With an ageing workforce, multi-generational and multi ethnicity staff, skills shortages, changing demands of employees and calls for more social purpose and responsibility, employers today, more than ever before, need to respond to these key business drivers in order to maximise their business opportunity.
Invariably the same issue rises to the top of the pile – employee engagement. This seems to be the number one challenge for HR managers in companies large and small.
With HR managers striving to gain a seat on the Board or the Executive Committee, it is vital that HR strategy in in alignment with the corporate vision and strategy.
Employees are your corporate brand. Without them you have no unique competitive advantage, and so improving employee engagement, which can lead to improved retention, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and greater customer satisfaction, is critical to your corporate performance.
With leading professional services consulting companies such as Mercer Consulting calculating that to replace an employee can cost as much as 150% of salary, maximising staff performance can deliver huge benefits.
During a recent meeting with a senior hospitality HR manger, we discussed a key issue connected to employee engagement – unplanned absence and staff retention and the impact on the business. In this particular business, this was a significant challenge, but it is an issue for many businesses.
When we discussed the challenges in detail, we agreed that unplanned absences can have a major impact on a business and are a concern for many HR managers, as well as being a drain on resources, and they create significant problems for the business. The key issues identified around unplanned absence and staff turnover were:
- Lost productivity (and revenue) if no one can cover the work
- Increased costs – you may need agency staff
- Reduced efficiency (and revenue) if staff cover is not found
- Lower levels of customer service as personnel are stretched
- Reduced employee morale as the staff pick up the slack
When you also consider employee turnover, the real impact on a business starts to add up, and it could be costing you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per year if your employee absenteeism and turnover is high.
Lowering your unplanned staff absenteeism and turnover has a major positive impact on your bottom line through:
- Improved productivity and morale
- Lower recruitment costs – both time and money
- Reduced on boarding and training time and costs
- Retention of expertise – losing expertise can impact morale and customer experience
So how can Brownie Points help your business?
Browniepoints is a fully configurable, cloud based, real time software platform that allows you to develop formal (points based) and/or informal (non-points based or social) employee recognition and incentive programs to motivate and inspire your staff.
A Browniepoints staff recognition program is designed to deliver major benefits across your organisation including:
Improved staff retention and talent attraction
Quality and productivity improvements – increased accident free days and compliance
Increased sales revenues and profitability
Innovation and cost savings
Improved customer and staff loyalty
By placing employee engagement at the top of the list of priorities, HR managers can align their strategy with the overall corporate vision and make a real difference to corporate performance.
We believe that your employees are your most precious resource, and staff engagement is vital if you wish to maximise the potential in your people and grow your competitive advantage.
For more information call us today on 03 9909 7411 or email us at info@browniepoints.com.au for a no obligation discussion about how we can help your business.
