August 16th, 2010 by Kira
Have you heard of those companies where the company culture is so good, so grand, that it’s written about in books and talked about in movies? Some companies just get it, they understand that culture goes beyond offering two weeks’ vacation and a 
company holiday party.
The younger generation of employees aren’t willing to work for just anyone anymore. They want companies that are cutting edge, care about their environment, and care about their people. If you think your people should work long hours, forgo their family life, and never take vacation…well, you may want to think again.
Imagine a company with a company culture so grand that productivity is up, morale is high, healthcare costs are reduced, and the employees are more loyal than ever. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it?
It can happen and there are many company’s who can prove it.
Take Patgonia, an outdoor clothing store. This company cares about the environment and its people. Employees can earn paid time off for a sabbatical after so many years of service. Clothing is made out of recyclable material and old clothing is accepted to be properly disposed of.
What about New Belgium Brewery – a brewery with happy and loyal employees who receive their traditional bike imprinted on their beer labels after a few years of service, along with other great perks and benefits.
There are many companies out there who go above and beyond for their employee. To make your company stand out in a marketplace of qualified candidates create a culture where people fight for years to get in, and then never want to leave.
Tags: company culture, employee attraction, team motivation
Posted in Clients, FORTIS | No Comments »
August 9th, 2010 by Kira
Do employees need motivating? Every now and again there comes a time when a
company must make the decision to train and motivate their team.
Employees get sucked down through the proverbial negative trees and one bad apple has a tendency to rot the entire bunch. We all know the scenario, so what do we need to do to fix it?
First, keep your word. Companies often make the mistake of implementing new procedures, rules, or other policies and then don’t follow through. This breaks the trust cycle with employees and the next time you come around wanting to implement the latest idea from the managers meeting, employees will roll their eyes. They learn fast and if you don’t follow through, they know that it’ll only take a few weeks for it to wear off. Keep your word no matter what.
Next, recognize good behavior. Acknowledge the people who are doing it right. It doesn’t mean you need to ignore the others, but make the good employees a priority. Offer incentives for good work, high productivity, increased turnaround times, or whatever the team needs to get motivated.
Lastly, there’s no “I” in team. Teams should be teams and they should play like one. Despite recognizing the good behavior of individuals above, companies shouldn’t set up their teams to negatively compete against each other. Promote teamwork and office kindness by initiating do-good events for other employees. If Mary’s child is home sick because of a major surgery, initiate a potluck where all the food gets donated to Mary’s family.
These are just three small changes you can make in your workplace to help motivate your employees. You can always find good trainers and implement new thoughts and ideas into the workplace. No matter how unmotivated your team may seem, there’s always a way to turn them around.
Tags: culture, employee motivation, morale, team motivation
Posted in Clients, FORTIS | No Comments »
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