Archive for category: Blog

In the HR world things are changing super fast!  One Donation tracks trends many trends such as job satisfaction and employee engagement – and there are a lot of tools that provide instant feedback. This is all great… while at the same time, not so great.

In today’s post, we are going to address the topic of employee retention, focused on retaining younger employees.  After reading, please leave your thoughts in the comments section.

To begin, below are two questions. Give them a quick read and think about your answers. Several business owners that I know personally have answered yes to the following two simple questions.   

1. With older employees retiring – how can I maintain the same level of employee knowledge and experience when new employees are barely lasting one year? Is this a problem that your business is facing?
2. In the past two years, has your business invested vast amounts time, money, and resources to perform company wide training on how to work with younger employees?

During our customer research, we came across many executives that answered yes to these two questions. At the end of the day, the workforce is changing and as business owners and executives you need to stay ahead or run the risk of closing your doors.

Most companies have developed answers to the above questions and some may even be successful in implementing the solutions. Too often times the businesses are leaning heavily on the veteran employees in order to make of the difference between new hires and the necessary knowledge and experience required to do the job. One major issue with this solution however is that takes time away from training new employees and developing new clients.

Why are we having trouble keeping and developing new employees?

One explanation is that the current work force is not committed to one profession or business.  Gone are the days of company loyalty, and for good reason. Companies for the most part have not shown loyalty to their employees.

In John Rossheim’s article (Keeping Options Open is Key to Career Path), he discusses how people can keep their options open by networking on social media, viewing a post, or simply keeping a current resume published to the web.  This is important to young employees because they are completing a degree with no professional development and probably are loaded with school debt, are taking the first thing available. This leads to job hopping in hopes to make an extra buck to find that place that they will be “happy”.

Is there a solution?

There is a solution that, when executed properly, can help with the retention of new employees. The solution starts during the interview process. When the applicant moves past the first rounds of interviews and looks like a great fit for your business, the interviewer should now focus on the questions by the applicant and what drives them.

In the last couple of interviews that I conducted, four out of five applicants asked about the companies local community involvement. These individuals were more concerned about how the company supports the community than how much they would get paid. Another regular question I received from interviewees was about their role and ability to participate in the companies corporate outreach.

If you are like most businesses, you are probably saying, “Wow, we already do this! And yes, you can participate!” But in reality, your company may do this with HR representatives sending out big checks, sponsoring and playing in golf tournaments, or executives serving the poor. In our experience, the people participating are those in upper level management or in HR.  The new employee is not directly participating in the companies community outreach and most importantly they do not feel like they are a part of the team.

If I were to give one solution to keep new employees it would be to:

Listen to the new employees questions during the interview, hear what they are focused on aside from the paycheck, and make sure they have the ability to participate in the programs that interest them.

It’s no secret employee turnover is one of the highest costs for a company. On average replacing an employee costs 20 – 100% of an employee’s annual salary depending on position.

Turnover can be reduced up to 50% by creating a culture of employee engagement through a dynamic payroll deduction service where the employee chooses where they want their donations to go. This combination strengthens partnerships between the company and their employees.

One Donation can help decrease employee turnover up to 50%. Click Here for More
Information

 

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a poem by Robert Fulgham.  The poem starts off like this:

Most of What I really need

to know about how to live

And what to do and how to be

I learned in Kindergarten.

Recently my son started kindergarten and I have the pleasure to take him to school most mornings.  Every morning I usually get a new joke, a question that I usually do not know the answer, a lesson on what he learned the day before or a story about one of his new friends.  It is crazy because a month has gone by in an instant.  

This made me think….

What else has gone by in an instant?  

Am I missing anything (Big or Small)?

I referred to this poem to start this blog because it took my kindergarten son to make me slow down and think to see what I am missing.  Just like a majority of the world, I was going through a routine of work, home, weekend, paycheck, pay bills and repeat.  As life was passing me by it took my son to open my eyes to see what I was missing.  While on a regular field trip to the grocery my son said dad let’s get some flowers for mom.  This was not out of the ordinary but something I have not done in a while and made me think of the happiness created by a simple gesture.  

Simple gestures are often not in our everyday routine that brings joy to both the giver and receiver.  This also made me think maybe I need to change my routine a little and see what type of simple gestures I can make in home and my community.  My next simple gesture is to make a donation to a non-profit in the community but not of my choice but that of my kindergarten son.  

Maybe everything I need to know I did not learn in kindergarten; however it took me a kindergartener to remind me of the things I forgot.     

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, a few members of the One Donation team had the privilege of working alongside several great non-profits at the Project Uplift USA Freedom Balloon Fest in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina.

For the event, One Donation partnered with the No Greater Love Foundation to auction a few donated items and to spread the word about their great mission.

The mission of the No Greater Love Foundation is to provide our Nation’s Military Warriors and their families, with opportunities to recover from the stress and physical hardships of protecting and serving America. They accomplish their mission by providing a Faith Based Ministry that supports recovery, resiliency, and renewal of Spirit.

If getting to meet and work alongside folks from the No Greater Love Foundation were not enough, we were also surrounded by several other great organizations.

Directly to one side of our tent was Special Ops Survivors, they embrace and empower the spouses of our fallen heroes. This amazing group of special ops personnel have fulfilled their mission since 2002.

A few of the other great organizations we had the privilege of meeting were the Civil Air Patrol and Military Missions in Action. Below are snippets from the mission of each organization:

Civil Air Patrol – As a Total Force partner and Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, Civil Air Patrol is there to search for and find the lost, provide comfort in times of disaster and work to keep the homeland safe. Its 56,000 members selflessly devote their time, energy and expertise toward the well-being of their communities, while also promoting aviation and related fields through aerospace/STEM education and helping shape future leaders through CAP’s cadet program.

Military Missions in Action – MISSION: Dedicated to assisting veterans with disabilities, members of the Armed Forces and their families. VISION: To set the standard of support for our veterans with disabilities, members of the Armed forces and their families by engaging neighbors, business and organizations. CORE VALUES: Accountability, Dedication, Honor, Integrity, Patriotism, Service. 

In all honesty, it was not until my drive home to Knoxville, Tennessee that I was able to really digest the importance of the weekend and the true meaning behind Memorial Day. There are tons of non-profit organizations that serve our fallen heroes, the military and their families. I encourage you to find an organization and support that organization however you can; either financially or with your time. And always remember…

USA is the land of the free because we are the HOME OF THE BRAVE.