Employer – Employee Relations

EMPLOYER - EMPLOYEE

AND CONSTITUENTSRELATIONSHIPS

By: Larry Weiss

SD LTAP

YOUR ROLE AS A SUPERVISOR

•You must be a leader with a plan

•Develop an annual budget

•Plan ahead for major expenses

•Oversee township business

•Oversee township finances

•Decision making on road and culvert projects

•To listen to constituents and respond with actions

•Act and abide by state law governing townships

•Be proactive in heading off liability claims

ANNUAL BUDGET

•Do you have a goal or a vision of what you wantyour township to be

• You approve an annual budget?

•Who prepares the budget?

•Do you take public input prior to the budget?

•Who approves the budget?

•Who manages the budget?

EMPLOYER –EMPLOYEECONSTITUENTRELATIONS

BY THE NUMBERS

•Only 29 percent of employees areactively engaged in their jobs. Theseemployees work with passion and feela profound connection to theircompany. People that are activelyengaged help move the organizationforward.

Fifty-four percent of employees arenot engaged. These employeeshave essentially “checked out,”sleepwalking through their workdayand putting time – but not passion –into their work”

“Never mistake activity for accomplishment.”

Seventeen percent of employeesare actively disengaged. Theseemployees are busy acting out theirunhappiness, undermining what theirengaged co-workers are trying toaccomplish

How many of you have these in your organization?

“YOU CAN’T EXPECT PEOPLE TO BECOMMITTED, TO BE LOYAL TO ANORGANIZATION, TO BE ENGAGED IN ANORGANIZATION, [OR] TO WANT TO STAYIN AN ORGANIZATION IF THE COMPANYDOESN’T CARE ABOUT THEM.”

WHY DO EMPLOYEES LEAVE?

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TOP REASONS EMPLOYEESLEAVE

•Things never change for the better

•Fail to connect with their bosses as leadersand people.

•Work environment is not particularly friendly.

•Do not feel appreciated.

•Managers will not listen to employees

OTHER REASONS EMPLOYEES LEAVE

•Limited career growth or opportunity

•Lack of respect for supervisor

•Higher compensation

•Felt their job duties were unchallenging

•Felt their supervisor lacked leadership skills

•For better work hours

WHAT IS THE REAL REASON?-LIMITATIONS

•There is no incentive for employees to explainwhy they are actually leaving their job.

•Employees want to leave their job and havethat boss as a good reference.

•Few exit surveys have been done.

•Last time you lost an employee did you meetwith them to understand why?

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NEW EMPLOYEES

•Employees who have worked with an organizationfor six or fewer months are the ones most likely toleave the company.

•Those with one to two years’ experience are thenext most likely to leave.

•“On average, the cost of losing an employee isabout 150 percent. It’s one-and-a-half times theperson’s compensation,”

WHY IS EMPLOYEE RETENTIONIMP0RTANT?

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EMPLOYEE RETENTION

•Employees are the heart and soul of anorganization.

•Employee turnover is costly for anorganization.

•Finding suitable replacements for keyemployees is difficult.

•Low employee turnover leads to outstandingperformance of an organization.

WHY DO EMPLOYEES STAY?

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TOP REASONS EMPLOYEESSTAY

•Have a good connection with their boss

•Workplace is a team oriented environment

•Want to contribute, feel wanted

•Workplace is a “climate for learningcharacterized by trust and openness”

•Feel supported

•Can balance work and life

WHAT DO EMPLOYEES WANT?

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THE SECRETS OF EMPLOYEERETENTION

•Equity and job security

•Employees want to be treated fairly and, just asimportantly, compensated fairly.

•Companies must demonstrate more than theminimum obligations to people.

•Communication

•Individuals want to understand management’sexpectations so they have a clear idea of howtheir work will be judged.

•It is important to set measurable goals andevaluate an employee’s performance.

THE SECRETS OF EMPLOYEERETENTION

•Pride and teamwork

•Employees want to feel good about their jobs, have a sense ofachievement, and be proud of their accomplishments.

•Individuals should be properly trained and provided withadequate materials and equipment to complete their jobssuccessfully.

•Employees want to work with teammates who are as enthusiasticand competent as they are.

•Failure to address problem employees communicates to teammembers that management view substandard performance asacceptable.

THE SECRETS OF EMPLOYEERETENTION

•Fun

•While it’s important that attempts at creating afun work environment don’t disrupt the overallproductivity of employees, making the jobenjoyable is beneficial.

•By never taking time to celebrate, employees aremore likely to experience elevated stress andburn-out.

THE SECRETS OF EMPLOYEERETENTION

•Recognition

•“People want to do good work and they want tobe recognized for it,”

•We recommend that recognition be significant,specific and sincere.

•For example, telling an employee “you’regreat” isn’t nearly as meaningful as saying thathis/her innovative ideas and work to satisfy aparticular tenant or to keep a specific projecton budget was terrific.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT IF YOUREMPLOYEES ARE HAPPY?????

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ASK!

•Assure subordinates that they are free to express theiropinions without fear of negative repercussions.

•Consider seeking the services of a third party to survey staff.

•Be prepared to share the survey findings and a plan ofaction with the team.

•If you can determine why employees are not happy, it’slikely you can prevent them from leaving by changingpractices, culture, and sometimes even your managementstyle.

YOU-AS A LEADER

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FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OFLEADERS

•(1)They have open channels ofcommunication that lead to collaborationand inclusion

•These leaders are open with information,interested in learning what employeesthink, and incorporate their ideas intodoing business.

•These leaders not only inform peopleabout issues affecting them but involvethem in decisions.

FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OFLEADERS

2)They move beyond thestatus quo.

•These leader take boldaction in support of theirpeople, raising thebenchmark.

FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OFLEADERS

(3)They are very selective aboutwhat to measure and why.

•Great leaders know what makestheir unique culture tick andmeasure accordingly.

•A clear and accurateunderstanding of their cultureallows them to choose andreward measures selectively.

FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OFLEADERS“

(4)They are passionate aboutvalues and culture.

•Values are tied to success andmeasures, and the leaders arevery familiar with the values. Theirvigor for values and culture iscontagious.

HOW DO WE RETAINEMPLOYEES?

•Train the Managers.

“Employees don’t quit jobs, they quitmanagers.” That’s an overstatement, butnot by much. Top on the list of bestpractices is regular meetings withemployees about performance andexpectations.

HIRE RIGHT IN THE FIRSTPLACE

Too many employment interviews areabout personality: whether the jobcandidate matches the manager’spersonality. Focus more on job skills andyou’ll get a better fit, which is more likelyto lead to a long employment tenure.

They were here the longest

No one else applied

We had to fill the position

Willingness to be micromanaged

We can’t hire anyone that knows more than we do

OFFER EMPLOYEES A PATHTO BETTER PAY,RECOGNITION ANDRESPONSIBILITY.

Not everyone can rise to a managerposition, but every employee can buildskills. Find a way to recognize those skilland challenge employees to gain evenmore skills. That makes not only a betteremployee, but one who feels a sense ofaccomplishment and success.