we will delve into the proven strategies, tactics, and initiatives that can empower you to unlock the full potential of your IT workforce.
Understanding Employee Engagement in the IT Industry
Employee engagement is more than just a buzzword; it is a critical factor in the success of any organization, especially in the fast-paced and highly competitive IT industry. But what exactly does employee engagement mean, and why is it particularly important in the IT sector?
Employee engagement can be defined as the level of emotional commitment and dedication that employees have towards their work and the organization. In the IT industry, where creativity, problem-solving, and continuous learning are paramount, employee engagement becomes even more crucial. Here are a few key reasons why:
Innovation and Productivity
Engaged IT professionals are more likely to think outside the box, come up with innovative solutions, and push the boundaries of technology. Their passion and drive fuel their productivity, leading to higher-quality work and increased efficiency.
Retention and Talent Acquisition
The IT industry is known for its high demand for skilled professionals. Engaged employees are less likely to leave the organization, reducing turnover costs and ensuring continuity in projects. Additionally, organizations with a reputation for strong employee engagement attract top talent in the industry.
Collaboration and Teamwork
Successful IT projects often require cross-functional collaboration and teamwork. Engaged employees are more inclined to work collaboratively, share knowledge, and support their colleagues. This fosters a positive work environment and enhances overall project outcomes.
HR Best Practices for Maximizing Employee Engagement
Effective Onboarding Processes For A Smooth Integration
Onboarding plays a vital role in setting the stage for employee engagement and long-term success. A structured onboarding program ensures that new hires feel welcome, understand their roles and responsibilities, and have the necessary resources to perform their jobs effectively. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 50% greater new hire productivity. Effective onboarding includes providing clear expectations, introducing new hires to their teams, assigning mentors, and providing comprehensive training.
Transparent And Open Communication Channels
Open and transparent communication is fundamental to employee engagement in the IT industry. It fosters trust, collaboration, and alignment among team members. Establishing transparent communication channels, such as regular team meetings, project updates, and company-wide announcements, ensures that information flows freely across the organization. This promotes a sense of belonging and keeps employees informed about company goals, strategies, and progress.
Encouraging Feedback And Active Listening
Actively seeking and valuing employee feedback creates a culture of trust and continuous improvement. Regular feedback sessions, both one-on-one and in team settings, provide opportunities for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and suggestions. According to a Salesforce study, employees who feel that their opinions are heard are 4.6 times more likely to be engaged at work.
Fostering A Supportive And Inclusive Work Culture
Positive work culture is the bedrock of employee engagement and organizational success. It creates an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and motivated to contribute their best. Collaboration is vital in the IT industry, where projects often require cross-functional teams working together to achieve common goals. Promoting a collaborative work environment, where knowledge sharing, idea generation, and teamwork are encouraged, fosters engagement and synergy among employees. Diversity and inclusion are essential in building a positive work culture. Organizations can promote inclusivity by embracing diverse perspectives, ensuring equal opportunities for all employees, and fostering a sense of belonging.
Identifying And Nurturing Talent Within The Organization
Investing in the growth and development of IT professionals is crucial for their engagement and retention. Implementing talent development programs, mentoring initiatives, and succession planning processes helps identify high-potential employees and provide them with opportunities for growth and advancement. By identifying successors for key positions and providing them with development opportunities, organizations ensure a smooth transition and continuity in leadership.
Offering Career Development Programs And Opportunities For Advancement
Providing career development programs and opportunities for advancement is vital for employee engagement and retention. According to LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. Offering training programs, workshops, and seminars allows employees to acquire new skills, stay updated with industry trends, and enhance their professional expertise. Organizations can provide both technical and soft skills training to help employees excel in their current roles and prepare for future opportunities. Encouraging employees to pursue relevant network certifications in their field demonstrates a commitment to their professional growth. Certifications not only enhance employees' knowledge and credibility but also provide them with a sense of accomplishment and recognition.
Ensuring Accurate And Timely Payments
Accurate and timely payments are crucial for employee satisfaction and engagement. Implementing payroll automation systems helps streamline the payroll process, reducing the chances of errors and ensuring accuracy in payment calculations. Automation eliminates manual data entry, automates tax calculations, and simplifies payroll administration, saving time for HR professionals. This targeted approach not only saves valuable time and resources but also contributes to a more efficient and effective HR function.
A startup payroll guide acts as a comprehensive framework for managing payroll operations within an organization. By automating payroll processes and incorporating advanced payroll software, organizations can well-organize their HR operations, eliminating the likelihood of errors and ensuring precise calculations. This automation removes the need for manual data entry and minimizes the chances of discrepancies, thus providing a seamless and accurate payroll experience for employees.
Supporting Flexible Work Arrangements
Flexible work arrangements have gained significant importance in the IT industry and contribute to employee engagement. Here's how organizations can support flexible work arrangements:
Remote work options: Providing opportunities for employees to work remotely, either partially or fully, gives them the flexibility to manage their work-life balance effectively. Remote work can reduce commuting time, increase productivity, and improve employee satisfaction.
Flextime arrangements: Offering flexible work hours allows employees to adjust their schedules based on their personal needs, as long as they meet their work obligations. This flexibility enables employees to manage personal commitments, attend to family responsibilities, or pursue personal interests.
Compressed workweeks: Some organizations offer compressed workweeks, where employees work longer hours on fewer days. For example, working four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days. Compressed workweeks can provide extended weekends and additional time for personal activities, promoting work-life balance.
Prioritizing Employee Well-Being And Mental Health
Prioritizing employee well-being and mental health is crucial in the IT industry, where employees often face high levels of stress and demanding workloads. Here's how organizations can effectively prioritize this aspect:
Mental health resources: Organizations can provide access to mental health resources such as counseling services, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), or partnerships with mental health professionals. These resources offer employees a confidential and supportive environment to address their mental health concerns.
Wellness initiatives: Implementing wellness initiatives promotes physical and mental well-being. These initiatives can include wellness challenges, yoga or meditation sessions, fitness programs, ergonomic assessments, and healthy snacks in the workplace. Encouraging breaks and vacations, and discouraging overtime work are also important for maintaining employee well-being.
Workload management: Organizations should ensure that workloads are manageable and realistic for employees. Overloading employees with excessive work can lead to burnout and negatively impact their mental health. Regularly assessing workloads, distributing tasks effectively, and fostering a culture that values work-life balance contribute to employee well-being.
Conclusion
Creating a workplace where employees are genuinely engaged is both an art and a science. It requires a delicate balance of strategies, a deep understanding of employee needs, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
By adopting effective communication channels, organizations can bridge the gap between management and employees, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose. This can be achieved through town hall meetings, feedback mechanisms, and open-door policies that encourage dialogue and collaboration.
Furthermore, embracing a positive work culture rooted in trust, respect, and inclusivity is key to creating an environment where employees feel valued and motivated to contribute their best.
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HR in 2023: Key trends that will affect employee experience
HRis essential to the success of today's strong organizations. Since the transition has happened so quickly, many HR professionals have had to adapt tohybrid and online work, multiculturalism, and equality.
Even though it's challenging to foresee specific events, one thing is sure: businesses and people will continue to experience disruption into the year 2023 and later on. The effects of turbulence on professionals and business performance are well confirmed. However, despite the difficulties that instability brings, many organizations are still able to succeed. It's critical to stay on top of the most recent HR trends from the very beginning of the new year, so here's what to pay attention to:
HR analytics based on data
It takes a lot of work to create the best talent experience. HR departments must take into account the rising laboractivity, opponent action, previous data on employee performance and achievement, and even psychological characteristics that affect job searching. It takes precision, organization, and automation to analyze such a large amount of data.
The significance of people analytics inside executive management increased in 2022. About 90% of the businessespolledhad analytics-oriented leaders who worked on assignments requested explicitly by the governing body. In 2023, data will be an even more critical resource for companies looking to evaluate, follow up on, and keep an eye on developments. In the unpredictable market, to ensurethe greatest return on investment (ROI), businesses must make precise judgments on their recruiting strategies and employee satisfaction.
You may leverage applicant tracking systems (ATS) andother hiring toolsto help you organize all aspects of your recruiting process.
Better internal communication
In times of financial crisis and rapid inflation, thebetter salaries employees have hoped for might not still be in sight, so other benefits will become increasingly significant. Only 57% of respondents in a recent UKsurveyof more than 2,500 employees indicated their company had discussed perks. Itmight be worthwhile to work with the internal communications team to determine how much employees actually know and understand about the benefits offered before reevaluating your complete benefits package for 2023.
In order to save departmental resources (and improve change communications), ensure that everyone isfamiliar with the advantages already available. The good practice to make sure that people have checked and understood important material is to include the Mandatory Read feature in your intranet software. To make this easier, use documentation software that can easily manage your procedure policies.
Boosting employee experience
A successful workplace depends on engaged employees. Additionally, since 70% of workerspolledfor the most recent Workforce Institute Study said they would be seeking new jobs in the coming year, there's a significant turnover in sight.HR must develop tactics to keep employee motivation and engagement to ensure retention, including leveraging employee advocacy.
Employee engagement has long been a hot topic, but recently, its significance has increased. More and more data point to a link between happier workers and greater business outcomes. It results in increased productivity, decreased turnover, and higherclient satisfaction.
Companies with trouble adopting newtechnology like video tools and AIwill turn to the human factorto help establish and expand these projects and engagement. As the experts address the largest issues confronting HR in a rapidly evolving world, HR leaders seek opportunities to learn, discuss, and interact.
Fighting the quiet quit
A "silent quitting" phenomenon has become popular in the second half of 2022 and might continue into 2023. This HR trend, which has received extensive media coverage, is characterized by workers deciding not to fulfill their tasks in pull potential orskipping through assignments unrelated to their primary responsibilities.
By leavingthe aspects of their jobs they find too demanding or unfulfilling, people can better their quality of work life. This is known as quitting your job without officially resigning.Through the conceptof a people-first mindset, HRswill have to be attentive and proactive to enhance the staff experience in ways that can minimize this phenomenon. They should consider expanding their awareness of employee viewpoints, raising morale, evaluating the company's culture of operating outside of "regular" work hours, axing pointless meetings, and providing career counseling tools as countermeasures against quiet resignation.
Improving the onboarding process
According to the research, a majority of employees haven't been happy with their onboarding processes, and a fifth of them believe the original job description to be misleading. Create a customized onboarding strategy focused on boosting employees' efficiency and performance.Once you've done that, you'll be able to meaningfully link them with others to keep them from feeling alone. For instance, a rookie salesperson might start by selling a product to other newbies before progressing to practice calls with potential customers and finally making actual calls while supervised. Before a supervisor makes those calls with them, a trained sales representative can guide them through aPowerPoint presentation, which is more beneficial than engaging in a small conversation.
A thorough evaluation of your software suite may also be necessary. According toindustry leaders, learning new software has a steep learning curve, and there's a good likelihood that new hires won't be familiar with most of your software. When you consider that mostworkers feel annoyed with work technology in general and more than half are annoyedwith outdated technology, it may be time for an upgrade.
Building employee competence
The Society for Human Resource Managementreportsthat hiring managers now give soft skills greater weight than they did in the past. When making a decision, HRs now take into account skills like sympathy, emotional maturity, tolerance, andflexibility.
People and communication-related abilities may be even more crucial when workingfrom home. Managers and human resource professionals must become more socially intelligent to connect with their employees, understand their concerns, and assist them in overcoming obstacles.
Beefing upis one of the promising trends to follow because it'sa sustainable method of employee growth, assists you inkeeping quality workers in the company, raises motivation, and can reduce the expense of hiring and training new employees. A recent LinkedIn piecehighlighted employee capacity building or giving current employees guidanceto improve their skill sets or gain new ones to bulletproofanorganization. Businesses can also benefit from reskilling by remaining productive and competitive. Employees who gain new knowledge can advance their careers while still meeting the company's continuously increasing needs by undertaking apositionor thriving in their current role.
Managing the change process
Since the beginning of the Covid-19, a typical corporation has undergonefive significant organizational changes, including implementing new IT infrastructure and rebranding. When you consider the numerous global transformations that have reshaped the waywe work, it's no surprise that many workers are now reluctant to further changes.
Keeping change wearinessto a minimum is crucial since, if it develops, it can lead to emotional discomfort, decreased productivity, and eventually burnout. To prevent negative results in the future, we must consider how our workplaces might leverage technology to create a more seamless employee experience. One characteristic that allbest-performing businesses have in common is anintegratedinfrastructure that supports a seamless digital personnel experience.
Staff can handle routine daily activities and use work apps in one location by developing a single online hub with a highly user-friendly menu that can beaccessed through an internet browserand smartphone app without causing instability. This replaces numerous logins and unrelated apps with a more organized strategy. If you plan to alter your digital workspace in 2023, filtering traffic through a unified intranet portal can help you limit disturbance.
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Internal advancement and career growth
Another major trend that will help the talent and recruitment problems is focusing on tactics that advertise and discuss inner openings. Sadly,almost halfof the workers claim their employers' career prospects are not explicitly stated or discussed. This probably contributes significantly to the fact that3 out of 4 job seekersare only interested in employment outside their company for a new role. It's a significant barrier for HR departments when trying to provide internal advancement possibilities for current employees to promote retention and aid succession planning.
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Employees ought to continuously read material that is pertinent to their work. Providing filtered information to chosen groups of workers makes sure they stay on task and use their time well.Whileveteran employees may prefer to concentrate on soft skills like leadership and settlement of disputes, newcomers may want to focus on strengtheningskills relevant to their position. Offering multiple opportunities to learn and grow to various generations is always beneficial.
Wrapping it up
Change is far from done, and HRsmust plan to stay afloat. Employees will be greatly affected by ongoing work and home disturbances, effectively upending corporate structures. When your organization has overcomethe changes necessary to keep up with the dynamic work environment, it will be strong and equipped to withstand upheavals and grow. However, organizations that don't strategize will have difficulty navigating through ongoing change.
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The 8 Major Challenges for HR in the Food and Beverage Industry
The food and beverage industry is filled with excitement, creativity, and unique flavors. But behind the scenes, there's a side to this industry that isn't often seen: the HR restaurant landscape. Human resources play a vital role in ensuring the success of any business, but the challenges faced by HR professionals in the restaurant industry are unique and complex.
This article will shed light on the crucial HR issues impacting the food and beverage industry's workforce and provide insights on addressing these challenges.
The different HR solutions offered by LIKE.TG will help organizations to resolve the challenges in the food and beverage industry.
The Importance of Human Resources in the Food and Beverage Industry
In an industry where customer satisfaction is paramount, having a skilled and motivated workforce is essential. As a result, HR professionals in the food and beverage industry play a pivotal role in recruiting, developing, and retaining employees. They also ensure that the company adheres to labor laws and regulations, creating a safe and inclusive work environment. Thus, an effective HR department can significantly impact a restaurant's overall success, employee turnover rates, customer experience, and bottom line.
Moreover, the food and beverage industry is a vast global network comprising various types of businesses that supply the majority of food consumed by people worldwide. The food and beverage services market worldwide witnessed growth from $3,559.94 billion in 2022 to $3,763.14 billion in 2023, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7%. As with all industries, the human resources (HR) department plays a pivotal role in the success of businesses operating in this field. In this article, we will delve into why HR is crucial to the food and beverage industry, particularly in the context of the current HR challenges it faces.
HR holds the responsibility of efficiently and legally managing employees, ensuring they contribute to the company's growth. The food and beverage industry can reap immense benefits from the guidance of skilled HR professionals along with cutting-edge technology solutions like the Workmates App in tackling the workforce issues that are rampant in the industry. The following are 8 crucial HR challenges facing the food and beverage sector:
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Employee Recruitment and Retention
The food and beverage industry is known for its high employee turnover rate. With the constant need for new staff, HR professionals face challenges related to attracting and retaining top talent. This requires implementing effective recruitment strategies, offering competitive benefits and compensation packages as well as creating a positive work environment that encourages employee loyalty.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the number of employees in the restaurant industry was down by a million in 2021 as compared to the pre-pandemic levels. Although the pandemic had a significant impact on the hiring and retention process due to shutdowns and the fear of contracting COVID-19, the industry has always faced challenges in retaining employees due to its demanding nature. The food and restaurant industry demands long working hours, physical labor, and emotional stress, making it a tough work environment. This results in many employees treating their jobs as temporary until they find a better opportunity.
Employee Training and Development
To thrive in the competitive food and beverage industry, restaurants must consistently offer high-quality products and services. This can only be achieved by investing in employee training and development. HR professionals are responsible for identifying skill gaps, designing training programs, and providing employees with opportunities for growth and career advancement.
Compensation and Benefits Management
Offering competitive compensation and benefits packages is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. HR professionals must research industry standards, evaluate employee performance, and ensure that their organization's offerings are in line with the market. Additionally, they must navigate the complexities of various benefit programs and manage payroll effectively.
Legal Compliance and Labor Laws
The food and beverage industry is subject to numerous labor laws and regulations, such as fair labor standards, health and safety codes, and anti-discrimination policies. HR professionals must ensure that their organization adheres to these laws and stays up-to-date with any changes or updates. Failure to do so can result in lawsuits, massive fines, and reputational risk to companies.
The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that the food and restaurant industry is one of the top small business industries, accounting for 20% of all small businesses. Due to the significant number of individuals employed in this sector, food and restaurant businesses face complex labor laws that can be challenging to navigate.
Employee Performance Management
Effective performance management is crucial for driving employee productivity and maintaining high standards of service. HR professionals must develop transparent and fair performance evaluation processes, provide regular feedback, and address any performance issues promptly. The performance app of LIKE.TG can help HR professionals to ensure that employees are motivated and working to achieve the organization's goals.
Workplace Safety and Health
A healthy and safe work environment is not only a legal necessity but also a key factor in maximizing employee retention. HR professionals must implement safety and health policies, conduct regular inspections, and ensure that employees receive proper training on safety procedures. By doing so, they can limit the risk of accidents and create a more productive work environment.
Strategies to Address Common HR Issues in the Restaurant Industry
To tackle these common HR issues, restaurants must adopt proactive and comprehensive strategies. This may include investing in advanced HR technology to streamline processes, creating a strong employer brand, and implementing employee recognition programs. Additionally, HR professionals should continually evaluate their strategies and update them as needed to ensure they remain effective and relevant.
Best Practices for HR Management in the Food and Beverage Industry
Develop a comprehensive onboarding program to set new hires up for success by using the onboard app created by LIKE.TG.
Offer competitive benefits and compensation packages to attract and retain top talent.
Foster a diverse and inclusive workplace culture to drive innovation and employee satisfaction.
Provide regular training and development opportunities to help employees grow and advance their careers.
Implement effective performance management processes to drive productivity and maintain high standards of service.
Prioritize employee engagement strategies and satisfaction to create a more cohesive and successful workforce.
Stay up-to-date with labor laws and regulations to ensure legal compliance and protect the company's reputation.
Embrace HR technology to streamline processes, improve communication, and make data-driven decisions.
The Role of Technology in Modern Restaurant HR Management
The role of technology is indispensable in modern HR management. HR software and tools can help automate time-consuming tasks, improve communication, and provide valuable data for informed decision-making. By embracing technology, HR professionals can maximize their efficiency, freeing up time and resources to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Benefits of LIKE.TG Solutions
The different solutions or apps created by LIKE.TG can bring several benefits to the Food and Beverage Industry. Some of these benefits include:
Efficient Hiring Process: The Onboard app of LIKE.TG can streamline the hiring process by automating certain tasks like resume screening, scheduling interviews, and conducting initial candidate assessments. This can help save precious time and effort in identifying the right candidates for various roles in the industry.
Improved Employee Engagement: Employee engagement and satisfaction are essential for reducing turnover and fostering a positive work culture. HR professionals must actively seek employee feedback, address concerns, and recognize and reward exceptional performance. By prioritizing employee well-being and satisfaction, HR professionals can create a more cohesive and successful workforce. The Workmates app can provide employees with tools to track their progress and goals, access learning resources, and communicate with their managers. This can help improve employee engagement, which is crucial for job satisfaction, retention, and productivity.
Better Compliance Management: The food and beverage industry is highly regulated, and the Workmates and Onboard app can help ensure compliance with various laws and regulations. This includes managing employee documentation, tracking training and certifications, and providing reminders for necessary compliance activities.
Enhanced Performance Management: The Workmates app can provide managers with tools to set goals, track performance, and provide feedback to employees. This can help improve employee performance and overall business results.
Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: Creating a diverse and inclusive work environment is not only a moral imperative; it's also a business strategy that can lead to increased creativity, innovation, and better decision-making. However, building a genuinely inclusive culture requires ongoing commitment and effort from HR professionals. This includes implementing diversity and inclusion policies, providing regular training, and fostering open communication to ensure all employees feel valued and heard for which the Workmates app is an effective solution.
Efficient Time and Attendance Management: The Time Clock app of LIKE.TG can help automate time and attendance tracking, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring accurate payroll processing. This can help save time and improve the efficiency of HR operations. There is also the Time Off to manage staff PTO and other absences.
Improved Customer Service: The mobile app of LIKE.TG can help to improve customer service in the food and beverage industry where customers can quickly get their questions and concerns addressed, which also improves their overall experience.
Overall, HR Workmates can help the food and beverage industry improve its HR processes, employee engagement, compliance management, performance management, and time and attendance management.
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The Future of HR in the Food Beverage Industry
As the food and beverage industry continues to evolve, so too will the HR restaurant landscape. One major trend that is likely to shape the future of HR in this industry is the use of technology. Companies are already using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate tasks such as recruiting and screening candidates.
In the future, these technologies may also be used to predict employee turnover and identify training needs. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will also continue to be a critical area of focus for HR in the food and beverage industry. As consumers become more diverse, companies will need to reflect this diversity in their workforce.
This will require a concerted effort to recruit and retain employees from diverse backgrounds and create a culture of inclusion. To remain more competitive in the market, HR professionals must be agile, adaptable, and prepared to embrace change.
Conclusion
The HR restaurant landscape is complex and ever-changing, but by understanding and addressing the crucial issues impacting the food and beverage industry's workforce, HR professionals can create a more successful, cohesive, and satisfied workforce. By adopting best practices and harnessing technology, they can ensure that their organization remains competitive and well-positioned for future growth.
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Top 10 Best Employee Engagement Software
In today's competitive business environment, it is becoming increasingly important to foster a positive company culture to attract and retain top talent. One of the key factors in creating a thriving organizational culture is employee engagement. Employee engagement platforms have emerged as a powerful tool for organizations to achieve this goal.
Employee engagement platforms are software solutions that are specifically designed to improve employee engagement, satisfaction, and overall employee well-being. They help organizations connect with their employees, recognize their achievements, and provide ongoing feedback and support. In this article, we will explore the top 10 employee engagement platforms and their key features to help you choose the best solution for your organization.
Why is Employee Engagement Important in the Workplace?
Employee engagement is crucial for the success of any organization. Engaged employees are more loyal, productive, and more likely to go the extra mile for their employers. Research shows that organizations with higher employee engagement levels enjoy improved employee retention, higher customer satisfaction, increased profitability, and better overall performance.
A strong employee engagement strategy can also impact the overall company culture, creating a positive environment where employees feel valued, heard, and motivated to contribute. By fostering a positive culture of engagement, organizations will be able to unlock the full potential of their workforce, driving innovation and growth.
Factors to Consider When Choosing an Employee Engagement Platform
Before diving into the top 10 best employee engagement platforms, it's important to understand the key factors to consider when choosing a solution for your organization. These factors include:
Ease of use: Employee engagement platforms should be user-friendly and accessible for employees at all levels of the organization.
Scalability: As your organization grows, the platform should be able to upgrade and accommodate a greater number of users.
Customization: The platform should be easily customized to fit your organization's unique needs and culture.
Integration: The solution should integrate seamlessly with your existing HR systems and other tools used by your organization.
Analytics and Reporting: The employee engagement platform should offer robust analytics and reporting features to help you measure the success of your employee engagement initiatives.
Top 10 Best Employee Engagement Platforms
1.Workmates
Workmates by LIKE.TG is an employee communication and engagement platform designed to streamline communication, collaboration and employee recognition, within organizations. It provides various features and tools to facilitate effective communication among employees and enhance employee engagement. The app provides a comprehensive employee directory and news feed feature. It enables employees to create and participate in group chats, making it simple to collaborate on projects, share ideas, and communicate with specific teams or departments. It includes features to recognize and appreciate employees' achievements and milestones. Workmates allows organizations to gather feedback from employees through surveys and polls.
Workmates is also available as a mobile employee app, allowing employees to access and engage with the platform conveniently from their smartphones or tablets. Overall, the Workmates app aims to improve internal communication, foster employee engagement, and create a sense of community within organizations.
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2. Learnamp
Learnamp is an employee learning and development platform designed to enhance employee skills, knowledge, and performance within organizations. It provides a range of features and tools to facilitate effective learning and training initiatives. The platform allows organizations to create personalized learning paths for employees based on their roles, skills, and career goals. This ensures that employees receive relevant and targeted learning content tailored to their individual needs.
3. Google Classroom
Google Classroom is an online learning management system developed by Google. It is designed to help organizations create, distribute, and manage tasks, as well as facilitate communication and collaboration with employees. Google Classroom integrates with other Google tools such as Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, streamlining the workflow for both managers and employees. It allows for seamless file sharing, document collaboration, and scheduling of tasks and deadlines.
4. Kahoot
Kahoot incorporates gamification elements, making learning and engagement more enjoyable for employees. It uses game-based quizzes and challenges to test knowledge, encourage participation, and create a sense of friendly competition among employees. Kahoot allows organizations to conduct interactive surveys and polls to gather employee feedback, opinions, and ideas.
Kahoot can be used to recognize and reward employee achievements. Organizations can design quizzes or challenges that highlight outstanding performances or milestones, allowing employees to be celebrated and appreciated in a fun and interactive way.
5. The Go Game
The Go Game is an interactive team-building and employee engagement platform that combines technology, challenges, and real-world experiences. The Go Game utilizes a mobile app that serves as a central hub for participants. The app provides instructions, clues, and real-time updates during the game, keeping employees engaged and excited throughout the experience. It combines technology, real-world experiences, teamwork, and friendly competition to create a memorable and impactful experience that enhances collaboration, communication, and overall employee engagement.
6.TINYpulse: A lightweight employee engagement platform, TINYpulse offers pulse surveys, as well as integration with popular collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. TINYpulse's unique feature is its focus on using anonymous feedback to encourage open and honest communication between employees and managers. It also includes features for benchmarking against industry standards and best practices, to help companies stay competitive and up-to-date on the latest trends in employee engagement.
7. Peakon: With a focus on data-driven insights, Peakon offers real-time feedback, employee surveys, and actionable insights to help organizations improve employee engagement and satisfaction. Peakon's unique feature is its focus on using AI and machine learning to analyze employee feedback and provide actionable insights to managers. This helps to identify trends and areas for improvement in real time, and enables managers to take immediate action to address any issues.
8. Achievers: Achievers is an employee engagement platform that helps companies track and improve employee satisfaction, retention, and performance. The platform uses surveys, feedback tools, and analytics to give companies insights into how their employees are feeling and performing. Achievers' unique feature is its focus on using recognition as a key driver of employee engagement.
9. Motivosity: Focused on employee recognition and rewards, Motivosity offers a range of features, including peer-to-peer recognition, customizable rewards, and integration with popular HR systems. Motivosity's unique feature is its focus on creating a social network-like environment for employees to interact with each other.
10. Emplify: Offering a suite of tools for measuring and improving employee engagement, Emplify's unique feature is its focus on using data-driven insights to help companies make informed decisions about their employee engagement strategies. The platform provides real-time feedback and insights to managers, enabling them to take immediate action to address any issues or concerns. It also includes tools for goal-setting, performance tracking, and recognition to help improve overall employee engagement and satisfaction.
Key Features of The Best Employee Engagement Software
The best employee engagement software are those that help organizations measure and improve engagement levels. The Workmates App of LIKE.TG offers some of the best attributes such as:
Pulse surveys: Regular, short surveys that help organizations gather real-time feedback from employees, providing insights into engagement levels and areas for improvement.
Recognition and rewards: It enables employees to give and receive recognition for their achievements, fostering a culture of appreciation and boosting engagement.
Goal-setting and tracking: It helps employees set and track progress towards their professional goals, promoting a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Feedback and one-on-one meetings: Workmates facilitate ongoing feedback and communication between employees and their managers, promoting open dialogue and continuous improvement.
Analytics and reporting: Robust reporting and analytics features of Workmates help organizations measure the success of their employee engagement initiatives and identify areas for growth.
Integrating Employee Engagement Solutions into Your Company Culture
To truly elevate your company culture, it's important to integrate your chosen employee engagement platform into the fabric of your organization. This means ensuring that employees at all levels are aware of the platform and its benefits, and are encouraged to actively participate.
Start by promoting the platform during onboarding and training sessions, and provide ongoing support and resources to help employees navigate the system. Encourage managers to regularly use the platform for feedback, recognition, and goal-setting, and incorporate the platform's analytics and reporting features into your organization's performance management processes.
Measuring the Success of Your Employee Engagement Initiatives
To determine how effective is your employee engagement platform, it's essential to establish clear metrics and KPIs. Some common metrics to track include employee participation rates, survey response rates, recognition activity, and overall engagement scores.
Apart from monitoring these metrics, it's equally important to regularly review the insights and recommendations provided by the platform's analytics and reporting features. This will help you identify the key areas for improvement and adjust your employee engagement initiatives accordingly.
Customizing the Employee Engagement Software
No two organizations are exactly alike, and the best employee engagement platform should be flexible enough to adapt to your company's unique culture and requirements. Look for a platform that offers customization options, such as the ability to create custom surveys, recognition programs, and rewards.
Also, consider how the platform can integrate with your existing HR systems and tools, as seamless integration can help streamline your employee engagement initiatives and ensure a consistent user experience.
Investing in the Best Employee Engagement Platform
While implementing an employee engagement platform may require an upfront investment, you should focus on ROI as well as the long-term benefits. By choosing the best employee engagement platform for your organization and integrating it into your company culture, you can create a positive work environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and growth. This can lead to a competitive advantage in the marketplace and position your organization for long-term success.
It's important to carefully consider the costs and benefits of each employee engagement platform before making a decision. Look for platforms that offer transparent pricing models and provide a clear roadmap for implementation and ongoing support.
Conclusion
In today's fast-paced business environment, employee engagement has become a critical factor in creating a positive and productive work environment. By carefully considering the key factors in choosing an employee engagement platform, such as ease of use, scalability, customization, integration, and reporting and analytics, organizations can select the best solution to fit their unique needs and culture.
Integrating the chosen platform into the fabric of the organization and measuring its success through established metrics and KPIs can help drive long-term benefits and ROI. Investing in the best employee engagement platform can elevate your company culture, attract and retain top talent, and position your organization for long-term success in today's competitive marketplace.
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