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Employee Retention

9 tips to design a stay interview process that drives retention

Less than a third of businesses include a stay interview in their employee lifecycle. That’s despite the fact that over half of leaving employees feel that their manager or employer could’ve done something to stop them from quitting.

This shows how little employers actually connect with their employees to find out how they feel about what’s happening in the business. 

Are they happy with their manager? Do they feel connected to the business direction and mission? Is there something that could make their job easier? 

These are simple questions that can solve huge problems—and save you a lot of money hiring and training new recruits.

So, how can you design a stay interview process that drives retention?

Interview someone from each department

While this can be time intensive, it’s one of the most effective ways to spot gaps in your business. 

Just because the sales team is happy, that doesn’t mean finance is. Just like every business has its own culture, so too does each department. The only way you’ll fully understand this is to connect with as many people as possible in the form of a stay interview.

(Read to the end for a way to streamline this process.)

Automate invites

Organizing times for everyone to connect can be almost as time-consuming as the stay interview itself. 

There are plenty of scheduling tools out there that you can use now that will automatically pull from the interviewer’s schedule, then offer those times to the interviewees. This can save hours of time responding to back-and-forth emails and reduces the likelihood that anyone gets double-booked.

Create a safe space

Employees need to feel comfortable being open and honest. Otherwise they either won’t want to be a part of the stay interview, or they won’t provide honest enough answers for them to be useful.

To create this psychological safety, you need to reassure employees anything they say is free from repercussions. And have a culture where employees believe you when you say it.

If you conduct the stay interview in person, be sure to hold it somewhere comfortable. A formal meeting room can be intimidating and change the atmosphere around the conversation compared to a café or a more informal meeting area with sofas and coffee tables.

The atmosphere sets the tone for the meeting, meaning the location you choose plays an important role in getting the best possible responses.

Allow for anonymity

Sometimes, no matter what your company culture is, employees will feel better if they can share their feedback anonymously. 

Perhaps they could provide comments in a written format rather than via an in-person or video stay interview. For instance, a survey could be less stressful than a live conversation.

Some people also find it easier to articulate their thoughts this way as they don’t have to think on the spot. A flexible format allows them to provide you with more useful answers.

Create more opportunities for feedback

The more chances you give employees to give you feedback, the more useful answers you’re going to get. 

Everyone thinks and expresses how they feel differently, which means while some people will be comfortable talking to you in person about how things really are in their working lives, others will not.

The more feedback opportunities you have, the more scalable the stay interview process becomes. Interviewing everyone isn’t scalable, but sending an automated employee feedback survey is.

We can help you with just that! Using Workrowd, you can set up an employee feedback survey to go out regularly, then we’ll analyze the results for you automatically. 

That way, you have more time to dig into the answers and make changes based on the results.

Consider who conducts the interview

If an employee gets along with their line manager, it makes sense for them to conduct the stay interview. 

But in some cases, employees simply won’t feel comfortable being that candid with the person they report to directly. 

If half of employees leave because of their manager, are they really going to be honest that they dislike how the team is run to the person responsible for the team culture?

It can therefore be helpful for other people to conduct these interviews, such as HR personnel or a manager from a different department. You could even bring in someone external if budget allows. The key is to find someone objective and not directly involved in what’s happening in the team.

Ask useful questions

Make sure the questions you ask allow you to collect genuinely useful information. Things like:

  • What do you enjoy about your job?
  • What would make your job easier?
  • How do you feel about employee recognition?
  • Would you like more training opportunities? If so, what would you like to learn?
  • What causes you to feel stressed or anxious about work?
  • How well do you get along with your team members?
  • How do you feel about your manager?

Understanding how employees feel about work and their colleagues will give you a well-rounded picture of what’s happening. This can help you spot problems early, giving you a better chance to take action before things spiral and become bigger issues.

Act on feedback

If you don’t take action based on the feedback employees provide, they won’t see the point in giving you any. 

Look for patterns in what employees say, and consider ways to change things that they feel aren’t working. This is one of the key steps to improving your company culture by incorporating a stay interview.

Conclusion

A stay interview is a simple yet effective way to boost your retention rates. It can also help you spot issues before they spiral into something larger that’s harder to deal with.

Collect regular employee feedback

Another great way to see how your employees really feel is by sending regular employee engagement surveys. Putting them together can be time-consuming and tricky, but with Workrowd, you can automate it! Better yet, we can analyze the results for you on the fly, giving you more time to support your employees. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

9 tips to design a stay interview process that drives retention
9 creative employee recognition ideas to accelerate engagement
Tips to set your internal communications strategy up for success
Categories
Employee Engagement

9 creative employee recognition ideas to accelerate engagement

A little recognition can go a long way towards improving company culture and employee morale. So if you’re looking for some creative employee recognition ideas, you’re on the right track.

An employee who’s received recognition is 63% more likely to stay for the next three to six months, while a lack of recognition and engagement contributes to 44% of employees quiet quitting and/or changing jobs.

Recognition is a great way to reinforce positive attitudes, behaviors, and habits—far more effective than punishing someone for doing something wrong or making a mistake.

92% of employees are more likely to repeat an action if they receive recognition for it.

And, to top it off, 40% of US employees would put more effort into their work if they received more recognition. That’s a lot of employees who feel undervalued and underappreciated. And therefore aren’t working as hard as they would with the right culture.

If you’re seeing this in your business, implementing some creative employee recognition ideas can help you turn the tide.

Do you have a culture of recognition?

Whether someone has landed a new client, built a product really quickly, worked especially hard on a new project, or something else, celebrating them should be a no-brainer. It makes them feel like a valued member of the team and like they belong at your organization.

At most of my previous roles, no one ever said thank you like they meant it. It was always a quick “thanks” at the end of the day/week, when someone was going home. It felt more like an add-on or a courtesy rather than something someone actually meant.

Those places simply didn’t have cultures where employees’ hard work was recognized. Or at the very least, vocalized well. In fact, some people in positions of leadership genuinely admitted to feeling uncomfortable giving praise. Not a great example to set, I’m sure you’ll agree.

There was never a high-five (virtual or in person) around a job well done. When someone said “thank you” it felt like an off-hand, mandatory comment. Asking someone if they were making a pot of coffee was often said with more enthusiasm.

On the other hand, I can tell that people at Workrowd genuinely mean “thanks” when they say it. 

How? 

It’s in how they say it. The language usage; the timing; the detail; the fact it’s not the same words every time.

Even employees who don’t read into language as much as a writer like me will pick up on subtle cues. 

And that will affect how they feel about work and how much you get out of them in the short- and long-term. So let’s get into some creative employee recognition ideas to help you delight your team.

9 creative employee recognition ideas

If you want to establish or reinforce a positive culture, how do you show your employees you appreciate them?

Here are 9 creative employee recognition ideas:

Shoutout channel

This is a simple one that anyone can do: create a channel on Slack or Teams, or dedicate a krowd on Workrowd to celebrating people’s hard work. And use it!

If the space is quiet, people may feel uncomfortable reviving it. If it’s used regularly, employees will be more likely to want to give their colleagues a shoutout. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It starts with managers leading by example: if they create a culture of virtual high-fives, employees will follow suit. This might start with employees reacting to the posts, then it can escalate to them posting their own shoutouts too.

As creative employee recognition ideas go, this one costs nothing and can pay real dividends.

Meeting shoutouts

If someone has done something particularly well for the team, why not give them a shoutout in a meeting?

Sure, they might get a bit bashful, but they’ve worked hard. Don’t they deserve for the rest of the team to know how great they are?

When it comes to creative employee recognition ideas, something as simple as verbal acknowledgement can go a long way.

A day off for their birthday

Giving employees a day off for their birthday shows that you value their time. Make it clear you don’t expect them to work on a day that should be spent how they want, not how their employer chooses.

Decorate their desk for their birthday

If you give employees a day off for their birthday, you can do this the day before or after.

Balloons, streamers, a sash or a hat are all fun ways to show employees you appreciate them. And of course, it makes for some fun social media content.

You could also get them their favorite treat for everyone to munch on and celebrate as another creative employee recognition ideas option.

Celebrate them on social media

If an employee uses social media, why not give them a shoutout?

You could put together a montage of some of their achievements (if you already take lots of photos/videos) or write something heartfelt about the difference they make to the team.

Don’t just do this when someone is leaving! By then it’s too late.

Instead, use it to celebrate milestone achievements, special occasions, or even have an “employee of the week” feature where you celebrate someone different each week. These types of creative employee recognition ideas can make team members feel truly special.

Offer sabbaticals

Even if employees love their roles, that doesn’t mean they don’t still need a break sometimes. But it can be scary to go on a long-term break if you don’t know that you’ll have a job when you get back.

Allowing employees the chance to take a sabbatical shows them that you understand how hard they work, that they deserve a break, and that you value them enough to want them to come back after they’ve recharged.

It’s one of the creative employee recognition ideas that will truly set you apart from the competition.

Give extra PTO to long-term employees

Why not reward your long-term employees with extra days off based on how long they’ve worked with you?

This could help with retention too, as employees will want to stay to get the extra paid time off. Plus, those who’ve got it won’t want to give it up.

Offer training opportunities 

Employees understand better than ever that learning is a lifelong pursuit if they want to be at the forefront of their industry.

More than half want to develop skills that will put them in a better position for new opportunities in their current role, but only 32% are satisfied with their employer’s L&D perks. 

39% will likely leave within a year for a role with better learning opportunities. So if you’re not implementing creative employee recognition ideas that support your team’s future development, you’re risking high turnover and expensive hiring costs.

Connect employees with their colleagues

Work can be isolating, especially for underrepresented talent or people working at home.

Connecting employees with their colleagues using a platform like Workrowd helps them network, learn new skills, and discover new opportunities. It’s a powerful tool in your employee recognition and retention arsenal.

Get in touch to book your free demo and find out more.

Conclusion

Employee appreciation doesn’t have to involve grand gestures. But implementing some creative employee recognition ideas to show your team that you value them giving you their time and energy each day helps keep them motivated to serve you and your customers.

Ready to put some of these creative employee recognition ideas into action? Workrowd has the tools you need to make it a breeze. From setting up a dedicated space for recognition to monitoring employee feedback with automated surveys, you can do more in less time.

Which frees you to come up with even more creative employee recognition ideas. Drop us a note to schedule some time to talk at hello@workrowd.com today.

9 tips to design a stay interview process that drives retention
9 creative employee recognition ideas to accelerate engagement
Tips to set your internal communications strategy up for success
Categories
Employee Engagement

Tips to set your internal communications strategy up for success

It’s easy to miss what’s happening at work when you’ve been sick, on vacation, or just busy. It isn’t always easy to catch up. That’s where a good internal communications strategy comes in.

Employees can struggle to stay in the loop when announcements are only shared via email or over chat and they have a ton of messages to read, let alone reply to.

75% of employees feel they miss out on company news because their employer has no internal communications department. Or they do and the department doesn’t deliver what they need.

Which isn’t surprising: 60% of companies have no long-term internal communications strategy.

This isn’t in line with what employees want. 44% want companies to adopt internal communications tools and 75% feel socially isolated. 

A better internal communications strategy can’t solve social isolation, but it can help lessen it. It can make employees feel more like a part of a team and like they’re working towards something bigger than them.

So how can you improve your internal communications strategy and set it up for success? Let’s dive in:

Be transparent

How much do you share with your employees about what’s happening in your business?

Do you share numbers like monthly profit or churn?

Sharing this information can help employees visualize what’s happening and help motivate them to reach team and company goals.

It’s important to be honest if things are going badly just as much as if they’re going well. This puts things into context as well as acting as a motivator.

Open communication is also good for employee morale. In fact, a third of employees said that a lack of it had the most negative impact on employee morale. Which means a solid internal communications strategy can make a big difference.

Send digital updates regularly

Setting a regular cadence around your internal communications strategy is also important. If employees know when to expect updates from you, they can more easily keep an eye out for them. If you send them sporadically, your updates are far more likely to get lost in the noise.

For example, you could set a schedule of updating every Monday morning. That way, the news is in someone’s inbox when they start work for the week, or shortly after when they’ve caught up on their weekend emails.

Keep it relevant

If there isn’t much to report, don’t ramble on for the sake of sending an update. Respect employees’ time and say there isn’t anything new to report.

In most cases, there will be something, whether that’s progress on a new deal, customers churning, people starting/leaving a role, or upcoming public holidays and how that will affect them (for instance if they get the day off). Your internal communications strategy should cover all of these elements.

Create an internal knowledge base

It can take up to eight months for employees to reach full productivity when they start a new role. They have a lot to learn about your offerings and ways of operating. Plus, they have many people to get to know. Because of that, your internal communications strategy can’t just focus on outreach.

If you want to shorten employees’ ramp-up process, an internal knowledge base where they can get FAQs answered is key and will make onboarding faster for your new hires and their managers. 

It also removes the embarrassment that comes from asking what can feel like basic questions. In addition, it ensures that the information people need is written down in an easy-to-find location.

New hires are also great for helping you spot gaps in your knowledge base. Be sure to ask them if there’s anything they’d add to it.

Have regular meetings

Even with frequent email or chat outreach, there’s still the possibility people will miss your updates. Covering them in a company-wide meeting means as many people will hear your message as possible.

These regular check-ins humanize leadership so that they don’t feel untouchable. Instead, they’re more approachable like other colleagues.

This ties back into being open and honest. You can only do that if you’re routinely sharing updates with your employees about what’s going on in the business in line with your internal communications strategy.

Track your success metrics

The only way you can be sure that your internal communications strategy works is if you have the right data. What do you want to track?

It could be your employee engagement metrics and how sharing news affects them; how often employees share about the company on social media; how comfortable employees feel coming to you with issues; the percentage of employees who fill in your feedback surveys.

Remember: just because you don’t get negative feedback, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It might mean that employees don’t feel comfortable coming to you with their problems. In that case you have a serious employee experience challenge to tackle.

Use Workrowd

Workrowd can help you and your employees connect more easily. You can ensure you’re sending messages out to the right groups; keep every document and announcement they need in one place; and automate surveys to collect feedback. Not only does that cut down on unnecessary messages, but even if someone misses an email or social media post for whatever reason, they can still find all the information they need with just a couple clicks.

We can also help you track the impact of your employee programs, groups, and events with real-time analytics. That way you can act on the results—and improve your employee experience—faster.

Want to find out more? Get in touch today to book your free demo.

Conclusion

Your internal communications strategy plays a huge role in employee engagement and morale. It ensures people know what’s happening and means they can better prepare for what’s ahead, whether that’s positive or negative.

Knowing what’s happening within the business and wider industry is also a motivating factor for many people. Meaning it can help you get more from your workforce.

If you’d like to get better results from your internal communications strategy, why not try Workrowd? We can help you more effectively share updates with your team, collect feedback, and so much more. Visit us online to see how we can partner to deliver more value for your employees with less stress.

9 tips to design a stay interview process that drives retention
9 creative employee recognition ideas to accelerate engagement
Tips to set your internal communications strategy up for success
Categories
Employee Experience

5 questions to help resolve a big employee experience challenge

The complexity of today’s world of work can make it feel like as soon as you overcome one employee experience challenge, another one rears its head. Staying focused on employee engagement through it all is crucial for your attraction and retention efforts.

The cost of low employee engagement is $450-500 billion per year. On the flip side, good company culture quadruples revenue. This goes to show just how much the way employees feel about their jobs really matters.

When you find yourself with an employee experience challenge, it’s important to explore what’s going on and look at ways to fix it. Otherwise, you risk not just losing employees, but increasing disengagement among those who remain.

So let’s explore the questions you should ask when facing an employee experience challenge.

What do you think is wrong?

If you feel your company has an employee engagement problem, it’s time to be honest with yourself. Consider what’s happening.

Has there been a change of leadership that’s left people feeling uncertain?

Have there been layoffs that have made people fearful for their jobs? Or perhaps their workload has changed as a result of the cuts and they’re struggling?

Could it be that they feel their work isn’t valued, or that their manager takes credit for what they do? A little thank you goes a long way—37% of employees feel recognition is important. But how many of them actually get the recognition they want or deserve?

Or, could it be that your employees are bored? The main reason a third of people leave their roles is boredom. Boredom can come from work feeling too repetitive, not having enough to do, or a lack of satisfaction/purpose.

It’s important to provide employees with regular training and career advancement opportunities. That way they can learn new skills to benefit them in the workplace and prevent boredom or another employee experience challenge.

What do employees really think?

You can’t make changes until you know what employees really think.

While an open-door policy sounds nice, the truth is that most employees will never use it. Even if they have a concern. They may be afraid of negative consequences, or simply lack the confidence to advocate for themselves.

Many employees have worked in places where “open-door” policies didn’t actually create a safe space for raising issues. Or they believe that HR is only there to protect the business, not support employees.

If they’ve had those experiences or hold those beliefs, why would they speak up about an employee experience challenge?

If you really want to know what’s going on, you need to actively reach out to employees and ask them. And provide a safe place for them to respond.

How can you collect honest feedback?

It doesn’t matter how open your culture is; there will be some opinions employees will feel more comfortable sharing anonymously. This is especially true if they’re female, a person of color, or early in their career.

The potential backlash for underrepresented talent in the workplace is huge, no matter how many times managers or colleagues seek to reassure them. We’ve all been there or heard a horror story.

It’s therefore important to find a way to collect honest feedback. The best way is with an anonymized feedback survey.

When employees can share their opinions anonymously, they don’t have to worry as much about anything they say coming back to bite them unless they share something identifiable, such as the team they work in.

How can you fix things?

Now that you know what’s happening, it’s time to look at how to fix the problem.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, which means you can’t resolve an employee experience challenge overnight.

But what you can do is demonstrate to employees that you’re listening.

This could be through asking in a survey what you could do better, sharing the results of the survey, and/or listing actions that you plan to take based on the survey.

There’s no magic fix for anything. But the sooner you analyze your survey results and take action, the sooner you can get your employee experience challenge sorted and get back on track.

How can you prevent this from happening again?

It’s all very well and good finding out what’s wrong. But does knowing what’s wrong really matter if you don’t take steps to prevent it from happening again?

Going around in circles with your employee experience challenge will lead to frustration and disengagement among employees. This will inevitably lead to them leaving, which means you risk losing your top performers.

Setting up ERGs where employees can connect with their colleagues can help to combat loneliness and boost belonging.

While this may sound like a small or trivial thing, it really can make a huge difference to an employee’s mental health, and therefore their productivity.

If you’d like to get the most from your ERGs—and your employees—Workrowd can help. Streamline marketing, management, and measurement for your groups so that they can drive real business impact. Contact us to find out more.

Conclusion

An employee experience challenge can be difficult to identify and fix, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to solve.

It requires listening to your employees’ concerns and taking active steps to address them so that they know you’re listening and value both their feedback and the time they spend working for you.

Get the feedback you need to solve your employee experience challenge

Workrowd can help you keep a pulse on your employee experience with automated feedback surveys and real-time analytics. Meaning you can adapt to any employee experience challenge before it spirals. Plus, you’ll get more time to solve issues and prevent further problems.

If you want to find out more, visit us online to get in touch and book your free demo.

9 tips to design a stay interview process that drives retention
9 creative employee recognition ideas to accelerate engagement
Tips to set your internal communications strategy up for success
Categories
Employee Experience

6 areas where HR process automation and AI can save you time

Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day? HR process automation could be your ticket to getting more done with less stress.

The most time-consuming tasks are often the most repetitive ones that don’t require a ton of thought. 73% of HR’s day gets taken up by these types of tasks. This obviously leaves less time to have meaningful interactions with team members or to innovate on providing a better employee experience.

Half of the work done in today’s age can be automated, yet only 37% commonly is.

HR process automation can help you improve employee engagement, save money, and get more done in less time.

In fact, companies that embraced HR process automation saved 90% of the time they spent on admin tasks.

Let’s explore some areas where HR process automation could save you time:

Drafting/reviewing job descriptions for biases

I want to caveat this point with something before I dive in: it’s really risky to get AI to write something then not have a human editor look at it. Or to publish a job description without checking it for biases using an AI tool.

Firstly, because we’re not aware of our own unconscious biases; that’s why they’re unconscious.

Secondly, because AI is prone to mistakes and has its own biases.

Job descriptions are a vital part of the hiring process. In fact, they can make or break it. Leveraging HR process automation by using a role description generator, or AI for analysis, can help you spot gaps and biases that creep in.

AI can offer suggestions to reduce it and attract the best talent for your organization.

Analyzing resumes

Analyzing resumes is time-consuming. The right HR process automation tool can analyze them once they come in and compare them against your job descriptions.

However, these tools can sometimes look past neurodivergent candidates or those who fall just outside of the criteria you set but may still be great hires. 

They can also mimic the biases of the people who create them or set them up. So, it’s important to keep an eye on how the tool is designed and occasionally check through what’s been submitted for a diamond in the rough.

If a candidate receives a rejection too fast this can also come across as impersonal and make them not want to work for your organization. So keep that in mind when configuring how the tool responds.

A friend of mine once applied for a role one evening and had a rejection in his inbox by 6am the following morning. It was pretty clear this was automated, and it made him not want to work for the organization. Even if the perfect role for him had come up later, he wouldn’t reapply to work for that employer. 

Candidates want the personal touch and to not feel like just another number in the application process. So there needs to be balance when it comes to HR process automation.

Interview and meeting scheduling

Interview scheduling takes far too much time. It becomes even more complicated if you’re organizing panel interviews or group interviews.

Using an interview scheduling tool as part of your HR process automation, either on its own or as part of your recruitment tool, can save hours each week.

It also helps you provide a better candidate experience, making those going through the interview process more likely to want to work with you.

Bonus points: the right tool could help you organize meetings with colleagues, too. This could save time and effort scheduling important meetings with multiple people from different teams.

So then collaboration between colleagues and teams becomes easier, more efficient, and more effective as well.

Payroll and benefits

Automated payroll systems can calculate salaries, taxes, and other deductions alongside any compliance or regulation changes or challenges.

It can also help you organize and calculate benefits.

As well as saving time, this type of HR process automation can reduce the errors that come from a more manual process. And make certain that everything happens on time.

These then help you provide a better, more consistent employee experience that ensures everyone gets paid the right amount on the right date. That way, they don’t have to worry if they’ll have enough money in their account when their bills come due.

HR support

Ever feel like you’re repeating yourself, answering the same questions over and over?

An AI chatbot can be a great option for HR process automation. It can save you time by answering common HR questions. 

It can also help you provide a better onboarding experience by answering new hire questions. By helping with any queries new employees may feel embarrassed to ask, it makes them more likely to feel supported. It also helps them get up to speed with how things work in your organization more quickly.

Employee learning and development

Learning management tools can help your employees grow their skills on their own time. This means they’re more likely to retain the information as they’re learning when they’re in the best frame of mind to do so.

HR process automation can assist with delivering trainings to the right people, recommending courses to employees, and suggesting employees to managers who might be ready to progress in their careers.

AI tools can also offer a quick way for employees to get answers to their problems, saving them time perusing search engines and social media.

Conclusion 

HR process automation and AI tools are useful to help overworked HR teams get more done.

However, you can’t AI-generate the personal interactions you have with candidates or employees.

In a world that feels dominated by AI, we need to find real ways to communicate with each other and embrace our humanity.

Create connections in your organization

Employee groups, programs, and events are a great way to connect people within your organization. Colleagues can bond over what’s happening at work, things they enjoy, and their personal lives.

Workrowd can help you manage your employee initiatives so that you and your team get the most out of them. You can measure how well they’re performing, organize files and resources, and keep everything readily available in one central place.

Want to find out more? Visit us online and get in touch to book your free demo.

9 tips to design a stay interview process that drives retention
9 creative employee recognition ideas to accelerate engagement
Tips to set your internal communications strategy up for success
Categories
Learning & Development

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees

A PwC Financial Wellness survey found that finances are the largest source of stress for 54% of people. Since stressed people are less productive at work, building financial literacy for employees is important to your organization’s success.

What’s more, when you factor in that just 33% of the global population is financially literate according to the World Economic Forum, the stress levels really aren’t surprising.

Part of the problem is that many of us don’t learn financial literacy at school or from family members. Which means if we don’t actively seek to learn more about how to manage our finances, we never will.

But it isn’t that simple.

The sheer amount of information available around financial literacy can be overwhelming. This can cause people to end up even more confused than they were to begin with.

While it isn’t an employer’s job to offer financial literacy for employees, it can be an opportunity to support them in a way that drives business results. Consider it a perk that sets them up for a happier, more stable future.

It’s also a way to show employees that you value them. And that you understand the importance of education and financial literacy for employees—even if you’re not a financial organization.

Plus, it can reinforce or create a culture of learning, inspiring employees to think differently and explore new skills and topics.

And, according to Harvard Business Review, when employees are financially literate, it can help them at work to:

  • Make business decisions
  • Have a better understanding of how expenses impact a company’s profit and loss and balance sheet
  • Design budgets
  • Understand how their actions impact the business, and how they can improve the organization’s financial health

It’s little things like these that can add up to a more sound, stable, organization.

How to build financial literacy for employees in your organization

So, we’ve looked at why financial literacy for employees is important. Now let’s explore how you can build it across your organization:

Set up an employee group to talk money

When you have an employee group designed specifically for people to talk finances, it creates a safe space for discussion. So team members can share what’s going on with them, how they feel, and ask questions.

It creates somewhere people feel comfortable talking about money. This helps break down barriers when money is still seen as a taboo discussion topic.

Need help managing your employee groups? Or want to get more out of them? Workrowd has your back!

Get in touch to discover how we can help and book your free demo today.

Organize a training day

A one-off training session that any team member can sign up for is a great way to build financial literacy for employees. Sessions can cover everything from basic concepts to more advanced money management.

It gets employees in the mindset of thinking about their finances without distractions from their everyday work.

Organize a lunch and learn

On the other hand, a full day might be overwhelming for some. A shorter session, or a lunch and learn, gives them the option to learn without bombarding them with tons of information in a short space of time.

If it’s a series of sessions around financial literacy for employees, they can pick just the topics that are relevant or interesting to them. This ensures they don’t waste their time but still get to learn.

Bring in an expert

Getting a financial advisor or certified financial planner to come in and talk about financial literacy for employees allows them to talk to someone objective and experienced.

Ideally you want someone who’s neutral and doesn’t promote their own services or tools. That can lead to slippery slopes like encouraging employees to use an investment platform when they’re not ready.

Someone more neutral can outline the good and bad of all options and strategies. This helps employees make more informed decisions. They can also answer employees’ questions without a biased point of view, offering them support without a sales angle.

Recommend resources like books or podcasts

Everyone learns differently. Books, podcasts, video training sessions, or even vlogs can help improve financial literacy for employees on their own schedule. 

They could then discuss the book or podcast’s content in the financial literacy employee group with their colleagues.

Here are a couple of books to get you started:

I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi

Ramit approaches finance with humor, writing in plain English and laying things out in a clear, easy-to-understand way. He also has versions of the book adapted for different audiences by country.

Girls Just Wanna Have Funds – Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, Camilla Falkenberg and Emma Due Bitz

Women earn, on average, 23% less than men. This equates to almost $400,000 dollars lost over the course of their lifetimes. This book looks at how managing money is different for women and how they can make the most of their funds.

Ask employees

When you understand how employees think and learn, you can better adapt to their needs.

The best way to learn what they need from you is to ask them. 

Consider sending an employee survey asking about financial literacy for employees; what they know, what they’d like to learn, and how they learn best. That then ensures you can tailor the training to them. Rather than presenting them with something that isn’t the right fit for the people in your organization.

If you create a learning module that isn’t the right fit for them, they’re less likely to use it. At that point, you’ll have wasted your investment.

Conclusion

Investing in financial literacy for employees doesn’t have to be expensive. It can be a benefit that helps your people grow at work and beyond. It can reduce their stress levels and therefore make them more productive at work.

Their financial literacy levels can also impact their decision-making skills and, in the process, your budget.

Investing in their skills now will pay you (and them) dividends in the future.

Ready to level up and deliver more when it comes to financial literacy for employees? Workrowd has the tools you need.

Visit us online to learn how our all-in-one platform makes it easy to launch and manage employee groups, track the impact of training sessions, and deliver a world-class employee experience with less stress.

Questions? Feel free to email us directly at hello@workrowd.com.

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Learning & Development

4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work

Communication styles play a big role in how well teams work together and whether their organizations can succeed.

Despite that, communication is something that we often take for granted. Sure, we can have conversations with people, but can we actually speak to them effectively? Do we hear what they’re trying to say in response?

Based on the fact that 86% of employees and executives feel that a lack of effective communication and collaboration is the main cause of workplace failures, I’m going to say no.

Even teams that do communicate effectively could improve their productivity by up to 25%, so those who don’t work on their communication styles are really missing out.

Types of communication styles

So, let’s start by diving into the different types of communication styles.

Passive communication

Passive communication styles can come in two different forms.

Firstly, when someone puts other people’s needs above their own.

Secondly, when they speak very little or not at all.

While factoring in other people’s needs and letting others be heard is important, there’s the risk that a passive communicator can take a backseat and not get their opinions or expertise heard. This can lead to them feeling invisible or underappreciated.

So make sure to encourage everyone to join in the conversation. That way, nobody fades into the background.

Also consider that some people may feel uncomfortable speaking up in a meeting for a range of reasons—from feeling anxious in large groups, to neurodivergence, to particularly loud colleagues, to preferring time to mull over ideas—so try to factor this in.

It can help to send agendas in advance so that attendees can put together talking points if they wish. This helps accommodate a wider range of communication styles.

Aggressive communication

Aggressive communication styles are when people come across as forceful or challenging. They’re often confrontational and want their voice to be heard.

This can be intimidating for colleagues, particularly those with more passive communication styles or who’ve experienced emotional trauma in their past.

Passive-aggressive communication

Passive aggression can be contradictory, with verbal and non-verbal communication not matching.

It could also come in the form of sarcasm, comments behind someone’s back, or speaking up after a meeting to complain.

Assertive communication

An assertive communicator can balance getting their opinion heard and hearing the opinions of others. They’re direct speakers who factor in other people’s feelings and ideas.

Out of all the communication styles, this one doesn’t always come naturally, but it can be learned.

How to cater to different communication styles

To get the most from a team, leaders need to learn how to cater to different communication styles. They also need to understand that communication styles can change, both because of the people around them and the work they do on themselves.

So let’s explore what you can do to cater to different communication styles in your business:

Offer different communication methods

Most of us prefer a particular way of learning, whether that’s audio, visual, or written.

For instance, I retain more of what I read than what I watch or listen to. If I’m on a call, I’ll usually take notes to help me process what everyone has said.

It’s easier than ever to support people’s different processing methods now, with most video platforms auto-generating captions.

So when you want to explain something, you can record a voice note or video, then have it automatically transcribed so that everyone can understand it. This ensures everyone gets what you’re trying to say, regardless of their communication styles, leaving fewer grey areas.

Analyze your own speaking style

It helps to understand your own speaking style so that you can understand what you’re getting right and what you could improve on. 

Consider recording a call and getting a coach, mentor, or even AI to offer feedback on it. Or, if you’re writing something, send that over.

They can then help you identify areas where your message is clear and areas where you could improve to get your tone and direction right for your audience. It’s almost like a communication styles audit.

Listen actively

Good old active listening strikes again. Like communication itself, active listening is a skill. Learning it requires work and emotional intelligence.

Active listening means not interrupting other people when they talk, and focusing on what they’re saying, not on how you’re going to respond.

This can improve the quality of your working relationships and ensure you get the most from them. Active listening is important for all communication styles.

Slow down

Some of us have minds that jump from one idea to another to another before we’ve finished speaking a sentence.

While it’s not always easy for us to slow down, being in the moment and focusing on what the other person is trying to say can help us respond in the most effective way.

Jotting down ideas so that you can bring them up at the right moment ensures you can continue to listen without forgetting your point.

Consider cultural factors

Culture will always play a role in communication styles. Even the US and the UK, despite speaking the same language, have communication differences.

The British sense of humor doesn’t always translate well, for example. Which is why British TV shows often get remade with a US audience in mind.

Conclusion

There will always be some employees you find it harder to communicate with than others. The key is to understand, and accept, that everyone is different, and keep an open mind.

Listening to everyone and treating all communication styles as valid—alongside working on your own—will help you to get the most out of your team and help to prevent problems from spiraling.

Create a culture of communication

Encouraging employees to communicate about things outside of work, or sharing their workplace challenges, can help to bridge differing communication styles.

When employees have common ground, they’re more likely to work together and feel like they belong in the workplace.

Workrowd can help you manage your employee groups, programs, and events to get the most from them. Whether you’re looking to level up or just maintain your current success with less effort, we can help. Contact us today to book your free demo at hello@workrowd.com.

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Company Culture

6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs

Layoffs are a painful experience for everyone. That’s why it’s so important to have a plan in place for rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Whether it’s the managers sharing the bad news, the employees being let go, or the ones left behind, layoffs can create an atmosphere where people feel afraid. Afraid they’re next, afraid for their colleagues, or afraid of the consequences that might come from them sharing their concerns.

And we live in a time of mass layoffs. In the US tech sector alone, layoffs cost more than 100,000 people their jobs in 2023.

61% of adults between 18 and 34 have felt pressure and anxiety over layoffs. 46% of employees who were laid off were unprepared.

Companies that do have to go through layoffs therefore need to prepare employees, and the company culture, for these tumultuous times.

They also need to have steps in place for rebuilding company culture after layoffs. This can be a volatile time where everyone feels like they’re walking on eggshells, they’re worried for their jobs, and they’re adjusting to the new normal.

So, how do you go about rebuilding company culture after layoffs? Let’s take a look:

Have the uncomfortable conversations

Layoffs are challenging times. But they’ll be even worse if you don’t have the hard conversations.

It’ll be uncomfortable, you might squirm, but you’ll feel better once it’s over with.

It’s worse to carry around – and bottle up – questions, guilt, or other negative emotions that can impact your personal relationships, your work relationships, and your ability to perform at work.

The sooner you rip the bandage off, the better you’ll feel. Plus, the faster you’ll succeed at rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Create a psychologically safe space

To have the uncomfortable conversations, you – and employees – need to feel safe voicing opinions and concerns without consequences. 

If that fear is there, there’s already something wrong with your company culture and layoffs will only make it worse.

Employees could share their feelings in a one-on-one with a manager; a company-wide town hall; in an employee resource group; in an employee feedback survey; or somewhere else. 

Wherever it is, they need to feel like decision-makers hear their concerns.

Otherwise, it can add to the already stressful time of layoffs and the looming sense of dread and uncertainty that comes with it. You’ll have a much harder time rebuilding company culture after layoffs if you haven’t built up that psychological safety.

Build connections

Sometimes, during layoffs, people’s work friends can be asked to leave while they get left behind.

Work is one of the main ways many of us socialize. So it’s important to ensure employees can still find and make new friends.

Setting up ERGs enables employees to connect with those who share similar interests or backgrounds to them. These groups also help foster relationships and create a sense of belonging, in addition to helping with rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Be open and honest

Open and honest communication is key to any positive company culture. It’s how employees feel psychologically safe at work. Plus, it leads to greater creativity and innovation, and it makes people better problem solvers. It also means that any issues or conflicts that arise don’t stick around to fester. You can have the conversations that solve things sooner rather than later.

Making employees aware of what’s happening, what will happen, and being honest when you don’t know certain answers will help to allay some of their concerns.

Consider explaining why the layoffs are happening, and why now. You may also explain why the people who were let go were chosen.

It’s not a panacea, but it should at least calm some of the anxieties. Particularly if there are a significant number of far-reaching cuts, and you need to get out ahead of rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Offer psychological support

Layoffs can be so stressful there’s even a term called “workplace survivor’s syndrome”. It’s a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that can impact those left behind.

Contrary to the belief that they should feel glad they still have a job, many are left feeling concerned about how long that will last. Are they the next to go? It can also be overwhelming taking on their departing colleagues’ workloads.

It’s important to acknowledge how stressful this time can be for employees and offer them support in terms of coaching, mentoring, or counseling where they can talk through how they feel with someone unrelated to your organization. 

That way, they can learn the coping techniques to come to terms with the situation, process their grief and guilt, and find a way to move on in the new normal. Individualized support like this can go a long way towards rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Re-align everyone with your values (or set new ones)

It can help to refresh, review, or even update your values during a time like this.

Things are already up in the air, so if employees don’t know what your values are, or they’ve fallen by the wayside, this refresher can give them a renewed focus on what the company goals are and what you want to achieve in the short- and long-term.

Reminding everyone what you stand will set you up for success when rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Conclusion

It’s important to find avenues for rebuilding company culture after layoffs. Otherwise it can lead to employees questioning their roles within your organization. You don’t want to risk losing your key players because they decide your team is no longer the right place for them.

Supporting employees, listening to their concerns, and communicating honestly with them can help employees feel more secure and work toward future-proofing your organization.

Need help creating a safe space for connection?

Would you like to set your organization up with a central hub for rebuilding company culture after layoffs?

Workrowd has what you need. With all your employee programs, groups, and events in one place, plus automated feedback surveys and more, you can give team members more of what they want with less effort.

Plus, our real-time analytics dashboards help you track the impact of your initiatives, so you always know how far you’ve come at rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Ready to learn more? Visit us online or write us directly at hello@workrowd.com to schedule your free demo.

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Employee resource group guidelines to help your groups thrive

Employee resource groups (ERGs) can lead to an increase in employee engagement of up to 15%. With stakes that high, it can help to have some employee resource group guidelines to set you up for success.

ERGs can also boost the visibility of underrepresented talent. Even more so when you consider the positive impact on employees’ networking opportunities, career growth, and job satisfaction.

But how do you equip your ERGs to thrive and drive real impact across your business? Here are some employee resource group guidelines to empower your ERGs to reach their full potential:

Pick the right leaders

Leaders aren’t just people managers, and the ones who run your ERGs don’t have to be. 

But they do have to be great listeners and able to tap into what the group wants and needs. This goes for your groups’ executive sponsors, too.

Successful groups live and die by their leadership as members will follow the example set by the people in charge. 

I’ve seen many groups falter and decline because previously enthusiastic leaders have lost interest. Or the wrong people have been put in charge.

The worst is when the role goes to someone because no one else wants it. Especially when it’s clear they’re not going to be the right person for it. This then risks causing existing members to become detached or disinterested. If the leader or sponsor doesn’t care or put the time in, why should they?

Enthusiasm for a cause is contagious, and your ERGs are no exception. When it comes to employee resource group guidelines, picking the right leaders is an important place to start.

Use the right tools

The right tools is the second pillar of our employee resource group guidelines. When you use a tool that makes it easy for people to join and stay engaged with your groups, you can maximize their success without the stress.

With all your groups’ important information and announcements in one place, plus automated feedback collection and real-time analytics, every ERG will have what they need to be at their best.

Check out our tip at the end for details on how to run your ERGs more effectively! 

Know their purpose

Why do you want to create ERGs? For whom do you want to create them?

Is it to boost talent attraction and retention? 

More than half of companies say ERGs have a positive impact on their recruiting efforts, so it’s a solid goal. 

A further 75% say that they’ve helped them with retention.

Plus, there’s the 15% boost in employee engagement we mentioned above.

Whatever your goals are with ERGs, view their creation, management, and budget through that lens. This will help you make more effective decisions about how they work and influence what you get out of them. This is key when it comes to employee resource group guidelines.

Tie them into organizational goals

How can you tie your ERGs into the company’s goals? 

For instance, if your goal is to increase diversity among new hires, would setting up ERGs for underrepresented talent, and including them in employer branding materials, help you show that you’re serious about your commitment and there’s a community waiting for them to join?

Considering how the groups can play other roles in helping you achieve business goals in the long- and short-term is core to employee resource group guidelines.

Support them financially

If an ERG wants to go on a trip or hold an event, can you support that financially? Giving them a budget shows that you see their value and want to support their continued growth and development.

Events and trips are great ways for members to interact in person. They can learn new things, visit new places, or just get a change of scenery. If you want to follow best practices for employee resource group guidelines, you have to put your money where your mouth is.

Create rules around fairness and inclusivity

You know when you request to join a Facebook group, a popup asks you to agree to the group rules? Things like no spam, be polite to everyone, etc.? You want something like that for your ERGs, too. Some employee resource group guidelines for within your groups, essentially.

ERGs should be safe spaces for everyone where they can be treated with fairness and respect. Having those rules in place acts as a reminder and a safety net. 

It’s not to say you think the worst of anyone by having them just in case. But you protect yourself, group leaders, and vulnerable members from being bullied if sensitive topics get raised. 

Employees should be able to have difficult conversations with each other and disagree amicably without the conversation becoming rude or offensive.

Talk about them!

If employees don’t know that your ERGs exist, they’re not going to join them. Let alone use them.

Introducing your ERGs should be a part of onboarding for any new employee. As should encouraging them to join any groups they feel are relevant.

But it shouldn’t be a case of sharing about them once during onboarding them forgetting about them. Employees learn a lot in their first few weeks on a job and may not have the bandwidth to join right away. That doesn’t mean they won’t want to join later, though! Keeping that door open is central to employee resource group guidelines.

Encourage their use

It helps when leaders encourage employees to join ERGs, reminding them that they’re there during company meetings, sending updates via email, and sharing their successes.

It’s also important to encourage ERG leaders to talk about them and invite people who might be interested in them to take part. Not in a pushy sales way that risks putting people off, but in a way that shares why it’s a welcoming, inclusive place.

Leaders also need to actively start and respond to discussions, as this will encourage others to take part. If leaders don’t participate, employees won’t see the point either, no matter how many other employee resource group guidelines you follow.

Conclusion

ERGs can be hugely beneficial for companies of any size. For larger or remote teams they’re especially effective at connecting employees who may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. 

They also have huge potential to create networking and career growth opportunities for employees at all levels when run by the right people and supported by a company’s leaders. Following these employee resource group guidelines can help you make the most of yours.

Make managing your ERGs a breeze

The benefits of ERGs might be tempting, but the challenges of running them might be intimidating, too. 

Workrowd can help you organize and track your employee groups so that you and your employees get more out of them. 

Ready to learn more? Visit us online or write us at hello@workrowd.com to schedule some time to chat.

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Employee Experience

Benefits of providing a positive digital employee experience

A positive digital employee experience is more important than ever. It can act as a differentiator between you and your competitors, and as a way to retain employees. Especially as more and more companies insist employees return to the office with vague reasons like it improving collaboration.

The truth is that most employees prefer a hybrid model. This is more accessible for people with caregiving responsibilities or chronic health issues. It also helps fight off the loneliness that can come from working at home all day, every day.

To ensure that employees are successful, no matter where or when they work, you need to provide a positive digital employee experience. So let’s look at the benefits of providing a positive digital employee experience, and how to do just that.

Benefits of providing a positive digital employee experience

Here are some of the benefits of a positive digital employee experience:

Increased productivity

It’s only when we have the right tools that we can do our jobs to the best of our abilities. Lacking the right tools can lead to frustration, disengagement, and a reduction in productivity.

Higher employee retention

If employees don’t feel like they can do their jobs in the way that they want or need, they’re not going to stick around. Providing them with the right tools is key.

It’s worth noting that some people will prefer slightly different tools. Consider if it’s worth making these changes to retain talent.

For instance, in marketing, there are countless SEO-related tools. Many do similar things but most marketers have their preferences. Is it possible to change tools so that the employee feels more comfortable using the tool rather than lose them because they get frustrated?

Improved talent attraction

When candidates see that you have a positive digital employee experience, it makes them more likely to want to work for you.

No one wants to work with companies that still use fax machines and pagers. Yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if a company like that still existed somewhere. (I worked for one that still used fax machines 10 years ago. Up until that point I’d never seen one.)

Using old-fashioned equipment suggests you’re still in the dark ages in other ways, too. For instance, the way you treat employees or your expectations of them, and maybe even your pay equity.

A positive digital employee experience is more accessible, helping you to attract a wider range of talent. This includes people who have a disability, are neurodiverse, have caregiving responsibilities, or prefer working from home.

Better/smoother communication

There’s nothing worse than trying to contact someone and finding out that you can’t. Or when a message won’t send, or there’s some other issue.

The right communication tools will enable you to provide a positive digital employee experience for everyone. There are so many options now that there’s something suitable for every way of working and budget.

How to provide a positive digital employee experience

So, what do you need to support a positive digital employee experience?

Communication tools

For a digital workforce to be effective, they need effective communication tools. Slack, Teams, and an email provider like Google or Outlook keep employees connected. That way, they can contact each other even if they work at different times or in different time zones.

Video tools are also helpful, particularly for demos that may require screen recordings. Or when someone is sharing information and finds it easier to explain when speaking rather than writing.

Many of these tools now integrate so that you don’t need to switch between apps to share videos or sync calendar appointments.

CRM

A CRM can be a useful tool for more than just sales teams. Marketers and more can benefit from a CRM that they can use on their phone, laptop, or tablet. 

A CRM keeps all the information they need in one place, making it easier to find and sync between colleagues.

Calendar/scheduling tool

A calendar/scheduling tool, such as Google Calendar and/or Calendly, ensures that your employees can connect with each other at the right time. 

Employees are in control of when they’re available, and it’s a seamless experience for their colleagues to schedule a meeting with them. This reduces the carbon footprint of sending emails to organize meetings. Plus, it makes it a quicker, less stressful process for everyone, leading to a more positive digital employee experience.

Hardware

The right device(s) ensures that an employee can work from anywhere. And I use the word “right” because sometimes, a laptop is slow or not fit for purpose, which can cause hurdles when an employee tries to do their job.

For instance, a software developer requires a powerful computer to complete their work. If they don’t have the right sort of laptop, it can slow them down, lead to frustrations, and be a reason that they quit.

ERGs

ERGs are the perfect way to keep employees connected. They help them form bonds with colleagues who have similar interests or backgrounds, as well as making it easier for them to network and problem solve.

Utilizing an all-in-one platform like Workrowd can help you take your ERGs to the next level, keeping everything in one place and maximizing participation and engagement.

Surveys

It’s impossible to get everything right, which is why collecting feedback is so important.

Sometimes, employees don’t feel comfortable raising issues in person. But, they do feel comfortable answering an anonymous survey.

Feedback can help you benchmark what’s going on in your company based on the internal results that you get. It can then lead to you providing a more positive digital employee experience.

Want to send more efficient, effective feedback surveys? Workrowd can help! Our platform sends automated surveys and analyzes the data automatically so that you’ve got more time to implement change. Get in touch to book your free demo.

Conclusion

A positive digital employee experience can make your employer brand stand out. It’s key for attracting top talent and retaining them. 

It requires investing in the right tools so that employees can perform at their best. It also requires trusting employees to do their best work.

If you’d like help providing a more positive digital employee experience, get in touch today to book your free Workrowd demo. Our all-in-one employee experience platform ensures everyone has seamless access to the best your organization has to offer. Visit us online or email us directly at hello@workrowd.com to schedule some time to chat.

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