Posted November 22nd, 2016 I recently talked about the importance of employee retention, particularly in the highly competitive tech industry. Among Salesforce talent, the competition for top performers is especially fierce.
Job performance, retention and employee culture are linked closely. Strong company cultures typically help attract and retain top talent and improve on-the-job performance considerably. Yet many companies are lost when it comes to their culture.What’s working? What’s not? What can we do about it?!
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) released its annual employee job satisfaction and engagement survey, which shared some interesting insights into motivation and performance. The good news? Employees’ most critical areas are ones that can be easily addressed by most organizations to help motivate employees and increase productivity/performance:
1. Recognition and respect. This point seems so automatic that you may be surprised it’s included. But the very fact that research shows it’s a priority implies that many employers do not invest enough time and effort into recognizing employee contributions and treating all employees with respect. Interaction with employees at all levels from executive leadership sends a strong message to employees that their work and contributions are valued. Encouraging feedback and discussion among senior management and employees across your organization (and following through on that encouragement) can send a strong message that you truly value input and satisfaction among your team. More research from BambooHR digs deeper into the element of recognition. They found that more employees would rather be recognized for their work in a company-wide email than would prefer to receive a $500 bonus. This is compelling data that demonstrates the importance of “practicing what you preach” when it comes to employee recognition.
2. Providing competitive pay and total compensation. Although we may be well past the “Great Recession” of the late 2000s, evidence shows that employee salaries haven’t caught up since those difficult economic times. In recent years, SHRM research found that employee pay and total compensation is increasingly important — especially among millennials and younger workers. Student loan and other debt places a heavy burden on the youngest generation of professionals, and with a new administration in the White House, economic uncertainty among millennial employees could rise even further. When it comes to highly-specific talent like Salesforce Admins and Developers, you should expect to provide highly competitive salaries (our team here at Tech2 has in-depth understanding of the market and can help you gauge whether your compensation packages are competitive enough to land top talent). This data doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go overboard and above market value; however, sitting in that “average” or “low average” range might not be enough to help you stand out to talent.
3. Strong benefits. As with the salary insights above, today’s employees (particularly younger ones) are placing increased emphasis on benefits when considering employment opportunities. The data actually paints a sobering picture for employers: Nearly ⅔ of employees surveyed by SHRM rated benefits as a very important contributor to job satisfaction. But slightly more respondents (68%) aren’t satisfied with the benefits offered by their current employers. While you may have the basics covered (eg. health insurance, vision/dental, vacation, etc), employer contributions to health insurance are increasingly important. The standard, two-week vacation offering is also becoming a thing of the past. And if you can, take a look at offerings like wellness programs, pensions (they are making a comeback) or other family-friendly benefits that can make employees feel more “invested” in their employers.
A strong culture that emphasizes the three above areas can help you retain and motivate your team. When it comes to finding top Salesforce talent for your project or organization, the Tech2 team has the industry knowledge and experience needed to match your precise needs with an exceptional developer, admin, technical architect, or any Salesforce professional. Contact me directly via email or phone to learn more.
