1 Stop HR

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Does your Learning and Development Environment Need an Overhaul?

Here is a recent article from our Monthly Newsletter:

Hearing a lot of talk about “growth opportunities” when you are interviewing candidates?  Are you talking about it to your employees?  Let me guess, you think you provide great growth opportunities within your working environment, but do you really?

Here are a few things to ponder…

Do your managers work with their employees to talk about career planning?

Do your managers help your employees create a plan to support employee career paths?

Do you have an education policy that assists with continuing education costs?  And do you encourage your employees to make use of it?

Do you have an onsite “library” with an abundance of material that could enhance knowledge?

Do you provide lunch and learn sessions?

Do you have subject matter experts that come into the office from time to time to share knowledge?

Do you have a peer mentoring program set up?

Do you allow and encourage internal applications to available positions?

Do you have a succession management plan in place?

Do managers touch base with their employees to discuss training needs, gaps or desires?

Do you set learning goals and reward successful achievement of the goals?

This is just a start, but if you find that you do most of these, you are heading in the right direction.  I would then ask you “What more could you do?”  And, “Where can you gain an edge over your competitors when it comes to this subject and attracting/retaining your people?”

If you are shaking your head “no” then you my friend have some work to do.  The majority of employees or job seekers are looking to grow their skill set.  They are looking for employers that support and encourage this.  Employers that do well are ones that recognize this, that value the increase in knowledge of their people and are actively looking to encourage and support learning and development.

Email us with your thoughts or questions.

What can you do today that will impact tomorrow?

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5 Tips For Training Millennial’s – Are you doing all you can do?


As we all know, each generation has new needs or expectations when it comes to the workplace and to life in general.  Millennial’s are no different!

We have shared some information on working with Millennial’s in past posts but have come across a cool info graphic that provides you with 5 Tips for Training Millennial’s. Take a look, read through. Are there things that you could be doing to increase engagement of this generation? Have any more tips? Let us know – they could be featured in an upcoming blog.

Please feel free to share!

 

infographic tips for training millennials
5 Tips for Training Millennials created by MicroTek UK

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Get a FRESH Perspective on Employee Motivation.

How many articles have you read around employee motivation?  Do you feel like you have the ticket to motivation success at your workplace?  Here is another interesting perspective…

ZeroCater presents a perspective on healthy eating and the connection with productivity.  A motivated employee is a productive employee. For this reason companies stock their human resource arsenals with a variety of motivational tools: Raises, bonuses, sales contests, peer recognition programs and gift card giveaways.  What about food?  How might it impact motivation?

Research shows that when it comes to improving productivity, any figurative carrot on a stick just might rank below an actual carrot. A healthy diet promotes good health and employee wellness is tied so closely to worker efficiency that 77 percent of lost productivity is attributable to health-related issues, according to a recent study.  Employees who did not regularly eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables were 66 more likely than healthy eaters to say they had experienced a decrease in productivity.

Interesting?  I think so!  So what can you do to try out this theory?  Can you screen all your new employees and ensure that they will commit to only eating the identified foods above in order to work at your workplace?  Hmmm that seems a bit far-fetched!!  Could you provide healthy snacks with fresh vegetables and whole grain foods regularly in the office – sure!  Many workplaces I visit have lots of access to vending machines full of sugary products.  When they welcome a new employee or celebrate a birthday or successful project completion there are doughnuts or cake or….but what if you were to think “healthy” instead?  So the challenge is on…want to increase productivity – think healthy fresh food as another tool in your toolkit!

Take a look at some tips below from ZeroCater.

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How do we Retain our Millennial Generation?

 New generations have new demands and desires – have you discovered this with millennial’s?  I am sure you have!  Have you been trying to understand what it is that they are looking for, how to retain and attract them and really how to work with them?

We have been working with our clients on strategies to do just that!  What are the key things that we look at?  Take a look at the 5 strategies below:

  1. Provide feedback and do it often.  Our millennial’s want to know how they are doing and where they can improve.  Touch base with them often.  Make a point of having a sit down meeting every month or two to discuss how they are doing, any challenges they or you have been encountering and anything you wish to see improvement on.  Assist them to find the path to improvement.  Think about what it is that you can help them with in order to make them most successful in their role.
  1. Work/Life Balance.  Flexibility is important to our millennial’s.  They expect to be able to have flexibility in their work and home lives and to be able to balance these two things well.  To appeal to this audience, you will need to get rid of the rigid 9-5 schedule.  Look to offer flexible start and end times with defined core hours.  Look to allow your people to be able to book personal appointments during the day with the opportunity to make up the hours.  If you feel that there is abuse of this ability or that productivity is being impacted – deal with these issues head on – you may need to claw back the flexibility for a period of time until things improve.
  1. Ensure your Salary Offer is Competitive. Millennial’s expect to be paid appropriately for the position that they apply for or are working in.  They expect that you have done the research and are offering them something that is fair.  They also expect that you will monitor this and provide increases or rewards as they are warranted.
  1. Opportunities to Grow.  Ensure to offer growth opportunities and provide guidance and assistance for your people to be able to grow.  Look at helping them develop career plans and touch base with them on these plans from time to time to see how they are doing.  Keep them in mind for opportunities to work on a new project.  Support and allow for growth.
  1. Provide a Sense of Purpose.  A defined job description gives your people a clear understanding of what it is that they are to do and what is expected of them.  What can you do to show them how they fit into the big picture?  Explain which piece of the puzzle they are.  Show them how the pieces all work together to achieve the end result.  Ensure they understand what their contributions lead to.  Make them feel a part of the success.  When you are recruiting millennial’s, share this with them as well.  Build the excitement and they will want to be a part of it!

The above 5 items are key to retaining the millennial generation – but can be used to help the other generations as well.  If you actively keep these activities in mind, you will notice it will go a long way in the retention and attraction of this generation.

Do you have additional strategies that have worked well for you?  Provide comments, or feel free to email us.

Need help?  We offer HR Consulting, HR representation for your business and Flat Rate Recruiting!

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10 Ideas to Welcome your New Employee – the Right Way!

Have a new employee starting and want to make a great impression?  Of course you do!  Those first few days are key to winning over your new employee!

So what can you do?

Take a look at what you do already, what else can you do to enhance your current process?  Have you asked your newer employees what would have made them feel more welcome?  Sometimes you can get some good ideas this way!   Are you stuck?  Review the list below to provide you with some other thoughts.

10 ideas that will help make a great first impression!

  1. Be on the lookout for their arrival!  Have someone ready and available to great your new member of your team and welcome them.
  2. Company swag. Gather up some company swag with a nice welcoming card – have a team member or the manager sign the card.
  3. Plan for the first week and beyond. Provide your new rock star with a day by day plan for the next week or two that includes training to give them a great start!
  4. Company gathering. Gather the team or company together to have some munchies and welcome the new member to the team/company.  Think of something fun to do that would break the ice and create some fun.  There are tons of icebreakers out there to pick from.
  5. Office tour.  Have someone take the individual around the office to familiarize them with where supplies can be found, where they can eat their lunch etc.  Don’t be afraid to introduce them along the way!
  6. Introduction to the phone. During the first few days, take some time to introduce them to the phone system, how to use it, transfer calls, set up and retrieve voicemail etc.
  7. Don’t wait for the business cards – have them set up as of day one. It is a good feeling to see your name on a company business card and really feel part of the team – the bonus is that they can start to hand it out right away which means more visibility to the company!
  8. Computer/work space. Ensure there is a clean work space already set aside with a computer that is ready to go.  It would be helpful to also have someone give a quick demo of how to utilize the internal IT systems and how this infrastructure is set up.
  9. Arm them with access to the building. Ensure after their first day that they have the ability to enter the building without having to wait for others to arrive first.  This can often be a bone of contention!
  10. Provide a heads up to your staff! Let your staff know when the new employee is starting, what they will be doing and to please make them feel welcome.

How creative can you be?

These are just a few suggestions – there are many!  Can you be creative and make a great first impression?  What ideas do you have?  If you want to share, we may feature them in an upcoming blog!  Feel free to send them to:  christie@1stophrconsulting.com

Learn More About US

1 STOP HR was founded by Christie Ferguson, CHRP CHRL Christie is a certified Human Resources Professional & Leader with many years of hands on HR expertise.

Contact US

Tel: 226-750-3160
Email: info@1stophrconsulting.com

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