One of the biggest issues facing many our Groove Management’s clients is employee retention.  Turnover is up across the board.  Voluntary attrition rates continue to climb because the job market has heated up.  Employees are recognizing that there are a lot more opportunities in the marketplace than have existed during the past eight years.  With the aid of LinkedIn and other socialrecruiting tools, recruiters are doing a better job of identifying passive job seekers.  The end result is that companies are struggling to hold onto their top talent.

Most companies have come to recognize that there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and financial results.  Employees who are engaged give discretionary effort and do the right things for their employers.  That translates into better business results.  However, too many companies fail at effectively measuring employee engagement.  In working with several clients on their culture and employee engagement, we have found that companies often confuse employee satisfaction with employee engagement.  The two terms are used synonymously, yet their definitions are quite different. 

An engaged workforce can dramatically improve an organization's performance and conversely disengaged employees can be the poison that ruins an organization.  Many organizations, especially large ones run an annual or bi-annual employee engagement survey to measure the level of engagement in their organization.  If designed properly and administered well these tools can provide a good gauge of employee engagement.  

Similar to starting a new job or a new school, the Panthers entered the 2014 season feeling good about themselves.  They had completed a winning season the year before despite being eliminated in the first playoff game.  This season got off to a decent start with a 2-0 record.  The fans were on board and everyone had high hopes.  Then the Panthers hit a wall.  It was as if someone had cast a spell over them.  They won only one of their next nine games; well they did have a tie in there.  Entering December with a record of 3-8-1, the fans and everyone else had counted them out.  Maybe next year they would get their act together. 

Smartphone icebreaker for team meetings.  Easy to setup and a fun lesson on the importance of perspective.

A few employment branding ideas,  each one serves the purpose of building a stronger employment brand.  The products connect your employees to your brand in a unique and fun way.  Even more importantly they connect your employees family to your company and your brand.

Recognizing employees for a job well done is a key to being a great manager. Positive recognition brings out the best in people and it can be equally rewarding for the manager doing the recognizing.

A paradox exists in most large companies.  The larger the organization the more risk averse it becomes.  This makes little sense, but it is commonplace.

5 interview questions regarding generational diversity that were posed to Brian Formato, CEO of Groove Management.

Workplace culture is like a living organism constantly evolving. The introduction of a new employee or the departure of an employee can change the dynamic of an office culture. Too often the leadership of companies overlooks the importance of culture to organizational performance. Work styles and personal preferences have been studied for ages. 

By providing a daily visual, the leaders could see that they were being measured against their colleagues.  This graphical view of response rates translated into a 97% response rate for one business unit and helped push the enterprise response rate over 90%.  

Keeping employees informed will go a long way towards keeping them engaged. Too much silence leads to rumor and speculation. Better to be transparent and tell it like it is, just keep the message focused on the positive and the future. Your employees will reward you by working harder and getting your organization through these tough times if you keep them focused on creating a brighter future.