Retain Top Employees – 9 Useful Tips

Introduction

Retaining top employees is challenging employers

Keeping your productive workers is a challenge during this overall work environment . Here are 9 ways to make it easier to retain top employees.

How to Retain Top Employees – 9 Tips
1. Ensure Employees Feel Appreciated
Engaged workers are productive.  9 tips to retain your top employees.

One way to keep your top employees satisfied and motivated is to make sure they feel appreciated. Praise them for their hard work and successes.  Tell them you value their contributions. Make it a regular practice to communicate with your employees about the company’s goals and objectives.  Let them  know where they fit into the bigger picture. Additionally, offer flexible work hours, flexible vacation policies, and other benefits that will make them feel appreciated and valued.

2. Promote from Within

people in a meeting with laptops in front of them

When it comes to retaining employees, many organizations focus on hiring new talent. However, this is not always the best solution. In fact, research has shown that promoting from within is one of the most effective ways to retain top talent.

One reason promoting from within is so successful is because it creates a sense of continuity and familiarity for employees. They know the culture and how things work at their workplace.  This makes them more likely to stay with the organization. Additionally, promoting from within also sends a message that the organization values and respects its employees. This can help maintain morale and encourage employees to give their best effort.

Overall, promoting from within is an effective way to retain top talent. It creates continuity and familiarity in your workforce.

3. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Providing excellent customer service is essential to retaining top employees. When customers are satisfied with the service they receive, it sends a message to employees that their work is valued and important. Additionally, providing great customer service can help attract new customers and keep current ones happy.

4. Welcoming Workplace Culture

Top employees engaged with welcoming workplace culture

It’s no secret that retaining top talent is a challenge for businesses of all sizes. One way to help you retain top employees is to create a welcoming and positive workplace culture. Here are four ways to do just that:

  1. Encourage employee feedback and participation in decision making. This encourages communication and collaboration, two key ingredients in creating a positive workplace culture.
  2. Make sure your policies and procedures are clear and consistent. This will help employees know what they’re expected of, both in terms of job duties and company values, and make it easier for them to follow instructions.
  3. Reward employee performance consistently, no matter the situation or circumstance. This will encourage employees to put their best foot forward.
5. Competitive Pay and Benefits

One way to retain your top employees is to offer them competitive pay and benefits. This will help keep them satisfied and motivated.  It may also lead to them staying with your company for a longer period of time. Additionally, offering excellent benefits can make your company stand out from the competition.  That can help you both attract quality new candidates and retain top  employees currently on board.

6. Encourage Creativity and Innovation

Group of employees practicing creativity and innovation

Encouraging creativity and innovation in your workplace can be a great way to keep your top employees happy and engaged. By encouraging your employees to think outside the box, you can help them develop new ideas and find new ways to improve your company’s performance. Additionally, promoting creativity and innovation can also lead to increased employee productivity.

7. Proper Work-Life Balance

Proper work-life balance helps retain top employees

It is important to make sure the work-life balance is right for your top employees. This means balancing work with personal time, family, and other responsibilities. Of course, it can be difficult to find the right balance.  But it is important to do so in order to keep your top employees happy and motivated.

8. Provide Challenging Opportunities for Growth and Development

Provide employees challenging opportunities for growth and development

Employees want to feel like their work is meaningful and contributes to the organization’s goals. Providing opportunities for growth and development not only keeps employees engaged.  But you also ensure that they contribute their best efforts. Challenging employees on their skills and abilities can help them develop in new ways. You also help your organization achieve its goals.

9. Confidence in Employees

It is important to show confidence in your employees’ abilities and let them do their best work. This will help to keep them motivated and ensure that they are putting their all into their work. Additionally, it will help to build trust between you and your employees.  That is essential for a successful workplace where you retain top employees.

Conclusion

Offer competitive pay rates, excellent benefits, a welcoming workplace, and challenging projects and opportunities. You can ensure that your employees stay loyal and don’t head for the exits.

By following these tips, you can improve your employee retention rate and retain top employees in your business.

How To Beat Remote Work Isolation

Most of us have become accustomed to commuting to a work site surrounded by co-workers. Remote work is something new to most workers. Yet, we are fundamentally social beings.  So extended remote work isolation has affected many workers if we’re working at home for an extended period.  We can’t help feeling isolated. Isolation blues have become common, and it’s not something to simply ignore.

Beat remote work isolation

Cures for Remote Work Isolation

As you spend long hours and work from home, you need to take care of your mental health.

As much as I was happy to “get away” from my officemates,

I realized that I relied on colleagues to keep my mental health in check. Panion.com

Here are 7 tips to beat remote work isolation blues:

1. Step Outside Periodically

 Don’t stay cooped up inside your home. Step outside to get some fresh air and much-needed sunlight. If you have a garden, that’s great. If not, you can practice social distancing and other safety measures so you can take a walk at a local park or around your neighborhood. It’s even better if your location is surrounded by greenery and nature views, which can help relieve stress and loneliness.

Get outside to beat remote work isolation

 2. Reconnect With Co-Workers

 While staying at home, it’s a good time to catch up with friends from work or your boss.  Reconnect with those you haven’t seen for a long time. While you may not be able to invite them for a cup of coffee face to face, a lot of employees are setting virtual meetups to chat with peers outside the normal work day. If you can do Zoom calls for work meetings, why not try it to keep in touch with team members to socialize? It can be more fun than you expect.

How to beat remote work isolation blues

What’s good about being online these days is that you can reach associates from miles away that you haven’t talked to for a while. Many of them are also most likely at home and craving social connections.

 3. Maintain a Routine

 Being out of the workplace and staying at home may have thrown you off your routine. To beat remote work isolation blues, you should create a new routine and stick to it. That will help retain some sense of normalcy. Get up at the same time in the morning, preferably the same time that you woke up for work before the pandemic.

Plan your day and eat your meals on time. If you live with your family, having a routine helps everyone to know what’s going on.

4. Move, Move, Move

 Don’t forget to get your body moving. Be physically active as much as you can. Exercise will give you an energy boost and improve your mood.  That will help beat isolation and maintain your productivity.

Physical movement beats remote work isolation

For example, a neighbor of mine walks her dog several times per day for 10-minutes.  She does it at the same times each day.  That keeps her moving and maintains her routine. Even doing house chores is good while on work conference calls.. If you’re up to it, you can also join online fitness classes. You could also walk around your local area early in the morning before work begins.

5. Write a Journal or Letter

Get your thoughts out by journaling. You can journal about the things you’re grateful for, which will bring optimism and good vibes. When you focus on the good things that happen in your life, it boosts your mood and makes you less isolated.

Letter writing has also been revived during the pandemic. Why not send your prospects, customers or other employees a postcard to let them know that you’re thinking about them? Handwritten letters and postcards help promote deeper relationships.

6. Learn Something New

Sometimes you feel neglected when you’re bored. Find something to do to keep your mind busy. Learn a new skill or do a pursuit you’ve always wanted to do. Try to attend webinars, read blogs, or take an online course to boost your work skills.

When you’re doing something that you enjoy, you don’t notice how slow the time goes by, and you don’t have time to dwell on depressing thoughts.

7. Get Quality Sleep

Getting enough sleep (or not enough) affects your mood, so it’s important to have a healthy bedtime routine. When you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you don’t feel rested. You’ll wake up feeling more tired, and it makes you more vulnerable to stress or even illness. Sleep heals your body and keeps your mental well-being in shape.

beat remote work isolation

Wrapping Up

 Spending time working virtual doesn’t have to be dull and boring. Don’t let remote work isolation beat you. Instead, make conscious efforts to focus on bringing positivity to your situation. Use the time to reconnect with your friends, learn something new, and get your body physically active. Stick to a routine, and know that a feeling of isolation is only temporary. The situation will certainly improve or you will become accustomed to this new paradigm, so hang in there.

4 Reasons for The Great Resignation-Don’t Ignore

.The Great Resignation by millions of workers monthly stems to a significant degree from dissatisfaction with their current job.

The Great Resignation shaping future of work

Statistical data regarding employment in the United States like the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Statistics (JOLTS) indicate that the number of people resigning in the last six months has increased significantly. In some months, the percentage of people resigning has been the highest in the last twenty years. Both employers as well as employees would like to understand the Great Resignation.  What are the reasons why so many people are choosing to resign? How it will affect their business or career. This will help them in taking the right decision and planning for the future.

The Great Resignation and causes

1.Postponed Resignations

When the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, many employees lost their jobs. There was a lot of uncertainty about the future. Workers were unsure whether it was worth the risk of joining a new unfamiliar company. Normally, many employees change their job if they are not happy or are getting a better opportunity. During the COVID-19 pandemic for more than one year, many people continued with their job. This was the case even if they did not like it or disliked their boss.  Changing jobs was risky. Thus, postponing their resignation made sense. Now that the economic conditions have improved.  Workersare more confident and willing to take the risk, so they are finding new jobs.

The Great Resignation continues

2. Changed Perspective

During the COVID-19 pandemic during the lockdowns, people were largely confined to their homes and had free time to think over their priorities for their life. A large number of employees lost one or more relatives, friends, and colleagues to the pandemic. They realized that their life is short, and they would like to spend their time in a better way.  Instead of working in an office or workplace they did not like, spending a few hours daily commuting to their workplace, they had an epiphany. Many realized that the present job was not suitable and resigned after getting a better opportunity.  And some workers resigned without alternative employment to be able to spend full-time in job search mode looking for a job they could love.

3. Job Availability

Some businesses and sectors were more affected by the pandemic especially travel, hotels, restaurants, sporting events, live concerts, and entertainment.  This resulted in large-scale job loss. After vaccinations were available, the COVID-19 cases have reduced, so there are a large number of jobs available. Due to the shortage of talent, it is easier to find a suitable job with a better salary compared to a year ago. Since people are finding better jobs with good salaries easily.   They are resigning from their existing job for greener pastures, especially if they do not like their present employment.

4. Remote Working

Many business continued to function during the pandemic, with their employees working remotely from their home. These employees were saving time and money they spent commuting and other expenses by working remotely and could spend more time with their families.

One worker told me that during months of the pandemic he spent more on gas for his lawnmower than for his automobile.  He loved that!

With the number of COVID-19 cases reducing, businesses started asking their employees to return to their normal workplace routine, typically they are being asked to work in their office or on their job site from 8 or 9 am to 5 pm. Some employees, especially those who are commuting longer distances may not like this option. And they are resigning since they would like to continue working remotely. Often these employees have more savings, and so they can afford to take the risk of trying different jobs.

The Great Resignation caused by work conditions and money

Sum-Up

The upheaval imposed upon the workforce by the COVID-19 pandemic afforded all of us a once-in-a-lifetime occasion to review and judge every attribute of our lives through a completely new point of view and different yardsticks.

This gave job seekers the potential to select the pandemic era lessons they wished to endorse and which adjustments to abandon and give up in their future work lives.

Employee shortage is killing employers

Partner with the Right Staffing Agency

The first-class way to find a new position during the upheaval of The Great Resignation is to sign up with a specialist staffing agency.

Here at Flexicrew Staffing, we’ve got your back to promote you and highlight your skills and abilities to our clients who are looking for the right talent.

We get to know you – your skills, likes, dislikes, requirements, and so forth.  We want to be sure we match you to excellent opportunities the moment they are accessible. And we counsel you and support you the whole time, until you sign up with your new employer, and afterward, as well.

Upload your resume with Flexicrew. Let’s get you connected with the best industrial employers right away.

 

Effectiveness and Efficiency to Maximize Productivity

How to Use Effectiveness and Efficiency to Maximize Productivity

Effectiveness and Efficiency aiming for maximum productivity

Both terms are adjectives used to describe how work is done. We will describe below how to incorporate effectiveness and efficiency to maximize productivity at work.

It is relatively easy to mistake one for the other, or use them interchangeably (a lot of people do!). However, these terms are anything but similar – in fact, they each carry completely different meanings.

Effectiveness

Effectiveness is all about doing the right things; it is result oriented. Effectiveness is correctly applied when a worker or company’s objectives are in line with their main goals, and indirectly their purpose.

You find ways to improve outcomes when you are effective. For example, if your goal is to increase awareness and sales of a particular product to reach a particular target, you should engage in tasks or activities that will help move you closer to your goals (eg. marketing and ads, in this scenario) , and not waste time on irrelevant tasks that do not serve your goals. This makes you effective.

Efficiency

Efficiency, however, is more about doing things right; this aspect is task oriented. It is using better ways to get something done well in the shortest amount of time possible. Here you utilize the least amount of resources and/or costs. An example of efficiency would be using a computerized system. You would get things done accurately in a shorter span of time.  You would replace reliance on manual methods to do the same thing.  Because manual methods are susceptible to human error and requires more time.

Either one can exist without the other; one can be effective but not efficient, and vice versa. It is entirely possible for one to be effective in achieving their goals, while being inefficient in the way they do it. It is also entirely possible to be none of both at all.

Effectiveness and Efficiency to Maximize Productivity

In fact, there are four possibilities:

  1. Effective and Efficient
  2. Effective and Inefficient
  3. Ineffective and Efficient
  4. Ineffective and Inefficient

You should note however that true, optimal productivity is a combination of both efficiency and effectiveness (Number 1) – the Holy Grail for every individual worker or organization.

It is not possible for an organization or person to reach peak productivity levels, if they are lacking in either efficiency or effectiveness (Number 2, 3 and 4). If anything, they’re setting themselves up for either mediocrity or inevitable failure.

Effectiveness > Efficiency

Effectiveness

In terms of order of importance, prioritize effectiveness over efficiency in all your considerations about productivity.

This however does not mean that you should disregard the importance of efficiency altogether – again, as mentioned earlier, productivity is a balanced combination of both.

Effectiveness involves the big picture. Putting effectiveness first just means that you should first and foremost focus on doing the right things in order to improve your chances of getting a good outcome.

Once you get yourself on track and laid out the basics, you can then look into how you can improve the way you do things. The logic here is to concentrate on being efficient at the tasks which are significant and are effective in contributing to your goals. There’s no point in particularly efficient when the tasks you carry out do not contribute to your purpose and goals.

To sum things up : efficiency is a modifier for effectiveness, not a substitute.

Efficiency is meaningless on its own.

The problem with most people is that they tend to gravitate towards efficiency, rather than effectiveness. It is perfectly understandable – being efficient is a whole lot easier than being effective. Being efficient involves improvements on a smaller, more manageable scale; effectiveness however requires a whole lot of brainstorming about one’s goals, values and different approaches, on a larger scale. And that is intimidating.

Not only that, people who put efficiency before effectiveness have this tendency of looking for better and perfect ways of doing things, and head nowhere instead – which ironically, leads to ineffectiveness.

Increasing Effectiveness

Effectiveness vs efficiency to maximize productivity

So how does one increase their effectiveness?

Put some time aside to evaluate these few things:

Clarify the What– focusing on the results you want to achieve and defining the picture of success.

Clarify and pursue key strategies that will give you the highest possibility for success.

Now that you’ve established your plan of action, you can focus on how to increase your efficiency. This would mean concentrating on the How’s – implementation of your strategies in the most efficient way possible, and improving how you do things as you go along.

Moving Forward

In the coming articles, we will look into further detail on effectiveness and efficiency to maximize productivity. Also we will offer many other helpful tips that will elevate your productivity to optimum levels.

Up-Skilling Provides Opportunities for Career Advancement

New Skills Required for Career Advancement, Employee Retention and Recruiting Excellence

up-skilling career advancement

Here is a piece exploring the fact that professionals have the responsibility to keep up their functional knowledge and up-to-date on the latest trends in their field.  Ongoing training and learning are the keys to maintain and even get ahead in a career.  Without that you fall behind and others propel past you.  The article plus resources provide a how-to guide to attaining advancement in one’s career.  The emphasis is on training and professional development.

Computer technology has developed new opportunities for companies that require a modern workforce. Therefore workers must train for new skills and competencies to pursue and excel in new and changing jobs.

Why professional development will future-proof your career
Companies should be using CPD as a tool to attract top job candidates, retain their best workers and identify future leaders.

When it comes to future-proofing career progression, it is becoming increasingly clear that committing to continuous professional development is the best way forward.

At a glance

  • Professional development training is often overlooked and underappreciated, and is one of the first things to be sacrificed when budgets get cut.
  • Recruiters point out that it is vital that accounting and finance professionals upskill in the areas of business intelligence and cybersecurity, to provide value to businesses striving to cope in a challenging environment.
  • There are well-established links between professional development and profitability, since employees’ problem solving skills improve along with the ability to identify trends and opportunities for innovation.

“We are in a talent deficit at the moment because borders are shut, so there is no influx of talent and skills coming from the US and the UK fintech firms into Australia,” says Nicole Gorton, director at recruitment specialist Robert Half Australia.

Now, as the world slowly emerges from the pandemic, companies are hiring again. Gorton says every business she goes into is looking for candidates with strong skills, particularly in business intelligence, analytics and cybersecurity.

“The problem is, they can’t find them,” Gorton says. “As a result, upskilling is the way to go, and I’m telling companies I can find them good people, but they are going to have to train them.”

From knowledge to profit

Links between professional development and the profitability of organisations are well established.

“CPD ensures the upskilling of employees’ technical capabilities, leadership competencies, stakeholder relationship management skills and the ability to strategise, analyse and use that information to make more robust decisions for the business,” says Gorton. The company benefits because staff get better at problem solving and identifying trends and opportunities for efficiencies and innovation.

What’s more, staff who can apply their skills and play to their strengths daily are six times more likely to be engaged on the job, according to a Gallup Poll.

“Professional development training is overlooked and underappreciated as an employee retention and recruitment tool,” says Gorton. “In fact, it’s often one of the first things to go when budgets get cut.”

Gorton thinks that’s a false economy. Instead, companies should be using CPD as a tool to “attract top job candidates, retain their best workers and identify future leaders”.

A price worth paying

While it is clear that CPD offers all-round benefits, what is less clear is who should be paying for it.Peter Polgar FCPA is executive chair of professional services firm Reanda Australia, and says even after 50 years in finance and accountancy, trying to keep abreast of what is going on in the industry is more challenging than ever.

He is in no doubt, however, that continued professional development should be a shared responsibility between the employer, the employee and professional associations.

“Professional development should be a shared vision.  We need to take ownership, as we are all in this together,” he says.

At Reanda, employees are encouraged to take an active part in their own learning and are reimbursed for the cost of successfully completed training courses.

“Big firms like ours have the resources and capacity to budget for professional development, but smaller firms are less able to do that and training becomes a discretionary cost,” says Polgar.

“Employers recognise the importance of ‘soft’ skills training, but it competes in priority with new product launches, performance and growth… the appetite is there, but it’s not always a priority, and that needs to change.” Nicole Gorton, Robert Half Australia

In order to help manage the cost of CPD for staff, the employer should have a good understanding of the business’s cost revenue structure. Taking a strategic view of CPD means determining what the organisation needs and when, and how to go about delivering that in the most cost-efficient way possible.

This may include delivering CPD through group training sessions or peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, with employees presenting their learning to the wider team following a conference, for example.

A weekly or monthly discussion group on problem issues could also bring a team closer together.

Cross-training or shadowing someone who is comfortable performing tasks another employee needs to learn is another cost-effective way of upskilling staff, as is identifying an employee with strong communication and behavioural skills who is willing to act as trainer for others and would be happy to change their job description.

A business that prioritises CPD and develops a clear idea of how learning and development activities fit into the overall strategy is much more likely to achieve desired results without going over budget.

Requirement for continuous learning

Accountants have a professional responsibility to keep their knowledge up to date and stay on top of the latest industry developments.

“If you are not learning something new every day, then you are not keeping up, as the industry is changing every day,” cautions Polgar.

This includes not only improving technical knowledge and staying up to date with technology trends, but also honing so-called “soft” skills, such as communication and people management, says Gorton.

Cultivating the ability to navigate conversations, negotiate and wield influence is even more important in the post-COVID-19 world, where so many daily interactions with colleagues and clients are not face-to-face.

“Employers recognise the importance of ‘soft’ skills training, but it competes in priority with new product launches, performance and growth as it relates to shareholder interest,” says Gorton.

“The appetite is there, but it’s not always a priority, and that needs to change.” Gorton says one solution is to put professional development into the context of an employee benefits package, ensuring there is diversity and opportunities available to everybody.

“Every company is different in how they remunerate staff, and you have to look at the whole attraction and retention package, and also combine that with what opportunities are available to you as an employee over the next 12 months,” she says.

Some employees may prefer paid professional development to other “perks” offered by employers, such as flexible work arrangements or paid health insurance.

Holistic view of learning

While most of us think about ongoing development in terms of online or classroom-based training programs, employers should be taking a more holistic view, says David Pich, CEO of the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand.

Mentoring, networking, resilience planning, mental and physical self-care and using self-analysis tools are all part of professional development.

“There are as many learning options as there are lessons to be learned,” says Pich.

In times of unprecedented change, “it is essential to be supported by other professionals who can provide objective perspectives and guide you through upcoming challenges”.

Those challenges are only set to increase. Deloitte predicts that, by 2030, the average finance professional in Australia will be short of two or three critical skills necessary to be effective in their role.

This is convincing evidence that investing in CPD is an investment in future-proofing business.

How to ask for professional development training (and get your employer to pay for it)

Nicole Gorton, director at recruitment specialist Robert Half Australia, has some tips on how to make a convincing case for your employer to invest in your professional development.

  1. You need to be able to put forward well reasoned benefits of what it could mean not just for you personally, but for the organisation, and how those advantages can play out for everyone.
  2. Bring up the subject of CPD either during the job interview or at the annual performance review. If you can’t wait until that comes around, book a meeting. This will signal your serious intent.
  3. Prepare well, so that you know what you want to get out of the meeting, having considered your career goals, your particular interests, along with your strengths and weaknesses and where you need to target training.
  4. Ask your manager for their advice about how to develop your career. They may have suggestions that you hadn’t thought of or insider knowledge of the company that can help you create an action plan for CPD.
  5. You need to demonstrate how CPD training will be a return on investment for the company. If, for example, you are requesting software training or a course in AI, indicate how it will reduce the amount of time you spend on certain tasks, reduce errors and increase your productivity. If you can put an estimated dollar figure on company savings as a result of your training, all the better.
  6. Ensure your manager knows exactly what you are asking for and has been sent links to the course you want funded. If the course involves taking time off work, explain how much time off you will need and when. If there will be other associated costs, such as travel, lodging, registration fees and meals, include those in your estimate.

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Reach for More Career Growth with Personal Development

Do you feel like you’ve hit a wall when you reach for more career growth? Do you think you’ve accomplished everything you’re meant to achieve? Chances are the answer is no.  But if you answered yes, then it’s time to change your mindset.  Why?   Because the most important part of personal development is recognizing that you always have a potential to achieve if you proactively reach for more career growth.

Reach for more career growth through personal development

The Growth Mindset

If you don’t believe you constantly have room in your career to grow and develop, then you are the victim of a fixed mindset. People with a fixed mindset don’t focus on self-improvement.  And therefore, unsurprisingly, they don’t tend to succeed as often as those with a growth mindset. According to a number of studies on achievement, training in how to maintain a positive and growth mindset raises individuals’ results, and this is just based on telling someone that having a growth mindset helps!

To achieve and maintain a growth mindset it’s important to recognize that you don’t know everything about your current job. And that you always have room to improve. Even if you believe you’ve mastered your job function, find ways to expand on your knowledge.

The world is always changing so there are always new things to learn no matter what your area may be. For example, if you finished a class mastering a new language, maybe it’s time to take a trip to a country where they speak that language to put yourself to the test!

Reasons to Continue To Grow

While mastering an assignment may seem like a good end of growth goal, its actually better to set a goal to constantly continue to learn. This is because when we believe that we have no more room to grow, we often become complacent and we lose the positive reinforcement associated with continual achievement. Not only that but continuing to reach for more career growth provides us with a healthy dose of self-confidence as we persistently learn new elements of the job.

Constantly setting new or progressive goals keeps us on our toes and takes us out of our comfort zone. It makes us more self-aware.  That will help us recognize any additional areas in our job function which could use some improvement. Thinking that you’ve learned everything will only lead to feelings of monotony and boredom.  So don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t still have room to grow!

Reach for More Career Growth

If you’ve decided that you want to reap the benefits of a growth mindset, then you’re already halfway to reach for more career growth! Next, look at your job and find areas which you may need to improve. You don’t just have to think of it as improvement. Rather think of it as something you may want to revisit or refresh. For example, if you learned a language fluently in school, maybe it’s time you revisit your knowledge.  Try reading a book or watching a tv show in that language. You’ll be surprised by what you can learn!

Besides just deciding what you want to improve upon and how, also make sure you write your goals down. If you write down progressive goals without a clear end in mind (such as “practice Spanish every day”) make sure you provide frequent updates for yourself.  Or perhaps list milestones such as “practice Spanish every day for one year” and then after the one year, up it to two years, and so on. This will help you drive and remain on track even when your goals may seem endless.

If you’re constantly in a mindset ready to reach for more career growth, you’ll be surprised by what you discover.  And you will also surprised by what you achieve. And pretty soon you’ll find yourself on the road to leading a more successful and fulfilling career.

 

 

 

 

When You Lose Your Enthusiasm for Your Job How to Regain it

Need to regain your enthusiasm for your job? Have you lost all excitement for your work? Did your “get up and go” get up and leave? If so, you certainly aren’t alone!

Many people lose their enthusiasm for their job somewhere along the way. Whether it is due to the depressing business environment, a change in your work assignment, or because you are simply stuck in a rut; losing your enthusiasm can stink. However, there are ways you can get back on track and regain your enjoyment with your job.

Regain your enthusiasm for your job

Let’s look at some of the things you can do right now to regain your enthusiasm for your job…

What Is Holding You Back

It’s a good idea to figure out exactly what it is that is holding you back. Is it self-doubt? Maybe the pandemic has you anxious.  Or maybe you had unrealistic expectations that led to you giving up on your career aspirations? When you figure out exactly what it is that has caused you to lose your enthusiasm for your job, you can then work on getting it back.

Get Into A Healthy Routine

One thing that is going to really help you to regain your enthusiasm for your job, is getting into a healthy and positive routine. The things we do each day, determine how we feel. So, if you are currently feeling lost and like you are just sailing blindly through your job, switching up your routine can help.

Start with your morning routine. Does it leave you feeling energized, positive, and inspired? If not, change it up so it better serves you. Avoid checking your phone and the news first thing in the morning. Prepare a to-do list or organize work documents or tools the night before that will make your morning work activities easier. When you start the day right, it can leave you feeling a lot more positive throughout.

Surround Yourself With Positivity

As you’ve probably guessed by now, staying positive is key to regaining your enthusiasm. The co-workers you surround yourself with make a huge difference to how you feel. If you currently spend time with negative co-workers, you will naturally have a more negative outlook on your job too.

When you start to surround yourself with positive associates, you too become more positive. You will see opportunities and start to enjoy each workday. Your inner circle should consist of people who build you up and support you and have an enthusiasm for their job and your employer. When you have encouragement and support, it helps you to feel like you can take on any project.

Know When To Seek Help

Sometimes, the reason we can’t muster up much enthusiasm for our job is because we may be suffering from depression. If you suffer with mild depression, the above tips may help you to overcome your current low state. However, if you have moderate to severe depression, you may need professional help to battle the condition. Getting this help from Human Resources or from an outside professional can prove invaluable for getting back your passion and joy for your job.

Everyone goes through times where they lose interest in their job. However, the key thing to remember is that you are not stuck. There are things you can do right now to regain your enthusiasm for your job, become more engaged in your work, and feel more satisfaction and fulfilment.

How Working In Short Bursts Could Change Your Work Life

Maybe someone has introduced you to the method of working in short bursts.  But it all just sounds so strange to you. And granted, it doesn’t seem like you could accomplish much in twenty-five-minute intervals.  So why would you switch? Well, you might be surprised to find out that working in short bursts can change your career trajectory and job satisfaction.

working in short bursts can change your job and career

What You Will Accomplish Will Surprise You

The obvious change is you will be shocked by the amount of work you can get done in such a short time. You likely didn’t even realize how truly distracted you were before. And your motivation levels and sense of accomplishment will be through the roof! Which will only lead to you achieving even more!

You’ll Spend Less Time On Social Media

You probably don’t even realize how much time you currently waste away on your phone. Whether it’s scrolling through social media, watching videos, or simply surfing the web, when you split your work up into short bursts, you’ll put a timer on your social media time.  That will cut it way back—and give you more time for the things which matter in your career.

You’ll Remember More

Studies have shown that the longer the work period, the more your concentration, focus, and, most importantly, your memory tends to suffer. Memory world champion Dominic O’Brien swears by the short burst method and all it’s done for his astounding memory capabilities. Using this method to memorize works because when your brain focuses for too long, you will stress out and retain less. So, when you give it frequent breaks, it has an easier time remembering the content.

You’ll Have More Free Time

Besides just trimming down your social media time, you will gain the amount of spare time you have – much to your surprise.  Each day you won’t be spending just staring at your computer or day dreaming out the window. With the short burst method, you are forced to use your time more effectively, keeping your brain wandering to very short, timed intervals. This will lead to having time for more of the challenges you enjoy or look for work opportunities to get ahead or pursue short term goals.

Recommendation

Although working in short bursts might sound like a strange concept, it works.  And the experts swear by it and all it has done in their lives. Give it a try today.  After all, you have nothing to lose. And the method has the possibility to absolutely change your job and career for the better.

7 Ways to Keep Your High Performers from Quitting

Your employees are one of the most important assets in your business. Whether you are in sales, construction, marketing or any field, the employees are the nexus between your company and the marketplace. In this hyper-connected and competitive world, you can’t afford to lose any good employees you have on board. And the replacement cost of your high-potential workers is too high. That’s why you need to keep a tight ship and keep your employees from quitting.

Employee Retention

Here are 7 things you can easily incorporate to stop your best talent from walking out the door:

 

You can…

1. Provide Competitive Pay

In a survey of 2,000 people by Paychex, respondents said the main reason people leave their jobs is money (69 percent said that low salary did or would make them leave).

Even in the most satisfying work environment, if your employees can’t pay their bills every month, they are going to look for new career opportunities somewhere else. You need to be able to offer competitive pay to your employees. This will not only keep them from leaving but it will make your company more attractive when hiring new people.

Bear in mind, wages change all the time, you have to be up-to-date with any changes; otherwise your rivals may offer a little bit more money and steal your best employees.

2. Give Employees Regular Feedback

Another important factor in the decision to quit is a feeling that the employee is not valued.  Your employees want (and need, as well) feedback that their employer cares about them as employees. People feel the need to be heard and want to know if they are doing a good job. You don’t need to overwhelm them with constant commentaries on their work, but every once in a while, you might want to tell someone they are doing a good job. This will make them feel appreciated and will create a good work environment.

If your employees never hear from you, they might feel like they do not belong in your company and will look someplace else where they might be appreciated. It might not seem like much, but good feedback goes a long way.

3. Set a Good Example and be Accountable

Nobody likes their boss, but everyone needs a leader. When you have people working for you, you need to take action and steer the team to their highest performance, like a leader. You don’t want to boss everybody around yelling orders, never doing any actual work. Even if it means rolling up your sleeves and going the extra mile, you need to set a good example. This is like an investment.  If your employees see you working hard, that sets the tone.  They will work harder. If it seems like you don’t care about the job, they will either slack off or look for a different place that cares about their business.

If you make a mistake, you need to be accountable. If you look for excuses, your employees will do the same when they make a mistake.

4. Be Consistent

This is incredibly important. Many supervisors think that all they have to do is hire people and pay them to work. The supervisor is available to the new hire for a week or two, and then withdraws completely. This is the worst strategy possible. A supervisor needs to be consistent with his work approach, even more than his employees. In the same way that you have to set a good example, you have to show you are consistent in your work and management style.

If you only show up half the time, don’t leave your office, or seem not to care, one day you are going to find some of your best talent will have left for a boss that shows he cares about their work.

5. Support Diversity

A diverse workplace is Integral to a strong, productive and creative workplace. If all your employees are the same, you will face problems that you won’t be able to overcome. You need different types of workers to create a dynamic workplace; otherwise, your company will feel monotonous and boring. You can also scare off a candidate if everyone currently employed is the same. And that one different person might be the best employee; you wouldn’t want to lose that person.

6. Offer Ongoing Learning Opportunities

A growing trend that helps retain employees and improve the quality of work is to offer development opportunities. Several educational institutions are offering their services to companies that want their employees to grow career-wise. If your company allows attending seminars or financially helps their employees to go to business school, this will give your employees an extra incentive to stay in their job and you will eventually reap the rewards with an improved workforce!

If you are not offering training to your employees, you are going to be behind competition in this fast-changing marketplace. Nowadays, not offering any learning opportunities inside or outside of the workplace is like having non-competitive pay. People expect to have them or will go to where employers offer it.

7. Don’t let Toxic Workers Poison Talented Employees

This is crucial. Even if you offer the best wages in the market, pay for your employees’ tuition, and have the best leader/boss around you can’t let toxic workers impact your company. They will make your best employees leave out of pure contempt. It might not seem like a problem at first, but eventually, people get tired of the same person’s harmful behavior. If you don’t fire noxious individuals because you are afraid of the economic cost, you eventually will face bigger problems as your top employees start to leave.

Conclusion

You need to keep your employees happy and productive. To do so, you need to offer good wages, career opportunities, and a diverse workplace. You need to be a good leader and avoid lethal people inside the work environment. If you apply these seven concepts, you will have few problems with a discontented workforce heading for the door.

If your high performers are quitting, let Flexicrew help find strong replacements quickly.  Don’t wait!  Contact one of our professional recruiters today!

Ask the Flexpert…What’s the Importance of Training and Development?

The importance of training programs to employees and the employers is exhibited in eight different ways:

Improved employee performance

The employee who has undergone thorough training has necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities to perform his/ her task better.  A skilled and confident employee will embrace his/her employer based on overall production.

Employee satisfaction

The company shows appreciation to its staff and thus employees feel valued and motivated.

Addressing weaknesses

Workers have varied abilities, skills, and knowledge. This is why teamwork is emphasized most in team building exercises. This training also creates a valuable connection between employees.

Consistency

Equips the employees with enough competencies and experience. The consistency results in enhanced performance.

Increased productivity and quality

If the workforce is motivated there is an observable growth rate in productivity and encourages the company to implement more training courses.

Increased innovation

The workforce needs training in order to fit in with the rapidly trending automation advances in every market.

Reduced employee turnover

Employees who are trained on how to operate and maintain modern industrial equipment and systems are likely to feel valued if investments are made in their career and less likely to leave employers who value them.

Enhances company reputation and profile

Helps to develop an employer’s brand and makes a company a prime consideration for graduates and mid-career changes.

So training and development offer both employers and employees with advantages that make the time and cost a valuable investment.

Call on Flexicrew to get some useful ideas how training and development are worthwhile for you to implement.