By Nicole Martin

 

Engagement is a popular topic among business leaders right now, which is no surprise as the term is strongly tied to talent attraction and retention, productivity, creativity, and innovation. As a fractional HR professional specializing in talent management, clients often turn to me to assist them with their engagement strategy. While fostering workplace autonomy, better communication, and recognition all help to boost engagement, I advise them that one of the most important actions they can take is investing in employee growth and development.

I have all too often witnessed workers becoming frustrated when employers don’t provide or support a path toward advancement. They feel if the company doesn’t care enough to invest in them, why should they invest themselves in benefitting the company. These feelings are quite damaging to the organization, as they can lead to a negative culture, quiet quitting, and turnover – all impacting the bottom line.

Guild’s American Worker Survey revealed that workers are leaving their jobs because of lack of support in career advancement. They found that 41 percent of those who quit between April 2021 to April 2022 did so because of lack of development and advancement opportunities, and 74% said they would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to leave their current employer if they were offered another job with additional education and career opportunities.

Other numbers further underscore the imperative that employers focus on bolstering learning and development benefits. According to MetLife’s 2023 U.S. Employee Benefit Trends study, 35% of employees rate learning and development among the top three elements of the employee experience, with only 58% of employees saying they are satisfied with the professional growth and training opportunities offered by their employers.

The Support You Provide Employees in Advancing their Skills and Careers Matters

The statistics above indicate that focusing on career development is vital to the success and growth of your business. So how can you demonstrate to employees that you care about their professional success?

• Show interest in their career goals – listen to their aspirations and develop a strategy that helps to achieve them by defining a personalized career development path
• Offer a wide range of training, learning, and upskilling opportunities – provide the ability to help improve existing skill sets, train in other areas, pursue degrees or licenses, stay up to date on the latest industry trends, and reskill (which AI has made inevitable)
• Think beyond hard skills – soft skills are so important to improve the ability to work as part of a team, so expand your L&D offerings to include them
• Foster a mentoring environment – the advice gleaned from mentors that can be applied towards advancement is invaluable 

The return on investment and competitive advantage businesses can gain from career growth opportunities is huge. If you would like assistance with your learning and development initiatives, schedule a free consultation.

By Dan Darabaris

 

How competitive is your company’s paid leave? Do you have the right package to attract and keep the best workers? Paid time off can make a difference in recruiting and retaining top talent. Whether you offer it, and the length of it, can impact whether a candidate not only accepts a job offer, but if they even apply for the position in the first place, as well as if your workers stay with the organization for the long haul.

As an HR benefits specialist, I recommend to my clients that they assess the types of paid leave their competitors are offering, as well as ask employees the paid time off policies they would like to see implemented. This two-fold approach not only helps you remain competitive, but also identifies what matters most to your employees so you can build a happy workforce.

Below are the types of paid leave you should consider when creating, or modifying, your benefits packages.

Paid Leave Benefit Options

Vacation Time

This is probably the most popular paid time off benefit. It is up to you how you want to structure it. Typically, employees accrue vacation time based on hours worked or on a pay period basis, starting either immediately or after an introduction period.The amount of days off can increase with each year worked. Your employee handbook should include the rules around when and how employees accrue and can take vacation time, including notification periods.

Personal Days

There are times when workers need to take a day off for reasons other than vacation or being sick, such as a medical appointment, family emergency, moving, car issues, jury duty, etc. Personal days accommodate for these time off needs. They can also be used when a worker runs out of sick days. 

Sick Days

This type of paid leave benefit is for when the worker or a family member they care for are ill. Depending upon where your business or employees are located, you may be required to offer this benefit. Rules vary per state and may also include reasons other than illness, such as school events and “Safe Leave”, for victims of harassment and abuse. It’s important to check each state in which you have employees to make sure you are compliant. As of September 30, 2023, the following states have paid sick time laws: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, along with Washington D.C.. Many cities and counties have also passed their own paid sick time mandates.

Holidays

Most companies offer paid time off for specific holidays, especially Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I typically recommend that my clients offer paid time off for the federal holidays, which helps them remain competitive. You can also offer floating holidays, such as when a major holiday falls on a weekend, that workers can use any day during the year. 

Bereavement

To help cope with the loss of a loved one or friend, you may want to consider offering paid time off for bereavement. The amount of time given can depend on the relationship to the deceased.. 

Family Leave

Depending upon where your employees are located, you may be required to offer protected paid family leave for birth, adoption, foster care placement, or, to care for a spouse/child/parent with a health condition. As of September 30, 2023, the following states mandate a form of paid family leave: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington D.C. Some cities also have family leave requirements. These benefits are paid through a state fund that both the employee and employer contribute to, and therefore are paid directly from the state, not the employer.

Jury Duty

While workers get a stipend to be a juror, the amount is quite minimal – and not all jurisdictions pay. You may want to offer to pay your workers their regular wages while they are out for mandated jury duty. In fact, some states require you to do so. 

Voting Time

To encourage voter participation, consider offering a few hours of paid time off on election days. Workers will appreciate being able to vote during less busy hours. Most states mandate that voting time is paid, usually up to two hours.

Community Service

Many workers, particularly younger ones, want to make a difference in their communities. Offering some paid time off to perform community service could be enticing.

Unlimited PTO

Some companies are combining sick, personal and vacation days into unlimited paid time off (PTO). If you are thinking about this system, it’s important to consider how you are going to manage it. It’s important to note that while combining sick leave with other forms of PTO is easier to manage, all time then must be in compliance with the state sick leave laws. 

Whichever types of paid leave you decide to offer your workers, be sure to outline who receives them, along with the qualifications necessary for receiving and using them, in your employee handbook.

Monarch can provide an HR Compliance audit to make sure that all leave offerings are compliant on both the State and Federal levels.

By Dan Darabaris

 

Having trouble attracting and retaining the right workforce even though you offer competitive wages? Maybe it’s time you reassess your benefits offering. Today’s workers want more than just a good paycheck. They’re prioritizing health, flexibility, and work-life balance. Do the perks you’re offering fit what candidates are seeking? 

As an HR benefits specialist, I make it my job to be on top of the current in-demand workplace perks. Below is a list of those that I’m seeing employees are valuing most right now.

Top Workplace Perks

Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance

A good health insurance plan with robust coverage, including dental and vision, along with low out of pocket costs, continues to be the most important perk. 

Wellness Programs and Benefits

Since the pandemic, employees are particularly making health a priority, so wellness programs and benefits are particularly attractive. These can range from biometric screenings, fitness competitions, and team sports to gym memberships and reimbursement for fitness trackers. 

Paid Family Leave

Where paid family leave is not mandatory, this is a popular perk for workers of all ages. Younger workers are looking for PTO after birth/adoption, while older workers want the time to care for aging loved ones. 

Flexible Hours

Flexibility as to when you work is key to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Having some control over when you complete your tasks allows workers to more effectively manage their professional and personal lives.  

More Vacation Time

Surveys indicate that many workers prioritize an increase in paid time off over a raise in salary. Allowing sufficient time for employees to recharge is also beneficial to an organization’s bottom line as it boosts productivity. 

More Sick Time

A robust sick day policy demonstrates that you care about your workers’ well being, plus it can help keep your office healthy by preventing the spread of contagious illnesses such as the flu and COVID.

Learning and Development Opportunities

Workers want to know that you are invested in their professional development. Offering opportunities to learn new skills by participating in training programs or workshops, along with providing reimbursement for other educational endeavors, goes a long way in demonstrating you value your employees and their path to advancement.

Retirement Benefits

Employer-sponsored retirement plans help your workers save for the future and provide a savings structure that they might not otherwise have.

Home Office Budget

With hybrid and full remote work options being so popular, workers appreciate when employers provide money to go towards a home office, from desks and comfy chairs to extra monitors and headphones.

Employee Recognition Rewards

Most of all, workers want to know they are appreciated, and employee recognition achieves that. Formal moments of recognition, performance bonuses, and team reward points to use towards purchases all show your appreciation for a job well done.

Employee expectations are more elevated than ever. If you want to compete, you need to make sure your workplace perks are keeping you in the game.

It’s important to periodically complete a Benefits Analysis to ensure you are being competitive in the market. In employees’ eyes, benefits equal additional compensation, so you want to make sure your offerings are robust to attract and retain top talent.  Monarch can provide a comprehensive benefits analysis for all size companies, please reach out to schedule yours today.

By Dan Darabaris

 

In an effort to address pay equity, lawmakers are taking action. Many state and local jurisdictions are passing pay transparency laws to try and close the pay gaps based on race and gender. The latest such law was just signed by Illinois’ Governor Pritzker. Broadly, these laws require employers to disclose compensation and pay range information. 

The scope of the laws, however, vary by jurisdiction. Some laws go beyond pay disclosure and include job description and record keeping requirements. Others prohibit employers from asking about salary history. To whom the law applies also varies.

For example, in New York, employers with at least four employees must disclose the compensation or range of compensation in any advertisement for a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity. Additionally, they must also disclose the job description, if there is one. Plus, employers must keep records that show the job description and compensation range history for each job opportunity. This applies to both in-person and remote jobs if the person performing the remote job reports to someone in New York state. 

New York City has its own pay transparency law, that requires covered employers in the city to list the minimum and maximum salaries or hourly wages, which were determined in good faith at the time of the job posting, for all advertised job, promotion, and job transfer opportunities if the positions can or will be performed – at least in part – within the city. The city council recently introduced a bill that would expand the law even further to also include a job description and description of non-wage compensation, such as bonuses, benefits, stocks, bonds, options, and equity ownership.

California’s pay transparency law applies to employers with 15 or more employees. They must post a pay scale in an open job advertisement. If the positions could ever be filled in California, either remotely or in person, the pay transparency law applies. 

Jurisdictions with Pay Transparency Laws

With enactments on the rise, businesses need to be aware of any pay transparency laws in their state or city so they can ensure compliance and avoid penalties and investigations. Below is a list of jurisdictions with such laws (as of 9-1-23).

States:

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Illinois

Maryland

Nevada

New York

Rhode Island

Washington

Cities:

New York City, NY

Jersey City, New Jersey

Ithaca, NY

Westchester County, NY

Cincinnati, OH

Toledo, OH

How Pay Transparency Laws Benefit Employers

When I broach this topic with my clients, many raise concerns that the compensation disclosure requirements may place them at a recruiting disadvantage. This may be true, but the laws also come with some benefits:

• Knowing what your competitors are paying can help you be more competitive when it comes to compensation
• Including pay information may help you attract more qualified applicants
• Applicants may view you as more transparent, increasing interest in your company
• Disclosing pay up front may streamline your application process by weeding out disinterested applicants

 

Wondering how evolving pay transparency laws impact your business and how to stay compliant? Our team of HR consultants can help. Schedule your free consultation.

By Nicole Martin

 

How satisfied are your employees with their jobs? If you don’t know, you’re in danger of losing them.

The key to retaining top talent is making sure they are happy. You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, they haven’t complained . . .” Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Just because your workers haven’t come to you with concerns or don’t appear disgruntled doesn’t mean that they like their jobs. Their staying quiet could actually be a red flag, as they might not feel comfortable enough, or care enough, to approach you. 

Because silence doesn’t equal approval, and the estimated cost of employee turnover is 33% of employee annualized salary, it’s important that management know how to monitor employee satisfaction.  As the talent management leader at Monarch HR Consulting, I routinely help organizations devise employee satisfaction measurement strategies. Below are a few of the tools I like to use.

Tools for Monitoring Employee Satisfaction 

Human Observation

This may sound simple, but human observation can be a powerful way to monitor satisfaction. Is your talent enthusiastic when they come into the workplace? Do they appear to be motivated to do their tasks? Do they engage with other team members? Are they meeting deadlines? Are they producing quality work? Do they ask for more challenging assignments? How often are they absent? The answers to these questions will give you insight into whether your talent are content in their roles.

Surveys

A well-organized anonymous survey, whether it’s a longer annual survey or a short pulse questionnaire, can help you gauge employee satisfaction. The questions should focus on culture, benefits, career development, job satisfaction, communication, teamwork, engagement, and performance. Make sure the questions are easy to understand and answer.

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

The eNPS helps management determine how employees feel about the company based on one single question: “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend this company’s products and services to others?” A 9 or 10 indicates the employee is a promoter. 7 or 8 indicates that they are passive, meaning they don’t feel strongly one way or the other. 0 to 6 refers to detractors, i.e., those who are not happy with their job and are likely to jump ship.

Employee Satisfaction Index (ESI)

The ESI is a great tool for measuring the contentment of talent. It is a survey that asks a series of questions with answers ranking on a scale, usually between 1 and 10. You use a formula to calculate the ESI percentage. Below is a common baseline:

• 80-100: Very high satisfaction
• 70-79: High satisfaction
• 60-69: Acceptable satisfaction
• 50-60: Low satisfaction
• 0-50: Very low satisfaction 

Regular Meetings

Although not anonymous, a one-on-one meeting can provide valuable feedback and data – if you ask the right questions. This gives talent the opportunity to raise any issues and concerns, as well as management the ability to tap into how the employee feels about their performance, career development goals, workload, obstacles, tasks, job expectations, and more.

Suggestion Boxes

Many employees have something to say, but don’t want management to know it is they who are saying it. A suggestion box allows your workforce to anonymously share their thoughts and opinions in a safe setting.