Adopt a Broad-Base Appraisal Policy to Control Attrition

Why do employees leave? 

Answers are plenty but they do not provide complete solutions as different individuals have different needs and requirements. Some employees prefer to leave a job because they don’t like the work culture. Some may not be satisfied with the salary or appraisals. Some are not happy with their co-workers while some may have some other problems.

Say for instance, you hire a new employee and his training period runs for six months. During these months, he simply adds to the cost-to-the-company as he is not fully involved in the production. 

If the same employee leaves after 2-3 months of being confirmed then this investment turns into a loss for the company as it fetches the company virtually no returns.

Attrition to some extent is good for the organization as it helps you get rid of non-performing resources. However, it becomes a real problem when it goes beyond the desired limit or draws away your performing workers. 

In this blog, we will discuss the major reason of attrition – the lack of motivation – which in turn, results in employee dissatisfaction. 

Controlling attrition is not just about retaining employees. In fact, it is the act of retaining the resource you actually want to retain or in other words, identifying workers who are actual assets to the company! 

‘How to motivate employees’ is an oft-repeated question. Is appraisal a foolproof method? But then, you can’t appraise every employee equally. Then how do you recognize the deserving person? 

According to an article by Josh Bersin, published in Forbes, “tenure-based rewards systems have virtually no impact on organizational performance”. 

The article further states, “companies that scored in the top 20% for building a “recognition-rich culture” actually had 31% lower voluntary turnover rates (this is when good people leave on their own).”

Make the appraisal system more flexible and broad

Most companies recognize and reward their employees on the basis of productivity numbers, which however, should not be the only criteria for appraisal. You can satisfy and motivate some employees by evaluating and rewarding them under these criteria. 

But going simply by numbers and output to judge performance may make you ignore other deserving employees, who have say expertise in client handling or trouble-shooting during crisis, as such qualities are not exactly quantifiable. When such performances go unnoticed, it suppresses their skill and desire to work in the company. 

Recognize employees who are result-oriented as well as self-motivated and most importantly, well-behaved. You can reward an employee when he deals with customers efficiently at the time of a particular problem.

This way, you can satisfy and motivate a broad set of employees who are specialized in one or other domain.

Pick the Right Cherry When it Comes to PR Agency

It is in continuation of my previous blog “Picking the Perfect PR Agency”.  Here are some more tips to be considered while asking for the services of a creative agency. 

Request a proposal

You can ask the different advertising agencies for a proposal, action or PR plan, for your project. It can give you an idea about the strength and reach of the agency. You can demand credentials such as sample press releases and case studies to have a feel of the style of writing and promotional strategies.

 Team Strength

It is very essential to access the expertise and strength of a complete PR and creative team, which will be showcasing and promoting your products to the potential customers. In a team, usually senior consultants are responsible for doing pitches and presentations. These are the mid level managers who take care of your account. So make sure, you have a seamless communication with the professionals involved in your project.

 Bang for the Buck

As an entrepreneur, you should know exactly what benefits or returns you should be anticipating in lieu of the money you are pumping into an ad campaign or marketing project. Be very sure of your budget before hiring a branding agency. It may happen that your PR consulting company charges some unnecessary fees while handling your branding exercise.

The PR agency, apart from narrating your story to the press, also designs, writes, and positions your brand image to woo your target audience. It is also responsible for handling crises and building your reputation. Keep a track on the events during the course of your marketing and brand building campaign and make sure it is worth your every penny spent.

CEO Peer Groups

Experience is the greatest learning.

Benefit from the experiences of industry leaders at a corporate executive coaching and get some smart guidance on how to pick the perfect PR agency out of the scores of PR companies around. AT a CEO peer group or CEO club, you can also come to know the contacts of some good advertising agencies that have proved their worth in projects they have handled.

Basic Elements of a Joint Venture

In our last blog, we talked about the preparatory steps needed to enter into a joint venture. In this blog we will be discussing the basic elements of a Joint Venture, which one should be aware of while binding into a contractual agreement.

The Ways You Can Enter Into A Joint Venture

A joint venture can be structured in four major ways – when a foreign investor buys an interest in a local company; when a local firm acquires an interest in foreign firm; when both local and foreign companies forms a joint enterprise; and together with public capital and/or bank debt.  

Choosing Right Partner Is Very Important

The success of a joint venture depends on both the partners, which makes it important to choose your partner carefully. For this, you need to do a screening of all the prospective partners. Make sure you have checked the credentials of your partner before signing the agreement. The marketing and distribution network, R&D, technical knowhow, infrastructure and reach of the company should also be considered before signing the joint venture agreement.

Maintain Contractual Integrity 

Every joint venture partner has a fiduciary responsibility – a duty to act for someone else's benefit while subordinating one's personal interests to those of the other person – and has the duty to act in Good Faith in matters that concern the common interest or the enterprise.

A joint venture can terminate at a time specified in the contract – upon the accomplishment of its purpose, upon the death of an active member, or if a court decides that serious disagreements between the members make its continuation impractical (Source: TheFreeDictionary).

All the participating parties in a joint venture share some mutual responsibilities and goals, and have a set of certain rights and duties. The parties have a mutual right to share the profits and control the enterprise, and a duty to share in any losses incurred. In order to avoid any trouble in later stages, the parties should be aware of all the terms, conditions, and clauses of the agreement. 

The Right Guidance

Every initiative requires effective guidance from the expert and experienced. CEO coaching provides you the requisite guidance and knowledge you need to have before entering into a joint venture. There are a number of reputed CEO Associations that holds expertise in providing CEO training. You should consider joining a CEO club to understand more about a joint venture.

Learn the Art of Retaining Employees

Recruiting employees is never easy. Retaining good employees is trickier.

One common refrain you will hear from your employees who are leaving the company for greener pastures is, “You know, I loved working here but I need better opportunities to grow and improve my skills”.  And you are left wondering, what are those opportunities that you missed giving and other companies offered to draw away your prized employees.

It can get frustrating when the most talented of your employees quit suddenly, especially those on whom you had invested quite a lot of time, resources and money.  Retaining the performing employees is critical for your company's growth and success. Here are a few tips for CEOs who are keen to retain the employees they have groomed and mentored:

Retain the right person

Not all employees are worthy of retention. Some departures might actually be a blessing in disguise as laggard employees are ones you can do without.

But there are employees who either have the necessary skills and performance capabilities or have been painstakingly trained and groomed by you to handle varied responsibilities.

When you are planning measures to retain employees, make sure you know which employees are assets for the company and you can thus have significant plans for them in the long run.

Let employees leave the difficult manager & not the company

Quite often, employees leave their job not because of the company but due to their differences with the manager. In such cases, you can allow employees to change departments and work with the managers they are comfortable to work with.

Give opportunities

Give opportunities to your employees to learn new things. As a CEO or a business leader, it is your responsibility to motivate your employees from time to time. You can assign them short term goals such as learning about new software or giving them a chance to lead a project. You can also make them undergo corporate executive coaching sessions to hone their skills.

Offer rewards

Pay your employees fairly. Money is the biggest motivator. From time to time, you can offer increments or bonuses to your employees. It is not just the money that can make you hold a strong grip on your employee. Even small rewards such as taking your employees out for a dinner or a movie can go a long way in strengthening bond. You don't need to indulge your employees all the time. Offer such rewards occasionally for a good job performance.

Be generous with compliments

Acknowledge your employees for the hard work they put in and compliment them. Treat them with respect. This will boost their morale and push them to perform better. Even when you criticize, be constructive about it and tactfully convey your message.

Be nice and yet assertive

Try to maintain a good rapport with your employees. As a CEO, you need to maintain a fine balance. Sharing a joke with employees is fun and healthy. But maintain a certain authority so that you are treated with respect.

You can learn the fine art of maintaining business relations and hone your leadership skills at a CEO club or a CEO corporate association. At CEO clubs, you get to mingle with experienced CEOs and presidents who can provide you guidance on retaining your employees and making your business a huge success.