Mike Jones moderated a discussion with a group of CC08 attendees this afternoon..." "Retaining Good talent Round Table"
Mike opened the discussion by introducing the "Talent Management in the 21st Century. Attracting, Retaining and Engaging employees of choice" study. Data obtained during the study helped to frame the conversation moving forward.
Everyone was asked to introduce themselves and their company.
Wess Wenhard ABC Autoglass- 16 employees 3 locations... auto parts based business. Three existing parts stores are expanding to include glass. This reduces the initial investment considerably as the storefront already exists... Great ROI. Two of the three locations have been completed the transition.
Jill Foxworth Dependable Glass- Fabricators, beveling, wholesale. 45 employees. "I love my job and it would be perfect if it weren't for the employees"
Mike Jones- 60 employees GTS
Betsy Evanoff- Glaxis
Scott - Bobs Autoglass- 4 stores Auto, 11 employees
Robert Serpa- Don's Mobile 25% Auto 25% other 50% wardrobe and shower door man. 165 employees
The three keys identified in the Talent Management Study were:
Attracting People
Retaining People
Engaging People
Attracting People
Mike posed the question, "How are you attracting talent today?"
Responses:
Online (most common method)
Used to be word of mouth
Newspaper (all agreed this is prohibit expensive)
Value of LinkedIn network- Mike mentioned what a valuable tool this has proven to be for him. He has been able to leverage the thousands of people he is no linked to as a way to recruit talent (online word of mouth)
Craigslist is emerging as a must use in finding people for a number of people in the group.
According the Talent Management study the top five most important factors to a candidate when looking for employment are:
1. Money
2. Healthcare
3. Work/Life balance
4. Career advancement opportunity
5. A plan in place that individual performance was tied to salary increases
The younger workers just don't have technical skills. "What's a screwdriver?" Work visa employees have allowed them to remain competitive.
Retaining People
Turnover was a HUGE concern for the group overall. The consensus was that CSRs tend to stay around a little longer. The installers & Glaziers however are hard to find and getting harder. "Within 3 weeks you know if they are going to be staying. It's hard to find a younger workforce to do physical labor."
According to the Talent Management study the top five most important factors which make an employee want to stay:
1. They see that the organization values and nurtures talent. The company invests in their talent.
2. Opportunities for learning and development.
3. Company has a good reputation.
4. Feel that they are fairly compensated relative to coworkers.
5. Their management understands what motivates them.
There was some debate on the ROI of training. Some felt they are training for the competition, i.e. "you finally get them up to speed and they leave and work for the competition." Others find efficiencies in training. "Investing upfront in the people is better than the cost of ineffectual training. Shabby workmanship has far more of a negative impact on the business"
Examples given by the group on how they are investing in their employees:
Healthcare was being offered by everyone in the group. Some offerings in particular seemed to be very well received:
"Cafeteria plan" set at a dollar amount. Very flexible.
The health savings account "is what the younger employees are looking for." Younger employees aren't going to the doctor, so they don't want pay for standard insurance. It saves the company money, and the employees see it as a benefit. "Explaining it was the most difficult part."
When asked if the route to advancement was clear to employees, the responses were mixed:
A few found it difficult to define different employee levels on the production side of the business. One company has implemented semi-annual evaluations to help define the development process. "It's important to speak to them so that they understand how they are doing. They won't know the expectation if you don't tell them." Others found they could move people around to find the best fit. This doesn't work in auto... there is nowhere else to go.
OVERWELLMING agreement that the supervisor level is not for everyone. A supervisor must understand what the training is about. Why it is important. Must be committed to the process
"I don't want the headache" mentality makes it difficult to advance people. Always keep that in the conversation. They need to understand that the pay comes with the responsibility. Some of this stems from a generational gap.
"The hardest part will always be letting people go."
"Babysitting!!"
"Freaking Daycare"
Men and Woman handle conflict differently. They also see different things during the interview process the other tends to miss. A few people use both a man and woman interviewer, to take advantage to the different points of view.
GTS uses the Behavioral interview process. Candidates are asked questions based on key characteristics valued as an employee. The group found the technique to be valuable, but weren't sure that it would translate well with manual labor candidates.
It is hard to find people with drivers license.
Everyone in the group does mandatory drug testing as a condition of hire. If there is an accident mandatory drug test is also needed during a defined period of time.
Everyone offered 401Ks, but many employees don't use it.
What is being done to insure the 4th point above, "Feel that they are fairly compensated relative to coworkers" is being done?
o Some are paying commission on invoice.
o Some are paying performance bonus daily.
o Some are paying a bonus on monthly invoice amount.
o They start hourly and work their way up to commission structure.
o One company shows everyone one every two weeks whether or not each individual employee is profitable. This has proven to be a HUGE motivator.... No one wants to be on the bottom of the list. (Those on the bottom tend to disappear.)
Engaging People
According to the Talent Management study:
Only 21% of employees are highly engaged
15% were disengaged
63 % moderately engaged
Top 5 reasons why people stay at job:
1. Senior management had a genuine interest in employee well being
2. Individual was able to improve their abilities and skills year over year
3. The organization has a good reputation for being a good employer
4. They had the appropriate amount of decision making authority to do their job well
5. Salary policies are fair and consistent
How is everyone handling internet access?
Everyone is using filter tools to limit and or ban use. (Barracuda one example given)
Email is being handled the same way
Some are using intercompany email only
One is re-releasing their internet policies to increase awareness (nothing's changed, but they need a refresher)