Jasmine Flowers May 16, 2008 
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According to HRMguide.com, younger workers between the ages 18-34 are twice as likely to prefer flexible working conditions as older employees. “Employees aged 18-34 were most likely to look forward to controlling their own schedules, while respondents aged 35-44 year olds indicated that they would value more time with family… Younger workers expect freedom and flexibility, and online remote access and collaboration services enable people to work on their own terms. When employers provide these tools for connecting employees with their PCs, customers, prospects and co-workers across town or halfway around the world, everyone benefits.”
Although telecommuting seems to be the best option, many say that it might mean sacrificing dreams of making it to the Executive level. Why you ask? In my opinion the answer is perception. The perception is that in order display effective management, one must physically be in the office giving “face-time to both employees and other Executives. I don’t equate “face-time” to productivity, high performance, or value-add but it seems that “face-time” will increase the probability for promotions, recognition, and opportunities in general and mitigate against the effects of “out of sight, out of mind.” Over time I do think this perception will evolve as leadership changes, as new technology makes it increasingly more beneficial to telecommute, and as the potential reductions in cost is realized.
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A recent study published by MetLife entitled Study of Employee Benefit Trends: Findings from the National Survey of Employers and Employees highlighted the importance benefits play in driving employee loyalty which in turn can impact companies ability to retain top performing employees.
When asked to identify the importance of work-related elements that give employees a feeling of loyalty, 81% of employees surveyed cite health benefits as important, second only to salary/wages, while only 60% of employers say the same. Similarly, among employees retirement benefits are tied with advancement opportunities as an important factor in loyalty, cited by 72% of those surveyed compared to just 41% of employer
The results are very interesting because the study does not address if benefits were an initial attractor to the employees when deciding to accept an offer, only that it is an attribute impacting loyalty. Bernard Hodes’s Employer Brand Awareness Index Study (EBAI) addressed initial attraction and showed at 30 days of tenure, when respondents were asked to rate the attributes that attracted them the most in choosing the employer, Career Opportunity far outweighed any other aspect. Location still played a level of importance, more so in certain industries. For example, in retail, location is a prime factor in choosing an employer. Benefits and culture were tied, and training was the lowest initial attractor. So overall benefits did not play a significant part in attracting candidates however, benefits did have more of an impact in retaining the employee – unfortunately it was negative.Our results showed the New Hire’s view of benefits, over the first year as being a key point of retention, negatively declined. So do our results contradict the MetLife findings that benefits can build loyalty and impact retention? No, what our findings demonstrate is the effect of not properly educating and marketing benefits to new employees can cause. Most Human Resources Departments include benefits as a topic to cover during a New Hire’s on-boarding process within the first 30 days of hire. However, a lot of employees don’t become eligible for benefits until the 1st day following the completion of 90 days. Most of the information between these two points is lost. For the most part, employees truly don’t understand the scope of benefits until they start utilizing them. So it is important for companies to continually educate employees on the benefits being offered.
Educate: When companies provide a consistent and accessible opportunity for employees to thoroughly understand their benefits and have access to HR for assistance than yes, loyalty will develop. Companies need to provide multiple opportunities for their employees to have access to information regarding their benefits. Opportunities to educate could include Benefits Page on the company website, Quarterly Benefits Newsletter, Benefits Hotline or Quarterly Employee Benefit Reviews.
Market Companies spend thousands of dollars a year to offer their employees benefits and yet typically do not market the value or options the benefits can offer an employee. It is very important for companies to market their benefit offerings. Employees will learn and understand the basics of what the medical, dental, and vision plans have to offer. However, they may not know the special programs and offerings that go along with them. For instance employees might not be aware that the medical plan offers a Wellness option that could assist them with weight loss - reduce gym memberships, stop smoking or alternative medical options. Employees are concerned about rising prescription drug cost however, they may not be aware of the cost savings associated with mail order for regular prescribed medications. These types of benefits are typically not highlighted or marketed however do have value to an employees overall perception and utilization of their benefits. It is my experience as a HR manager, the more an employee utilizes benefits the higher their satisfaction. Higher satisfaction can lead to greater loyalty
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Bradley Savoy April 30, 2008 No Comments »
I recently came across two interesting launches by Starbucks and Chrysler that are utilizing both social networking and a voice of the customer approach to drive improvements in their customer experience and a further extension of their brands.
My Starbucks Idea is a social networking Voice of the customer site that acts as a forum for Starbucks customers to rant and rave about the Starbucks experience and drive improvements to their products. Chris Bruzzo, CTO of Starbucks states that he hopes the site “Fosters authenticity, transparency, and encourages our customers to be part of shaping the future of Starbucks. Over 200,000 ideas have been generate in just over a month, and one of the recent results of this effort is the advent of the “splash stick” which solves that pesky problem of having your coffee splash out of the sip hole in your cup.
Chrysler Listens is another example of listening to the voice of the customer and empowering them to drive improvements. Chrysler has created a Chief Customer Officer position to encourage collaboration with customers and employees. Chrysler claims 400 improvements have been made thus far through this program.
These are just a couple of examples of companies realizing how powerful the voice of the customer is in driving improvement with their products. The Voice of the Customer approach is a Six Sigma concept of continuous improvement to a process or experience. An organization seeks to capture requirements and/or feedback from the various customers to consistently provide them with a world-class experience. The process is all about being proactive and constantly innovative to capture the changing requirements of customers over time.
This same Voice of the Customer approach can be applied to building and sustaining your Employer Brand, as we do with Hodes QTrac. Your organization needs to begin by asking itself some simple, but fundamental questions: Why do people consider working for your company? Why do they join? Why do they stay, and why do they leave? Fortunately, there are hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of people just waiting to give you an answer. They’re called employees, and you need only ask them.
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