AMiable Solution #75: Going the Distance

What makes Cisco, the networking experts, so attractive to employees that it has helped land the company on Forbes’ list of “Best Companies to Work For” 14 years in a row? 

In addition to offering a high average pay and on-site childcare, the company supports a successful telecommuting program.  How successful?  According to Forbes, more than 80% of Cisco’s employees regularly work from home or outside the office.

Would your organization have a happier workforce if it offered a telecommuting program?  Odds are, yes.  According to the folks at Global Workplace Analytics and the Telework Research Network, 47% of employees who have the option to telework say they are “very satisfied” with their jobs. Only 27% without a telecommuting option claim the same satisfaction, and 50% of the U.S. workforce (64 million employees) holds jobs that are compatible with at least part-time telework.

So why don’t more employers offer telecommuting?  For starters, supporting such a program requires the right tools: hardware and software that enables the necessary communication and document sharing.  In addition, some organizations are just too small to be able to offer telecommuting.  Maybe the biggest reason employers hesitate to offer telecommuting to employees, however, is a matter of trust. Employers don’t want to be played for fools by employees who take advantage of the opportunity to work fewer hours, accomplish less, and ultimately cost the company more.

But that fear is unfounded.  While it’s true that some folks are better suited for working at home than others, those who take the opportunity seriously are actually--as reported by the Global Workplace Analytics folks--more productive than their coworkers in the office.  Because they have fewer interruptions, better time management, and greater flexibility in their hours, they not only work harder, but they also work longer hours.

And they aren’t the only benefits.  Every employee that works half time at work can save an organization up to $10,000 per year!  Those kinds of numbers make everyone happy.

AMiable Solution #74: Exempting What Counts

What’s a quick, easy way to reduce your bottom line in a big way?  If your response is “personnel reduction,” you’re itemizing your staff in the wrong column.  To have a happy work force and a successful organization, think of employees as assets, not expenses. 

Although employees do represent a significant portion of your expenses, they also represent--more than any mission statement or written company communication--the heart and soul of your organization.  If your employees are dissatisfied, uninterested, or not invested in what they do, your clients, customers, or members will not only pick up on that, but they’ll also get a subpar experience.

What does thinking of employees as assets instead of expenses mean?  It means investing in your employees.  Giving them responsibility and holding them accountable.  Listening to their ideas.  Training them and helping them grow.  Thinking of them as a key component of your business, not as a line item that can or should be minimized.

Certified Six Sigma (a business process that allows companies to improve their profitability) experts Kenneth Levine and Peter Sherman identified, in a July 26, 2010, Quality Digest article, “Ten Simple Principles for Treating Employees as Assets,” some very practical recommendations. All of them are free, and all of them are things you can implement immediately, including

• Tell your employees the truth, particularly in trying times
• Establish trust by making and keeping commitments
• Include employees in key decisions and planning
• Encourage employees to make suggestions for improvement

(To see the complete list, click here.)

Operating a productive, competitive, and successful organization or business depends on many factors beyond your control.  Your organizational culture--and your customer’s experience--isn’t one of them. 

AMiable Solution #73: May the (Labor) Force Be With You

What’s the secret to nurturing a happy, productive workforce?  It seems that companies who pay more sometimes receive less in return: fewer turnovers and fewer customer service issues. 

Every year Forbes identifies the top 100 American companies to work for.  This year, in addition to identifying the usual 100, Forbes also identified all of the employers who have appeared on all of the company’s “Best Companies” lists--16 of them since 1998.  Of the 13 employers identified on this list, four are called out for offering generous or higher-than-average pay: Cisco, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Goldman Sachs, and Nordstrom.

CostCo, too, appears to buy into the “pay employees more than you need to” mentality.  According to a September 3, 2013, article, “On Labor Day, 3 Companies Worth Celebrating,” by Jeremy Bowman, the warehouse giant pays its employees more than $20/hour.  Rival Wal-Mart pays $13/hour.

The lesson here?  Sometimes money does buy happiness, and loyalty, and success. 

The good news?  Not every company, particularly new or small companies, can afford to be generous in their wage offerings.  Fortunately, money isn’t the only thing that motivates workers or that lands an organization on Forbes’ list.  Check back next week--and every week in September--to see what other traits keep companies successful and employees satisfied.

AMiable Solution #72: Marketing to Baby Boomers

True or false: Baby Boomers love to dwell on the past.

If you answered “yes” and you market to your audience that way, you don’t know Jack.  Or Mike.  Or Susan.

Unlike Millennials, who respond to nostalgia marketing, Baby Boomers--those born between 1946 and 1964--don’t want reminded about the past.  They don’t want you to make them think about the days when they were younger.  They prefer to feel younger.  To think about the future.  To feel ageless.  To embrace new technologies and new products that help them achieve their goals. 

                                                                                                           

And they buy.  According to Jay Ehret’s June 25, 2011, “The Marketing Spot” blog, Baby Boomers make up 47% of all spending.  Forty-seven percent!  If you aren’t targeting this group, the numbers suggest you should.

What’s the best way to market to Baby Boomers?  Though they’re often thought of as old-fashioned, when it comes to marketing mediums, they’re new age.  Ehret reports that Baby Boomers spend more time on the Internet than any other age category.  And we’re not just talking about surfing the web.  Baby Boomers have a strong interest in social media, particularly when it comes to niche communities that involve their passions. 

But don’t overlook traditional direct mail marketing: research suggests that Boomers use direct mail as a starting point for gathering information. 

Finally, don’t make the mistake of assuming all Baby Boomers are alike.  As you’d do with any large population, segment and target them for their particular interests and spending preferences.  There’s more to them than every Tom, Dick, or Harry.