5 Factors that Influence Employee Retention Rates

Posted on

September 6th, 2022

Retaining employees is often a top priority for HR managers. Companies spend a considerable amount of money on recruiting the best talent to fill their vacancies, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Refilling positions is even more expensive, as it can cost up to one-third of the employee’s salary to replace them. Businesses can influence employee retention rates by understanding the following:

40% of employees leave their position due to underperforming managers. Over half of employees believe their managers promoted too quickly, while 60% believe their manager needs managerial training. Those employees are much more likely to look for new employment opportunities.
Lack of recognition triggers a job hunt in 24% of employees. Employees that feel that management doesn’t appreciate their work are more likely to interview for a new job. In contrast, employees that feel company management acknowledges and appreciates their efforts are five times more likely to stay.
Remote working options decrease turnover by 25%. Happier, more relaxed employees are more likely to stay with their company, and having the ability to work remotely is a significant motivator. It offers them more flexibility and can reduce stressors like traffic.
Turnover skyrockets when career advancement opportunities are scarce. Employees are rarely content to remain in their job without ever growing their skillset. Many want professional development opportunities and a clear career trajectory. If employees perceive they have no other advancement opportunities, a staggering 70% will find new employment to develop their careers.
Money talks. Businesses can engender employee loyalty through several means. However, wellness programs, flexible scheduling, remote work, strong company culture, and competent leadership can’t compete against a better salary. Nearly half of employees will leave their current jobs for new opportunities that offer a 20% pay raise or more.

Retaining employees is essential to maintain productivity, meet deadlines, and keep recruitment costs in check. Employees considering a job change are more likely to express their dissatisfaction with their job, arrive late, or leave early. These behaviors may escalate to outright absenteeism as the employees withdraw more from their position. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about absence management.

How to Manage and Engage Remote Employees

Posted on

August 2nd, 2022

Andrew

Working from home became an unavoidable reality during the pandemic. Many businesses have cautiously resumed in-person operations, but numerous continue to offer the option to work from home for part of the workweek. Some companies are 100% remote by choice, either due to a distributed workforce or the nature of their services.

Whatever the reason may be, managing a remote staff has unique challenges. The following are several strategies company leadership can use to manage employees outside of a traditional office setting successfully:

Equip employees with the tools they need. Most employees only need a laptop with a reliable internet connection to work from home. However, many employees overestimate the speed of their home Wi-Fi. While it may be sufficient for one individual on a video conference, it may struggle if other people in the house are using streaming services. Employees may not be able to upgrade their internet speed, but many virtual meeting platforms include an option to toggle off video. Only using the voice function puts less strain on the connection.
Check-in often. It’s easy for projects to go astray or fall off the radar altogether when teams can’t work in the same space. Scheduling frequent check-ins allows managers to keep projects on track and ensure employees’ work aligns with the company’s priorities. Managers can make these meetings more enjoyable by including a coffee break or using the time as an opportunity to brainstorm and share ideas.
Prioritize clarity. Regular check-ins can rapidly become burdensome if managers spend the entire time addressing discrepancies or misunderstandings. It also frustrates employees, as they feel like they’ve wasted their time or need to work overtime to fix a project. Regular communication through a team chat, phone calls, and virtual meetings can eliminate confusion and discontent among the staff.
Build camaraderie. Working from home can be lonely, and employees may miss breakroom small talk. Employees need to feel like they’re part of a team and understand why their work matters. Companies can establish weekly virtual coffee breaks, lunches, or workout sessions to inject some much-needed fun into the workday.

Remote employees can quickly spiral into disengagement and burnout without competent and considerate management. Attendance problems are also more likely without the proper support. It’s easy to start late, log off early, or take long lunches without regular supervision. Contact Actec to learn how our absence tracking mobile app can help you manage your remote workforce.

How to Help Remote Employees Create the Best Home Office

Posted on

July 5th, 2022

Andrew

Employees coveted work-from-home benefits well before the pandemic made it a common practice. Now that COVID restrictions are easing, many workplaces are shifting back to working in the office. However, modern companies understand how much employees value working from home and are implementing a hybrid workweek. With employees working remotely for part of each workweek, they need a home office that is comfortable and promotes creativity and productivity.

While most remote employees likely set up a home office during the pandemic, many did so in a hurry. Their office space may not reflect their style, or they may not be making the most of their space. The following are several ideas to help employees create the best home office.

Smart Home Office

Employees that live in a smart home can extend those features to their office. Even without a high-tech house, employees can install smart technology to improve their workspace. For example, investing in HVAC zoning improves energy efficiency and allows employees to control the temperature of their home office. Employees can also utilize a voice assistant to schedule appointments, organize their work calendar, or control other smart home features like room temperature and lighting.

Industrial Home Office

Not everyone has a separate room they can use for a home office. Many savvy homeowners looked to their basements, garages, and sheds as a possible solution. While converting a garage or shed into a home office requires environmental considerations (particularly temperature control), utilizing the basement is a simpler and more budget-friendly option.

Employees may think their unfinished basement isn’t conducive to work, but they can implement several simple changes to create an edgy, industrial workspace. Natural light is important, but employees can mimic sunlight without undertaking a significant renovation. Employees can brighten an otherwise gloomy basement by frosting the glass of used windows and hanging it over LED flat panel lights. An urban area rug and industrial office furniture can complete the transformation.

No Space Home Office

Not every employee can dedicate an entire room in their home to an office. They likely tried to make areas of their home serve double duty, but many of those spaces are high-traffic zones. For example, a kitchen island or dining room table. Employee productivity hinges on having a quiet space in their home with minimal interruptions.

Closets are a great option for creating a compact but functional office. Many homes also have unutilized spaces that employees can convert into a workstation, such as landing areas, awkward niches, dormers, under the stairs, and other spaces with a sloped headspace. Some open shelving and a built-in desk can transform a previously dead zone into an efficient workspace. Employees can also consider installing built-in shelving for rooms that have width but lack depth. Running the shelves and cabinetry along the full width of the wall creates ample storage while keeping the office footprint slim.

A comfortable and well-designed home office is critical for employee productivity. Companies may notice an uptick in attendance problems during remote workdays, such as employees failing to respond to messages when they’re on the clock. Those employees may lack a dedicated work zone or struggle with frequent interruptions. Whatever the reason, businesses need a solution to track attendance and monitor absenteeism. Actec’s absence tracking mobile app centralizes absence data to help businesses identify attendance trends, manage PTO requests, and comply with federal leave laws. Contact us to learn how our app can improve your absence management practices with a remote workforce.

How to Create an Office Environment Employees Will Love

Posted on

April 19th, 2022

Andrew

The pandemic forced many companies to shift to an all-remote staff, but many are returning to the office as the omicron surge wanes. Flexibility and the option to telework are here to stay, and employees are likely to divide their time between the office and at home. However, employees have grown used to their home offices. The layout is to their liking, snacks are readily available, and their productivity is impressive. If their workspace at the office falls short by comparison, they aren’t going to want to be there. It’s also likely to tank their engagement and hinder their work output.

Office spaces should energize and motivate employees rather than leaving them underwhelmed and apathetic. Here are several ideas to cultivate workspaces that employees will love.

Create Collaborative Spaces

Teams need spaces to engage, bounce around ideas, and form a cohesive plan. Depending on the company culture and space availability, employees may prefer to gather on comfortable couches in break rooms, meet at a round table, or book a formal closed-door meeting. Stocking these rooms with tools that inspire creative collaboration (e.g., whiteboards and dry erase markers) can maximize their effectiveness.

Define Quiet Productivity Areas

Many employees struggled with distractions from pets, kids, family members, or other people living in the house while telecommuting. The workplace should seek to eliminate these noisy interruptions for times when employees need to focus. Meeting rooms away from the main office thoroughfare work well for this purpose, or companies can designate a productivity space that discourages phone calls, loud conversations, music, etc.

Design Workspaces with Employee Wellbeing in Mind

Enhanced cleaning protocols became the norm as the pandemic progressed, but companies can do much more to make the workplace a relaxing and supportive environment. Dark workspaces can leave employees feeling lethargic and unproductive. Increasing natural lighting in workspaces does wonders for employees’ happiness and engagement. Companies can achieve this with easy and cost-effective changes, such as moving workspaces to well-lit areas, adding mirrors to reflect the light, or using bright lights that mimic natural sunlight if it isn’t possible to rearrange the office layout. Eliminating clutter can also improve employees’ moods, as visual clutter often overwhelms employees and increases their stress.

The change to exclusively telecommuting happened quickly, and employees had little time to adjust. Businesses have much more control over the return-to-office process. Creating a workspace that employees want to use doesn’t have to be grand or cost prohibitive. Simple changes to layout and lighting can improve employees’ mood, productivity, and desire to go to the office.

The office setting needs to support employees’ creativity, productivity, and mental wellbeing. If their home offices are better equipped, companies may struggle to transition their workforce back into the workplace. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about what influences employee attendance and how you can improve it.

4 Simple Steps to Improve Employee Attendance and Engagement

Posted on

April 5th, 2022

Andrew

COVID-19 has forever altered the concept of business as usual. Many businesses transitioned to a remote workforce at the onset of the pandemic. Now, some are reopening their offices, but employees expect to have continued flexibility. The pandemic isn’t over, and employees may still need flexible hours or the option to work remotely should COVID affect their household.

Employees’ mental health has also become a top priority for companies. Businesses are implementing several changes to reflect this trend, such as:

Offering mental health days
Adding mental health services to insurance plans
Encouraging employees to stay home when they feel unwell
Increasing PTO

Employee burnout is at an all-time high, and ignoring their mental health or work-life balance needs can lead to disengagement and rampant absenteeism. Consider implementing the following trends to sustain attendance and productivity:

Remove the stigma of using PTO. Many employees feel like they can’t use their PTO without repercussions unless they give ample notice, such as taking time off for vacations. However, employees can’t predict mental health challenges or burnout. Fostering a culture that encourages employees to use PTO when they need it can help employees rest when they need to and return to work refreshed.
Focus on employee retention. Many companies expend considerable energy on continually improving the customer experience, and employees deserve that same courtesy. Companies that consistently recognize their employees’ value and efforts experience greater employee loyalty and less absenteeism.
Trust employees. Employees resent micromanagement, particularly while dealing with the stressors introduced by the pandemic. Provide clear productivity expectations and deadlines, but trust employees to manage their schedules. Companies can ensure projects stay on track by monitoring employees’ work output rather than scrutinizing or dissecting their work hours.
Invest in absence management software. Absence management software helps businesses identify attendance trends and unusual absences. Employers can use this information to implement data-driven changes to improve attendance and employee engagement.

Actec understands the attendance challenges businesses are facing as the pandemic continues to affect business operations. Our self-service absence-tracking mobile app captures all attendance data without the need to contact multiple departments or managers. Employees can also use the app to submit leave requests, either by phone, text, chat, or within the app itself. Contact us to discuss your absence reporting and tracking needs.

Top Reasons Why You Need Employee Attendance Tracking Software

Posted on

March 8th, 2022

Andrew

Employee absences have a ripple effect on productivity. Projects come to a halt if a team member isn’t present to complete their part. Other employees may pick up the slack to meet the project deadline, but their morale is likely to suffer under the increased workload. Other attendance issues can also sew discord among staff, such as an employee who regularly arrives late without consequences.

The Types of Attendance to Track

Certain employee absences are inevitable, such as an employee falling ill or using their vacation leave. However, failing to track all areas of attendance can create blind spots that lead to chronic absenteeism. The following are the primary attendance markers companies need to know:

Arriving late
Leaving early
No show without notice and without calling
Sick leave
Paid time off (PTO)

Some businesses offer other forms of leave, such as maternity leave, bereavement leave, and mental health days. Which metrics a company chooses to track depend largely on the company’s culture and attendance policy.

The Importance of Attendance Tracking Software

Manual attendance systems are too easy to fool. The most prevalent issue with manual systems is buddy punching. Employees may clock each other in or out to hide tardiness or early departures. Using a mobile app provides better attendance data and simplifies many aspects of absence management. A mobile app centralizes all leave requests, and it simplifies the process of requesting leave for employees.

Businesses can also use the data to identify attendance trends, which may uncover more significant issues. For example, if employees in a certain department arrive late and leave early consistently, it can indicate there is an issue with the manager. Addressing these issues early can prevent systemic absenteeism and potentially improve morale. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about improving absence management with our absence tracking mobile app.

The Number 1 Reason Companies Fail to Retain Employees

Posted on

November 23rd, 2021

Andrew

The pandemic forced many employees to reconsider their work situation. More time at home allowed people to view their career through a different lens, and many workers decided they’ve had enough of the stress of their job. However, a high rate of burnout isn’t the primary cause of the sudden deluge of employee turnover. Companies that are struggling to retain their workforce need to focus their efforts on the right place to reduce the number of resignations.

Don’t Bandage the Burnout

No company can afford to lose employees at a cyclic rate. However, the knee-jerk response to fix the perceived problem is often unhelpful. Offering better benefits or upgrading workspaces won’t sway the staggering 41% of workers considering leaving their job if their employers don’t address the root cause of their frustrations.

More often than not, a bad manager is the source of the problem. A recent study found that nearly two-thirds of employees considering a career change noted bad relations with their managers. Bad has multiple meanings for employees. They may feel that their managers don’t appreciate or value their work, that their primary boss is narcissistic, or that otherwise pleasant managers lack enough training to perform their job well.

How to Avoid Mass Resignations

The current job market is at direct odds with conventional beliefs about the employee-employer relationship. In the past, economic instability meant employers had most of the bargaining chips. Employees were often thankful to have a job at all and accepted situations they ordinarily wouldn’t to remain gainfully employed. In the pandemic era, employees are putting themselves first and refuse to remain in intolerable working conditions.

Avoiding resignations requires businesses to identify pain points, such as detrimental managers, and implement benefits that show the company cares about its employees. However, detecting toxic managers poses a significant challenge. Many employees would rather leave than face potential backlash for speaking out against their supervisors.

A simple way to find potential problems among the staff is to track attendance. Unhappy employees are more likely to arrive late, leave early, or miss work altogether. Businesses can use this information to identify troubling trends, such as an uptick in absences within a specific department. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about improving employee retention with absence reporting software.

5 Surprising Advantages of a Four-Day Workweek

Posted on

November 2nd, 2021

Andrew

Everyone loves a three-day weekend. Employees chat excitedly about their plans for their extra day off, and they often return to the office with more energy and vigor for their work than usual. With employee burnout worse than ever, many businesses are looking for new and creative ways to combat the problem. For most organizations, the four-day workweek yielded impressive and unexpected benefits.

Why a Four-Day Workweek?

Advancements in technology expedited how quickly employees can complete tasks. However, this doesn’t mean employees can necessarily perform more work without suffering from burnout. There are only so many tasks, processes, and projects a single person can juggle each workweek. Many are questioning the validity of a five-day workweek, as long hours don’t always translate to better productivity in the modern workforce.

Benefits of a Shorter Workweek

Companies may worry that productivity will suffer or that they’ll struggle to meet deadlines if they reduce employee hours to four days a week while still providing a five-day workweek salary. However, numerous countries around the world are giving the four-day workweek a try and report the following benefits:

Happier employees. Many employees spend their two days off running errands, attending appointments, and tending to their life responsibilities that have to wait during the workweek. They have little time for leisure, and it tanks their productivity. The additional day off allows employees to do the things they love so they can recharge.
Reduced costs for businesses and their employees. Utility bills drop significantly for companies, as employees are in the office less. Employees use less water, less electricity, and produce less trash, which yields direct savings. Employees also save money on gas, coffee, and going out to lunch.
Increased loyalty. Employees value workplace flexibility, and a four-day workweek is a significant perk to dangle. It improves their motivation, job satisfaction, and loyalty to their employer.
Better productivity. Unhappy employees are less likely to give their full focus to their work, and they are more likely to have attendance problems. They may arrive late, duck out early, take long breaks, or chat with their coworkers instead of doing their work. With a shorter workweek, productivity rises as employees are less prone to these attendance issues. Employees that work a four-day workweek are also more creative and use their work hours much more effectively.
Fewer health-related absences. Employees suffering from burnout are more likely to call out of work due to their mental health. Mental health problems can affect physical health as well, leading to more infections and illnesses. Many employees reported an improvement in their wellbeing when working a four-day workweek compared to a five-day one.

Some businesses adopting a four-day workweek model split their employees so that some work Monday through Thursday while the others work Tuesday through Friday. This approach ensures companies are still available to their customers five days a week while maintaining a reduced workweek for all employees. Flexible work hours are just one of the ways to improve employees’ health, productivity, and attendance. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more ways to reduce absenteeism.

Top 4 Ways the Pandemic Reshaped Absence Management

Posted on

October 19th, 2021

Andrew

The pandemic has had an undeniable effect on absences and how companies manage them. More people called out of work in 2020 than they ever have in the past twenty years. Most of these absences have direct ties to COVID-19. Illness- and other medical-related absences rose by 45%, while absences related to childcare difficulties skyrocketed by 250%. Experts also speculate that extreme stress has led to higher-than-normal rates of burnout, which also lead to absences.

The shifting attendance landscape forced many businesses to reconsider their absence management strategies. Here are the most notable absences management trends of 2021:

A rise in telehealth. The concept of virtual doctor appointments isn’t new, but the pandemic accelerated its acceptance as the norm. Virtual appointments allow employees to receive care and prescriptions for some ailments without exposing themselves to contagion-filled waiting rooms. Telehealth also provides greater access to much-needed mental health services.
Mental health challenges. Although employees have greater access to virtual mental health services, there is still a stigma around receiving them. However, the mental stress of the pandemic is sending a surge of anxiety and depression through employees. Employers need to spread awareness and reduce the negative association with mental health services to help prevent a widespread mental health crisis in the workplace.
Accommodation requests. Barring undue hardship, employers must provide reasonable accommodations to federally protected groups. However, prior to the pandemic, this usually applied to the location the employee worked (i.e., in the office). With so many employees still working from home, employers need to consider what employees need to do their job rather than where the work occurs.
Transitional difficulties. Many companies are transitioning some of their employees back to the workplace due to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, this shift won’t be easy for many employees. They may have musculoskeletal problems from prolonged use of non-ergonomic furniture (i.e., working at the kitchen table or from the couch). Employees may also struggle with a traditional eight-hour shift, as remote work allows them greater flexibility with their work hours.

The pandemic radically transformed business as usual for most organizations. Companies need to understand how these changes contribute to employees’ ongoing mental health and wellbeing. Failing to keep up with these trends will result in burnout and significant absenteeism. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about absence management in the wake of COVID-19.

How to Improve Employee Engagement with SMART Goals

Posted on

October 5th, 2021

Andrew

Every company has big-picture goals, but it’s not always a straightforward matter to achieve them. Managers may struggle to keep employees engaged, or employees may not understand their role in the process. Team- or company-wide goals are easy enough to grasp, but how to accomplish them becomes murky when broken down to the employee level. Using the SMART approach to setting goals can cut through this confusion and allow employees to engage with their work to the best of their ability.

Understanding SMART Goals

The SMART method isn’t a new concept, but many businesses fail to keep it in mind when setting goals. The SMART criteria are Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Using these elements allows companies to create measurable goals that outline what employees or teams need to accomplish on a specific timeline. The SMART approach also allows companies to provide clear markers of success, whether it’s a certain number of sales or a percentage increase in customer engagement because they can track the results.

S: Specific goals eliminate confusion by providing details on what the objective is, what team or employee is responsible for it, and what steps those individuals need to take next.
M: Measurable goals are much easier to quantify because they have data to examine. If a company sets a goal to increase social media engagement, it also needs to identify benchmarks of success. One additional customer comment compared to the month before technically constitutes an increase, but it’s not likely what the company had in mind. Setting measurable targets eliminates confusion on what counts as success.
A: Unrealistic goals will leave employees frustrated and destroy productivity. When companies reach this point in goal setting, they need to take a hard look at the feasibility of the goal. If the goal is too demanding or big in scale, employees will struggle to achieve it.
R: Employees won’t understand the point of a goal if it lacks relevancy. This part of the method explains why the goal is important to the company’s long-term success and how employees contribute to that end.
T: Employees need to know the timeline for achieving their goals. If they aren’t clear on when tasks are due to keep the goal on track, they’ll struggle to distribute their workload effectively. Similarly, if the timeline is too short, employees won’t be able to produce the quality of work required for true success.

When employees understand their role and tasks, why it matters, and what management expects of them, their productivity increases exponentially. Without knowing these things, they’re likely to flounder and disengage from their work. Disengaged employees don’t see the importance of what they do and are much less motivated to do their work. This kind of thinking can result in absenteeism, poor workplace morale, and lost profits. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about improving employee engagement and attendance.