The relationship between effective employee benefit packages and employee retention is clearly defined: it’s nearly impossible to improve the latter without paying for the former. If your workforce doesn’t like your employee wellness benefit program, they’re four times more likely to leave your company for greener pastures. While most execs aren’t thinking much about employee retention at the moment, they should be. Two out of three employees are quietly job hunting right now, according to a recent salary.com ... Read More

Why should you spend any time revamping your employee retention techniques now, in this economy? Aren’t employees just happy they have a job? Not really. Let me illustrate: Once, there was a man who lived in a small town, and drove a great distance every day to his work in a different town. The road was bumpy, narrow, steep, and riddled with potholes. Yet every day, the man drove his old car many miles to work. And his car broke down frequently, so he spent a great deal of money on repairs over the years, but he didn’t believe ... Read More

Life is gloriously circular. Lessons of childhood repeat. And teaching the lessons of childhood to our kids can be a tremendously powerful reminder of inexorable truths and insoluble tenets. To wit: picture a brow furrowed in fear, tears of worry and dread trickling down a sour visage, and quivering mouth forming those crippling words: “I can’t.” Endemic. Instant. Tragic. Who teaches us to imprison ourselves? It’s as if we’re programmed to sidestep disappointment by limiting our expectations. We fit ... Read More

More than in any other employment program arena, perceived value plays an important role in the degree of positive impact your employee benefits program has on employee productivity and retention. It’s a phenomenon you can leverage to generate goodwill and improve motivation among your staff, with just a little effort. There’s no shortage of benefit offerings. Pet insurance, supplemental insurance, flexible work hours, telecommute options, and Vacation Wellness™ programs are just a sampling of the wide array of available employee ... Read More

The Corporate Wellness Advisor reports that only 45% of US workers feel satisfied with their jobs, down from 52% in 2005 and 61% in 1987. With the highest unemployment rates in a half-century, you’d think the numbers would be going in the opposite direction – people should just be happy they have a job, right? But it’s not quite that simple. Feeling thankful for employment is not the same thing as feeling satisfied with your work environment and feeling engaged in your work. It’s worthwhile for employers and business owners to ... Read More

Our recent retention focus has revealed some interesting statistics. For instance, a 100-employee project management firm with $98K average annual employee salary and benefits package outlay, and a 14% annual turnover rate – the industry average – spends over $4.1 million every year replacing employees lost to voluntary turnover. As we’ve mentioned in other posts, your benefits package plays a monstrous role in the retention equation. Implementing an employee wellness program attractive enough to convince just 1/5 of the ... Read More

They wouldn’t be alone. Salary.com reports that while most employers think around 1/3 of their staff might be searching on the sly for another job, the truth is that close to 2/3 of your workforce is probably looking for a better offer. When you consider that replacing key staff can cost upwards of 300% of their positoin’s annual salary and benefits total, employee retention becomes a much higher priority. In fact, US businesses experience 14.7% voluntary turnover every year. Depending on your industry, average employee salary, ... Read More

It may seem strange to think about retention during a period of double-digit unemployment. If you chose to ignore retention, you wouldn’t be alone – 43% of business owners guess at their employee turnover costs, and 13% don’t consider employee turnover expenses at all. The Institute for Corporate Productivity reports that while only 20% of businesses have a retention strategy in place, 46% of businesses claim concern about retention to a “high” or “very high” extent. While few businesses pay as careful attention to ... Read More