The costs of losing quality employees have been well established to be steep. Making sure that your company culture is one that motivates and attracts high-performing employees is critical.
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Creating a company culture that motivates and attracts high-performing employees is what everyone knows they need to do, but executing on that is where, many times, good intentions turn into questionable executions. The world’s greatest organizations get this and see true return on investment (ROI) by investing in their culture and people regularly. But, too often, managers listen to other managers and executives in their quest to engage and build high-performing teams rather than going straight to the source: their employees.
Recently, YouEarnedIt looked for the highest performers out of over 100,000 employees across more than over 250 global companies—the top .01%, to be precise. From our search, 10 people were selected based on the recognition they received from everyone across their company in 2016 on the YouEarnedIt platform. This list includes highly engaged employees from the retail, hospitality, finance, healthcare, advertising and media, transportation, and technology industries. They vary in job title and rank, years with the company, and generation.
We asked each winner to tell us how their employer creates a meaningful and motivating work environment, and the answers are awesome! We want to share their insights so other companies can boost employee engagement and create a workplace that leverages the power of culture to deliver stellar business results.
Here are nine ways to boost engagement, retain high performers, and differentiate your employer brand when fighting in the war for talent—straight from the source!
- Collaboration is king to building trust.
Working with a team of talented, focused, and fun-loving people ranked high for many of these elite employees. Emily Concannon, a member services manager at Car2Go, loves laughing and learning with the “brilliant group of people” she works with every day. Shawn Viduranga believes that what makes The Motley Fool a great place to work is its culture of trust. He feels motivated to do his best every day because his fellow employees believe he will make the right decisions. And, Sonal Mehta at Return Path never feels overwhelmed because she knows her team and friends are there to provide as much support as possible.
What are the keys here? Open, trusting environments full of communication and collaboration channels so employees get to know fellow team members on a meaningful level.
- Never stop learning.
High-performing employees want the opportunity to grow by learning new skills and taking on more responsibility. Dan Byrne, a logistics cocoordinator at Sony Australia, likes that the company offers flexibility for off-site training and opportunities to move and grow within the business. At The Motley Fool, Viduranga learns best from his peers and feels encouraged to try new things without worrying about the risk of failure.
Making learning and development a priority and a reality by offering a diversity of learning opportunities is key here. And, learning doesn’t need to break the bank. On-the-job moments for coaching, access to executives regularly, and encouragement to attend training opportunities all help.
- Connect with employees.
For Michael Carubba, a help desk technician at Fidelity Bank, treating each employee with respect is essential to finding, hiring, and keeping top talent. At Sony Australia, Byrne believes that when a company looks after its employees, business improves because a happy staff attracts and retains loyal clients—and he’s right.
Fostering a culture where management and leadership take a personal interest in the well-being of the team goes a long way to yielding committed, motivated team members that feel respected. So, where do you start? Encourage managers to get to know their teams on a deeper level, understanding their motivations and growth goals. Bonus points if you make regular one-on-ones a bottom-line expectation for all managers.
- Offer a flexible benefits package.
These top employees crave benefits that provide flexibility and promote a balanced lifestyle. Return Path offers flexible paid time off, which Mehta believes goes a long way to help employees establish work/life balance while staying committed to the company’s vision and mission.
At Merkle Inc., Copyeditor Veronica Moul appreciates the company’s relaxed dress code that allows her to wear Birkenstocks in the summer and comfortable clothes in the winter. So loosen up those rules, and relax a bit! And what about all those employee rewards that don’t seem to hit the spot? Ask your employees what they want, and craft your benefits and rewards package according to their needs.
- Provide perks with personality.
Studies show that nonmonetary rewards like pizza can be more effective and more meaningful than bonuses and cash. And, the feedback from these elite employees matches up. While offering potlucks or a team meal on a hectic day is always appreciated, employees love personalized perks.
For example, Katie Nelson, a delivery office supervisor at Big Sandy Superstores, enjoys that her company allows employees to purchase shoes from a local store and have it deducted from payroll. At Merkle Inc., Moul relishes coming to her beautifully decorated cubicle each day and savors the live plants throughout the office building.
At Equinix, Client Services Manager Jason Alcantara appreciates the company’s health initiatives like an app that employees can download and use to get paid for working out, free Fitbit trackers, and in-house yoga classes and massages.
- Support programs that support your community.
Your employees’ worlds don’t begin and end at the doors of the office. Each member of your team wants to know he or she is making a difference. Companies that recognize this desire to have an impact on others attract people who care about the bigger picture and those who have a service-oriented approach to many things.
At The Motley Fool, Viduranga appreciates and participates in the company’s Foolanthropy program, which encompasses community outreach and corporate giving. Many YouEarnedIt customers offer ways to give back to the community or a fellow coworker as a reward option. The happiest and most engaged employees are ones that are impacting others: It’s not about what you get, but what you give that matters.
Tomorrow we’ll hear more from Manning on how to keep your employees motivated and on board.
Autumn Manning is the CEO of YouEarnedIt.