Should You Care If Employees Love Coming to Work Every Day?

It’s not every day one gets the opportunity to speak with a CEO who is genuinely committed to building a workplace where employees love to come to work. Sure, there are a lot of leaders who use the standard line, “Our people are our most important asset.” However, one look at Glassdoor, a website where employees (both current and former) can share their experience of what it’s like to work for an employer, and you’ll see that many employees aren’t feeling the love. That’s not the case at Kronos Incorporated, a U.S.-based multinational workforce management software and services company headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts. According to its Glassdoor page, employees think quite highly of CEO Aron Ain, who happens to have a 96% approval rating. And if that weren’t enough, 79% of respondents on Glassdoor would recommend the company to a friend.

I had to see for myself, how a guy who runs a global company from a city that’s not on anyone’s list as “a top place to live,” is somehow managing to attract and retain top talent, in an economy where there is full employment. He shared some of the plays he and his team were using to win over the hearts and minds of today’s workers, who he readily acknowledges, have plenty of choices when it comes to choosing an employer. For the complete playbook, you’ll have to read his new book, WorkInspired: How to Build an Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work.

Recruiting and Retention is a team effort. Ain believes that recruiting, engaging and retaining talent is a team effort. “It’s a full combat sport to do it effectively. The recruiting department can’t do it without the managers, and the managers can’t do it without the recruiters,” states Ain. “Having a great workplace is key. The leadership team at the company has to create a great environment. Great people have choices, and you want them to choose you!”

Resist the temptation to outsource recruitment. Some years ago, Kronos followed the trend of outsourcing their recruitment function. They quickly learned that no one could represent you better than yourself, which led to the decision to bring recruiting back in-house. The company invests heavily in recruitment and has armed their recruiters with all the magical tools they need to do their job.

The power of employee engagement. When asked to reveal his secret sources of talent, Ain responded by telling me that 65% of all the people he hires comes from two places. Half come from referrals from current employees. “When you have an engaged workforce that’s really happy, they will refer others,” states Ain. The other half comes from being on The Best Places to Work list. “Our goal in winning a coveted spot on The Best Places to Work list is to attract people.”

Building the foundation today for tomorrow’s talent. The people at Kronos understand that to you have to start engaging prospective employees very early on in their careers. Vans are sent over to local high schools to pick up students who are interested in working for the company. They’ve built a solid relationship with a local university, UMass Lowell. “We recruit heavily from there,” states Ain. The company also hires 100 interns every summer. “We overpay them, give them real work, and hire 20 of them,” notes Ain. “We also bring on co-op students. Students who complete their six-month co-op receive a $3,000 scholarship towards their next semester.”

Welcoming Boomerang employees back with open arms. Many leaders shudder at the idea of bringing back an employee who has left the fold. That’s not the case at Kronos. “We actively and proudly recruit Boomerang employees,” states Ain. “We call people up when we have open positions and ask if they will come back. We reach out to people whom we may have laid off during a downturn in business and ask them if they are interested in returning. We also have a Boomerang area on our website, in which we encourage former employees to come back and join us. Currently, the company has 200-300 Boomerangs around the Globe, including the CFO and the CHRO.

What’s the point of hiring great people if you can’t keep them? Recruiting is one part of the equation. Employee retention is even a more significant part. “People are getting calls every day from headhunters and recruiters,” notes Ain. “We have an obligation to create a fully engaged environment so that when people try to poach our people, they will say no. To ensure this happens, we have to create an environment that is so compelling that they say no when they receive these calls.”

Engagement begins and ends with the manager. Kronos has added 19 questions to its engagement survey, that measures the employee’s satisfaction with their leader. This information is used to create an MEI (Management Effectiveness Index) for every manager. "That’s been a big breakthrough for us!” exclaims Ain. If their first MEI isn’t what they hoped it would be, the manager receives coaching with a member of the HR team. If their scores don't improve, they are then either transferred to a position where they are no longer managing people or managed out of the organization.

For cultural transformation to succeed, you have to be fully committed. You also have to be willing to stay the course.

#talentmaximizer, #employeeretention, #leadership, #recruitment

I'm excited that you've chosen to read my new LinkedIn newsletter and welcome your thoughts regarding topics you'd like me to cover. You can email requests to Roberta@matusonconsulting.com or place your ideas in the comments section.