Summer Vacation Gets Them Thinking of Greener Pastures

Note: As you begin your week, here are some tips from the Humetrics blog to help you recruit, hire and retain great people more effectively.

My grandkids just came back from camp and, every year, they seem to love it more and more. Of course, they don’t want summer to end or to have to go back to school.

How would you guess your employees feel coming back from summer vacation? Wishing summer would never end and they wouldn’t have to go back to work? Maybe they’re beginning to think there has to be greener grass somewhere else out there for them. Gallup tells us that 71% of workers believe now is a good time to find a job.

This means this is the time you need to make sure you are having on-going, one-on-one conversations with the valued employees you don’t want to lose.

Yes, you want to find out all about that vacation and take a real interest in them, but also consider asking some of the following “stay interview” questions:

What are the most satisfying parts of your job? What would you like to be doing more of and would you like to do less of?
What do you like about working for our organization? Any dislikes?
How do you feel about the space where you do most of your work?
What keeps you engaged in your role now?
What would you like to do more or less of next?

Engage by asking

Many pollsters regularly measure and report on employee engagement. Gallup does so regularly.

Gallup deems workers as “engaged” based on their ratings of: “Key workplace elements that predict important organizational performance outcomes, such as having an opportunity to do what they do best each day, having someone at work who encourages their development, and believing their opinions count.”

That’s all well and good, but I think what they’re actually measuring are the employees’ experiences. Do they have friends and mentors on the job? Are their contributions recognized? Are they encouraged to participate in decisions and are their ideas and opinions respected?

What kind of engagement experiences are you creating for your people?

Ideas to get more referrals

Why are referral applicants such great new hires? First, because the referred person already has a friend at work and, secondly, they know what it is going to be like working for you because their friend told them all about it.

Here are six ideas to help you get more referrals:

When you ask for referrals, shrink the pool. Don’t ask people if they know of anyone who might be interested. Ask if they know someone from their last job, someone at church, someone in their contact file, or neighbors. When you shrink the pool, it is easier for them to come up with names.
Tell them why you need new employees and why you are asking them. “Bob, we need some new people like you on our team BECAUSE (because is a key word) and give them the reason (we are growing so fast; I want to make your life easier, etc.).
Create a referral reward program. It doesn’t take a lot and it doesn’t have to be money that you give away.
Give the reward to the referring person on the new hire’s first day, not three or six months later.
To get the most bang for your buck and generate some excitement around the program, give the reward in public.
Pay the reward to anyone who gives you a referral (vendors, friends, customers, etc.), not just employees.

Engage by asking

Many pollsters regularly measure and report on employee engagement. Gallup does so regularly.

What kind of engagement experiences are you creating for your people?

Ideas to get more referrals

Here are six ideas to help you get more referrals:

When you ask for referrals, shrink the pool. Don’t ask people if they know of anyone who might be interested. Ask if they know someone from their last job, someone at church, someone in their contact file, or neighbors. When you shrink the pool, it is easier for them to come up with names.

Tell them why you need new employees and why you are asking them. “Bob, we need some new people like you on our team BECAUSE (because is a key word) and give them the reason (we are growing so fast; I want to make your life easier, etc.).

Create a referral reward program. It doesn’t take a lot and it doesn’t have to be money that you give away.

Give the reward to the referring person on the new hire’s first day, not three or six months later.

To get the most bang for your buck and generate some excitement around the program, give the reward in public.

Pay the reward to anyone who gives you a referral (vendors, friends, customers, etc.), not just employees.