As an idea management
consultant, it’s my job to help companies create a culture where employees look
forward to coming to work every day, invested in the jobs they were hired to
do. The level at which employees are
invested in your company speaks volumes about your company reputation which
allows you to retain your current customers and draw in new ones. Most companies make their clients and
customers their number one priority. However, those companies have it
backwards. Employees should be your number one priority and here’s why: there
is a direct correlation between employee investment in their jobs and customer
retention. When your employees are invested in their jobs, they will have a
direct and positive impact on your company’s bottom line value, as well as its
ability to maximize profitability.
This isn’t just about having
great employees who care about their jobs. You want employees who are invested
in their jobs to the degree that they also actively seek out opportunities to
improve both their work environment, and the customer experience. It can mean
the difference between having 20percent of an engine’s capacity available to get you
where you’re going, or having the whole engine at your disposal to drive your
initiatives forward.
Two major components of
employee investment are attracting the right talent for your organization, and
retaining the talent once you acquire it. Employee turnover is extremely costly.
Not only in terms of dollars expended to replace employees, but also in terms
of lost productivity, retraining new hires, and lost intellectual knowledge.
Employee turnover becomes even more costly when an employee leaves your company
and takes the intellectual knowledge they gained while working for you over to
your competition where it’s used to drive their business initiatives forward.
Furthermore, employees talk.
Disgruntled employees post reviews on sites such as Vault and Glassdoor. Think
about the damage that’s done to your company’s reputation when they write
things like, “Lack of accountability in management is leading to a discouraging
environment and a steady decline in service to clients;” or “this company
continually drives talented people away.”
Not only are your potential hires — people who are the right fit for your
company — reading this, your potential clients are too.
The very reputation of your company
depends on your employees. They have to be your number one priority! When your employees know they are not
expendable, and that their ideas and contributions are valued, they will help
you build up your company’s reputation for taking care of your customers. Your
happy customers will further advocate for your brand!
Idea Share of
the Month!
Commitment to an employee idea
system at all levels of management is critical to successful implementation. Your
employees will be scrutinizing your entire leadership team, watching them for management
behaviors and signals before buying into the system themselves. When they see
investment from the top down, they will be ready to jump on board too.
Company leaders talk about how difficult it is to engage their people. Your points are solid. When employees feel valued, acknowledged for good work and involved in creating new ideas, they are engaged!
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