6 Strategies to Retain and Engage Employees

In a recent study from the Energy Project (2013-2014) only 7% of employees have their core needs met at work with slightly over 59% surveyed not having any core needs met.  There were four core needs measured in this survey: renewal (physical), value (emotional), focus (mental), and purpose (spiritual).  These statistics are staggering given the fact that employees spend approximately 80% of their work week interfacing with clients.  If employees are not growing and being nurtured, can it be expected that they will be able to delight clients by helping them thrive?  Attracting top talent continues to be a key component of any company’s strategy.  However, the ways in which top talent is recruited and retained is a hot topic that is largely debated in today’s literature.  Too many companies hire good people only to let them flounder once they come aboard.

Quality onboarding practices embraces ideas such as making new hires aware of company history, their specific services that are unique to the marketplace, and intensive job-specific training.  Driving high performance, creating a common language across the company, and strong cultural buy-in are essentials in today’s employment landscape.

In the last several years, employee dissatisfaction has become a major hot-button issue for many employers.  This is supported by a Kelly Services survey that reports that around 44% of respondents feel valued by their employer, yet they actively are looking for better job opportunities.  Employees who are content with their current position are actively seeking greater meaning and engagement from their positions; an attitude and activity that must be nurtured and encouraged. 

Here are 6 strategies to increase retention and engagement amongst employees:

1. People want to be valued, cared about, listened to, appreciated, respected, and involved. These values directly relate to basic human needs that, if nurtured, will contribute to an employee that exhibits ‘leadership from the heart’.
2.  ‘Face to Face’ appreciation for a job well done carries clout and strengthens workplace relationships.  People need to feel that their work is valuable and makes an impact. 
3. Create a healthy work environment by committing to positively blend the different generational needs and values of the workforce to leverage their diverse strengths of knowledge and skills towards productive activity.
4. Set reasonable expectations for work-life balance and affirm them with positive reinforcement and incentives.
5. Communicate company values and strategy often to maximize employee buy-in.
6. Encourage creative out-of-the box thinking.  Let employees know you’re receptive to new ideas.

Your employees directly affect client experience and the bottom line. The moral of the story is if a company does right by the employees, they will do right by the clients, and new business will follow as a consequence.  A simple statement that requires a complex approach.  

The Ugly Truth about Affordable Care Act Compliance

Many employers do not have the systems in place to support efficient compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Deploying the right solution is critical given the requirement that 1095-C forms need to be delivered to employees by January 31^st.  The ugly truth of ACA compliance is that it will remain painful for employers until they embrace technology that can make compliance truly efficient and accurate.

An efficient solution for ACA compliance must have four core capabilities:

1. Track the data necessary for reporting compliance:

• Group health premiums, coverage dates and, for self-funded plans, dependent information
• Compensation data (payroll)
• Time (hours worked)

2. Aggregate the data:

• If the required data lives in disparate systems (Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, and Time Keeping) it must be aggregated to present a clear, timely, and accurate picture of ACA status in real time.  Aggregating this data is hard enough to do at the end of the year, not to mention continuously to support real-time decision making
• If employers are members of a control group (related employers that consist of more than one legal entity), data must be aggregated for the entire control group

3. Measure and analyze the data to support real-time decision making throughout the year:

• Alert the employer when employees attain or lose coverage eligibility
• Understand affordability to avoid substantial penalties for not offering affordable coverage

4. Report the required data to employees and the IRS each January for the preceding year:

• Self-insured plans must complete Section III of the 1095-C form and therefore must track and report dependent information
• Large employers (250 or more employees) must report data to the IRS electronically using the IRS AIR reporting system

Can your technology efficiently deliver on the requirements of the ACA during the 31 days of January?

Mosaic’s Workforce One platform is uniquely positioned to address ACA compliance.  Workforce One is a comprehensive workforce management system that has the Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, and Time Keeping capabilities the ACA requires – all delivered on a single database with a single user- interface.  

If you would like to see how Workforce One can take the ugly out of ACA compliance, call (303) 645-4270 or visit www.mosaices.com.