Superior Workforce Checklist Continued
For a high performance, superior workforce, you need effective training and development and a fair, motivating recognition and reward system.
5. Provide a recognition system that rewards and recognizes people for real contributions.
- Provide equitable pay with a bias toward variable pay using such methods as bonuses and incentives. Whenever possible, pay above market. For more information, see Tips for Determining a Motivating Salary.
- Develop a bonus system that recognizes accomplishments and contributions.
- Design ways to say "thank you" and other employee recognition processes such as company periodic anniversary remembrances, spot awards, team recognition lunches and more. You are limited only by your imagination.
- Despite the rising cost of health care insurance, which you may need to share with your employees, provide a continually improving benefits package. (If you can afford the cost of the health care - do.)
6. Provide training, education and development to build a superior workforce.
Training Resources- Employee retention and education begin with a positive employee orientation. The new employee orientation should give the new employee a complete understanding of the flow of the business, the nature of the work, benefits and the fit of his or her job within the organization.
- Provide ongoing technical, developmental, managerial, safety, lean manufacturing and/or workplace organization training and education regularly. The type of training depends on the job. Some experts recommend forty or more hours of training a year per person.
- Develop a procedure-based, cross-training matrix for each position that includes employee skill testing and periodic, scheduled, on-the-job demonstration of capability, for most hands on jobs.
- Provide regular supervisory and leadership training and coaching from both internal and external sources. The impact of your front line people on the development of your workforce is critical.
- Create jobs that enable a staff person to do all the components of a whole task, rather than pieces or parts of a process.
- Develop a learning organization culture through such activities as “lunch and learn,” reading books as a team, attending training together and by making the concept an organization goal.
- Make a commitment to both providing and tracking the accomplishment of the developmental activities promised in the PDPs.
7. End the employment relationship if the staff person is not working out.
- If you have done your job well - effective orientation, training, clear expectations, coaching, feedback, support - and your new staff person is failing to perform, termination of employment should be swift.
- View every termination as an opportunity for your organization to analyze its hiring, training, integrating, support and coaching practices and policies. Can you improve any aspect of your process so the next new employee succeeds?
- Perform exit interviews with valued employees who leave. Debrief the same as you would a termination situation.
The time and attention you pay to these seven success opportunity areas will reap your organization the performance of a superior workforce. And that's the performance that will enable your organization to achieve its dreams and goals. Best wishes for your success.
