HR Pulse - Fall 2007 - (Page 67)

netic Culture™ By Tina Carmack Understand What’s Important “Exempla’s culture—a Magnetic Culture™—has a strategic competitive advantage,” says Kevin Sheridan, CEO of HR Solutions. “This kind of culture has the ability to attract highly-talented employees and keep them,” Sheridan explains, “Especially in healthcare where the costs of recruitment and retention is tremendous, in dollars and morale.” Sheridan identifies a Magnetic Culture™ as one that draws talented employees to the workplace, and sustains an environment in which they are less likely to leave. Engaged employees are the hallmark of this unique culture because they share such a strong desire to be a part of the value that the organization creates. Creating a Magnetic Culture™, according to Sheridan, means developing individuals who are loyal, motivated, committed, positive, and focused on excellent customer service. According to a national study conducted by HR Solutions, 81 percent of the American workforce is not engaged. Roughly half of all Americans do only what is expected of them and nothing more. The costs? • $5 trillion annually in estimated costs of turnover in the U.S.1 • $300 billion in cost of disengagement2 “This is a wake-up call for organizations,” Sheridan says. “The challenge is to develop ongoing strategies to create engaged workplaces and continually seek employee feedback to measure engagement and affect positive change.” Selberg is a fervent believer in the need to consistently measure employee engagement. “It may sound simplistic, but if you don’t measure, you don’t manage. “It’s imperative to our strategic goals and vision that we understand our employees’ work experience,” he says. “We need to know if employees have the right tools, leadership, recognition, and training because that directly impacts patient outcomes and satisfaction.” Taylor describes Exempla’s investment in employee engagement as foundational. “This is baseline information to knowing and understanding your organization,” she says. “The only way to impact positive change is to listen to employees, support those things that are going well and make changes where there will be the greatest beneﬁt for all.” What is Your ‘Other?’ A particularly eye-opening statistic from HR Solutions’ national normative database is the number of employees who have considered resigning in the past six months – an alarming 50 percent. When asked to describe the reason, employees responded: • 38 percent – Other • 23 percent – Pay • 18 percent – My supervisor/manager • 15 percent – Career advancement • 5 percent – Beneﬁts Many organizational leaders may be surprised to learn that “other” issues take precedence over pay. Sheridan explains that, while pay might attract talent to organizations, in his experience it’s not a talent retainer. “Competitive compensation is not a problem in most organizations,” he says. “Typically, the problem is that organizations aren’t effectively communicating about fair pay and beneﬁts.” Getting along with supervisors, working in an environment supportive of diversity, career advancement and promotion also are important elements of a successful culture. But, for nearly 40 percent of employees, their primary concerns are “other.” “Organizations need to ﬁnd out what their ‘other’ is,” Sheridan says. “If these issues are important enough to make employees consider leaving – you have got to ﬁnd out what they are and act.” Engaged Employees Create Preeminent Employers With years of experience in conducting opinion research for global corporations, Sheridan has found that successfully implemented employee engagement programs result in: • Top employer rankings • Stellar productivity and ﬁnancial success • Outstanding employee performance • A “Magnetic Culture™” He explains: “Talented employees will stay with your organization if you create an environment in which they want to remain.” 67 HR Pulse Fall 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Fall 2007

Contents Executive Director’s Letter President’s Message HR Leader Profile: Lisa McDaniel Spotlight on Community Citizenship Culture of Engagement How Transparent Should Healthcare Compensation Be? The Value of Assessment Testing in the Recruitment Process Technology Dramatically Changes FMLA Compliance Creating a Magnetic Culture™ Taking It to the Hill: An Advocacy Update 401(k) / 403(b) Fee Lawsuits – Are You the Next Target? Compensation Offers – A Better Process Find It Again Pulse Points Who, Why and Where Conference Highlights Schedule at a Glance Keynote Speakers Social Events Conference Sponsors Exhibitors Index to Advertisers

HR Pulse - Fall 2007

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