Author Archives: CorpStrat News

4 Simple Employee Recognition Ideas

Employee Recognition IdeasEmployee recognition is about acknowledging the hard work of the employees within your company. And it is a crucial element to employee engagement and happiness. Simply put, a solid employee recognition strategy leads to stronger engagement, increased employee morale, and lower employee turnover.

The best recognition tactics make employees feel valued and respected. But, creating an effective recognition strategy from the start is not as easy as it looks. Here are 4 simple tactics you can incorporate today to jumpstart your employee recognition program.

1.    Positive Feedback

Give positive feedback to employees when they produce exceptional work. As simple as this may seem, positive feedback is an effective—and simple—way to recognize your employee’s and/or team’s hard work. Praise motivates people to work harder, so sharing positive feedback on a regular basis, whether through a quick shout-out in the meeting or through email, is a good way to jumpstart your employee recognition tactics.

2.    Employee of the Month

Create an “Employee of the Month” program, one that recognizes the month’s top-performing employee. A formal employee recognition process like this can instill a sense of pride within the employee, encouraging stronger engagement and motivation. But we recommend making the nomination process an inclusive activity, not one that only upper management gets to dictate. Including everyone’s opinion in the process will make them feel valued and respected as employees throughout this process. Looking to go the extra mile? Take it one step further and create a “Wall of Fame,” with pictures of your past “Employees of the Month.”

3.    Wellness Day

Show your support for wellness with an Employee Wellness Day. Creating a culture of wellness at your company is guaranteed to inspire, educate, and engage employees. Self-care activities, such as on-site massages, mindfulness sessions, or fitness classes will give your employees a much-needed break. And this refreshing break will create the understanding within your employees that their hard work and efforts are being recognized and valued.

4.    Catered Lunch

Host an employee appreciation lunch for your employees. From fully catered meals to box lunches, there are endless ways to bring a catered meal to your company. Treating your employees with lunch is a great way to show that you appreciate them for their hard work. If catering a lunch for the entire office is too much, then try providing catered meals department by department, or team by team.

Bonus tip: Recognition and rewards software

Implement a recognition and rewards software to better track and reward your top-performing employees. Employee recognition tools can automate your strategy for a smoother employee recognition program. With hard data, these software platforms give a data-driven insight into which employees go above and beyond in their roles as well as automatically provide recognition and rewards to those who exemplify company culture.

With these simple tactics, your employee recognition program will have a strong foundation. Your employees will feel recognized and, therefore, motivated to work harder for your company. But, if you want to learn how to attract, reward, and retain your employees in the long-term, reach out to CorpStrat today.

How to Start Building Employee Loyalty

How to Start Building Employee LoyaltyAfter you hire to fit company culture, the next step is to cultivate employee loyalty among your workforce. Doing so will lead to higher employee productivity and engagement, which Gallup found led to 21% greater profitability. As such, loyal employees can help your business grow and develop. But employee loyalty is not a given; it has to be earned and nurtured over time.

How to Start Building Employee Loyalty

Real loyalty develops when an employee trusts and respects the company. Employees must trust that the company has their best interests at heart and is invested in them. Simply put, it’s a two-way street. If they sense that they are not valued, employees will leave the first chance they get. That’s why the company must take actionable steps towards cultivating employee loyalty.

The first step in fostering employee loyalty is to must make sure the employee’s and organization’s interests are aligned. As the key that connects an employee’s interests to the company’s, this duty falls upon the managers. Regularly communicating the organization’s goals during meetings show how employee contributions affect team and organization success, which, in turn, engages employees.

Another crucial step in building loyalty is to create an engaging work environment. A team effort between managers and higher-ups, establishing the right company culture, one that nurtures employees and creates compelling experiences, will go a long way in keeping employees loyal. Here are a couple ways to help you get started:

  • Provide continuing education workshops.
    Creating a space where employees can learn and improve their skills sends a message that the company and the team is invested in them, in helping them become the best they can be.

How to Nurture Employee Loyalty

Now that you’ve taken the first steps towards earning loyalty, how do you nurture it? The first step is to see which employee loyalty efforts have been effective by collecting data through an anonymous feedback system. An anonymous feedback system is essential at this point as it provides employees the chance to provide honest feedback while protecting their privacy. Ultimately, this will help you win their trust and long-term commitment because it shows that you value their opinion and respect their privacy.

With the data you’ve collected through the surveys, you’ll have an overview of what drives your employees and, essentially, what keeps them loyal. You’ll know which areas you need to act on.  So, the next step is to open the floor to your employees for constructive suggestions on how to address some of these issues.

  1. Set up a meeting to discuss relevant feedback.
  2. List out the main issues to discuss.
  3. Open the floor to employees on how the overall work environment is looking and for any constructive suggestions.
  4. Based on suggestions, create 3-5 actionable steps for the next 3 months.
  5. Establish a timeline of bi-weekly or monthly follow-up meetings until the deadline to ensure everything is on track.
  6. Periodically encourage employees to share new ideas and constructive feedback.

Bottom Line

Like any trust-building effort, building employee loyalty takes time, but it will be worth it. Any efforts, big or small, sends a powerful message that you are interested in their well-being, spurring them to be more productive and engaged in the company. After a year, you will be able to see these efforts shine through lower turnover rates, higher engagement, employee advocacy and, most importantly, employee loyalty.

Looking for a way you can enhance existing employee loyalty? Contact CorpStrat to learn how we help companies attract, reward, and retain their most important assets – their people.

5 Strategies to Retain Your Top Employees in 2020

CorpStrat Retain Employees

Did you know that retaining your employees is more cost effective than hiring? The time and money it takes to train a new employee costs your company far more than retaining your employees. Overall, having a high employee turnover can disrupt productivity and morale, as well as your company’s bottom line.

For those looking for ways to re-engage and retain their top employees, here’s a list of 5 strategies your HR department can incorporate in 2020.

1.    Find out why people are leaving and fix it.

If your company has seen an increase in the number of employees leaving, it is important that you find the underlying cause. Finding the root cause—whether it’s about the treatment of employees or the lack of a competitive salary—and fixing the issue can make the difference in employee retention.

Information obtained from exit interviews and honest conversations with current employees can be helpful in pinpointing what the problem is and how you can solve it. In addition, being proactive and conducting engagement surveys can reveal early warning signs to help you get ahead of the problem.

2.    Give positive feedback.

The simple act of positive feedback boosts employee confidence. Encouraging the efforts of your top employees and positively reinforcing their work improves morale and builds trust. Solidifying this trust is especially important when negative and constructive feedback becomes necessary.

Establishing a program where hard work is recognized and rewarded—or even using an employee recognition software—can foster a positive feedback culture where employees feel valued for their wins and ultimately stay.

3.    Communicate your organization’s shared vision.

Communicating the company’s short- and long-term goals can make your top employees feel engaged and valued. Knowing the bigger picture helps them align their goals with the company’s, cultivating their sense of purpose and sense of loyalty to the company.

In order to start this process, you must set aside a time for a company meeting where you lay out the organization’s goals, such as where the company is going and how the company aims to get there.

4.    Conduct a compensation analysis.

Although pay isn’t as big of a priority anymore,  it is still important to offer competitive salaries. Since salaries are a reflection of how valued an employee is, a fair compensation package, with a competitive salary and benefits package, is crucial in lowering employee turnover and increasing retention rates.

The first step is to conduct an annual compensation analysis, in comparison to your competitors, to see how much you should be compensating your employees. By offering a competitive package, your top employees won’t be enticed to leave your company for another.

5.    Offer opportunities for learning and continuous education.

According to LinkedIn, 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if it invested in helping them learn. As such, providing opportunities through which your top employees can grow and learn new skills can help with retaining them.

Access to workshops and certifications on relevant and useful topics are two ways your current employees can improve on and learn new skills. These will naturally engage current employees, making them feel like they can continuously grow with your company.

With these 5 strategies, you and your company will be able to retain your top employees for 2020. But for a smarter, long-term retention strategy, reach out to CorpStrat and learn how we help companies likes yours attract, reward, and retain your most important asset – your people.

The Secret Behind Disneyland

Life Insurance Policy

Want to know the secret of how Walt Disney started Disneyland? After being turned down by his bank for a basic business loan, Disney turned to life insurance to finance his dream of opening a theme park. The proceeds from his life insurance policy were used to open Disneyland, “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

But how did this work? His life insurance policy basically accumulated cash value and he was able to withdraw this money as a policy loan. This accumulated value was tax-free and was used by Disney to create a tax-free income.

So, what exactly was this asset Disney used?

In today’s term, this asset is called the Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL). An IUL is a type of cash value life insurance policy that has both death benefits and an accumulation element. Rather than placing investments in the market where it could be lost, investments in an IUL are put into a strategy that mirrors an index like the S&P 500, allowing the participant to realize most of the gains in the market. These gains are then locked in to protect against potential losses.

Basically, this allows for people to invest in the market without taking losses, which makes IULs appealing to professionals and business owners. Another benefit is that it allows cash value within the policy to grow tax-free. Since IULs are funded with post-tax dollars, clients can withdraw money tax-free and, essentially, have a tax-free income at a future date.

Compared to IRA or a 401(k), IULs are more flexible. There is no limit on how much money can be added annually, as long as the added cash doesn’t create a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC), which is taxable. There are also no restrictions on when the money can be taken out, unlike the IRA.

As a life insurance policy, IULs provide financial security to the family in the event of death of disability. In an event of the policyholder’s death, the death benefits are received tax-free in a lump sum by the beneficiary.

IULs are perfect for those who want to experience the gains of the market without facing the losses. They are perfect comprehensive and flexible wealth building options that can be tailored to each person’s financial plan.

Want to know more about IULs and other life insurance policies? Contact CorpStrat to learn more about how our 21st Century strategies can revolutionize your life and business.

21st Century HR Strategies

21st HR Strategies

Back in the 20th century, there was a clear difference between work and life. What you did to earn income and what interested you weren’t always associated together.

But, today, life is pushing back! Recently, there has been an increased focus on happiness at work among employees. They may change jobs often and encounter unexpected twists and turns, but personal satisfaction within a job is just as important as the job’s salary for today’s employees.

And with the rise of mobile technology, work is no longer confined to the office. New technologies and software allow employees to be “on” anytime, anywhere. But even though technology has offered great advantages, it has allowed work to infiltrate employees’ lives, keeping them connected to work 24/7.

In addition, employees today are more diverse than ever. They are no longer easily defined by generational categories like “Millennial,” “Gen X,” or “Boomer.” Instead, employees want to be recognized as the unique individuals that they are. They want faster recognition and direct compensation for their efforts. And they want to be a part of something bigger besides just “having a job” and “making money.”

In light of this “blended life,” employees are looking to achieve harmony, which is the experience of a work-life relationship that supports their life goals. When this work-life relationship is “in harmony,” employees become empowered in their personal relationships, as well as in their financial and career goals. In order to aid employees in their quest for harmony, employers must adopt an “employee-first” mentality and proactively provide solutions based on their needs.

Here are 5 ways employers can meet employees where they are:

1. Offer a breadth of employee benefit options.

The definition of “employee benefits” has expanded beyond “health insurance”. Today’s employers have to offer flexibility, custom tailored and diverse offerings. By offering a wide range, employers can help alleviate the anxiety that comes with the integration of work-life and home-life.

2. Deliver digital and tailored solutions.

With the rise of mobile technology, companies must embrace HR technology to adapt and disseminate their information. Doing so will help an increasingly diverse workforce find the assurance and security it’s looking for.

3. Provide access to the right information.

When employees have access to the right information on their terms, it ensures they can get the info they need to meet their objectives. This places additional demands on the HR team, who must engage vendors to deliver timely and clear information regarding benefits, policies, and payroll, compliance and workplace procedures.

4. Focus on creating an engaging company culture.

Time and dollars spent on creating culture will be returned exponentially. So, companies that engage their teams, create synergistic opportunities beyond the softball team, and support employee engagement will thrive in retaining and attracting talent.

5. Tie compensation to performance.

When compensation is tied to performance, employees will best be able to recognize their role in the growth and success of their organization. This will enable them to discover the immense value of their workplace and benefits. As a result, their appreciation will enhance their loyalty and commitment to the company.

Companies that embrace this new way of thinking and utilize HR technology to bring employee engagement into the 21st century will thrive in a challenging and changing business world. Contact CorpStrat to learn how our “21st Century” strategies can revolutionize your business.