Care for Your Employees

Providing internal-advancement opportunities fosters a sense of confidence in your workforce and confirms that their tenure at the company is strongly valued.

By Jon Sillerud, Uponor North America

Cultivating a strong brand results from investing in the customer experience while concentrating on employee needs. Here’s how you can enrich the lives of your employees and their families to build a promising future.

Concentrate on culture

The difference between a good company and a great one is culture. This is a fact. According to a Glassdoor report, public companies named to their “Best Places to Work” list have outperformed the S&P 500 by 115%.

So how do you get a healthy, thriving culture? It starts at the top. You need leaders who value a collaborative, engaging environment that encourages, celebrates, and rewards innovative ideas and solutions. For example, encourage employees to submit ideas for operations, safety, delivery, and cost containment. These ideas can improve your culture and have a very positive effect on your bottom line.

Build up benefits

Offering medical, dental, and life insurance benefits is the norm for most North American companies. Consider giving employees something more. Unique benefits such as free legal services, pet insurance, paid time off to volunteer, or work/life balance resources are just a few of the ideas that forward-thinking companies are offering their valued workforce.

Another coveted option: flexible schedules. For example, try a four days on/four days off schedule for manufacturing workers. For many families, having four days off in a row is a big benefit. Some have even described it as a “mini vacation” several times a month.

Master mobility

A company that regularly promotes from within has many advantages over companies that routinely seek outside candidates. Providing internal-advancement opportunities fosters a sense of confidence that tenure at the company is strongly valued. This approach also gives employees a chance to better support their families for the future. The company benefits by eliminating hiring costs, while experiencing faster assimilation, lower employee turnover, and better quality of performance.

Seeking new and better ways to care for employees and their families is a trend that will continue as more companies look to maximize their workforce and improve the return on their most valuable investment—their people. EP

Jon Sillerud is Vice President, Operations, for Uponor North America, Apple Valley, MN (uponor.com). Reach him at jon.sillerud@uponor.com.

For more about workforce development strategies and techniques, watch our webinar presented by Jon Sillerud. You can view the presentation at efficientplantmag.com/2001uponor.