Are Your Employees Engaged?

July 31st, 2008 admin

A majority of people in the workplace are disengaged – they are not connected to work. This affects moral, productivity, growth, customers and profitability. If an employee is 75% engaged, that means 25% of the payroll each month is lost in productivity. Employee turnover is also costly to a company, but an employee that has decided to “quit and stay” may be worse. What would the reasons be for disengagement?

Sometimes change within a company, although necessary in a competitive market, may contribute to this disengagement because of pressure from deadlines, fatigue, fear, and company leadership challenges. Employees tend to “freeze up” when they are not provided a safe environment where people are able to ask questions, share ideas and take risks.

People are engaged when they think they can make a difference or feel they are progressing or advancing within a company. Engaging people in a company creates a competitive advantage. A company should exist for people because employees are your first customers.

First step in engaging your employees is to find out what dreams drive them. When you know that answer, you will attract, engage, and retain your talent. That is the competitive advantage!

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Team Awards

July 23rd, 2008 admin

The current trends for employee incentives are to award the team for their successes and accomplishments. At KS Yocum Enterprises, we have some creative ideas that are fun, cost effective, and help create the memories that drive the transformation that you seek.

Contact us and we will help you create a program that gives you the ROI and will promote the team spirit of your company.

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The Gift of Choice

July 22nd, 2008 admin

I was working with a large corporation for a number of years with business incentives. I wanted to steer them into an expanded program that would be a company contest.

My proposal deviated from the regular program and I met resistance from the human resource director. She told me a story about giving a 22-year-old single man an incentive album and he selected a set of pots and pans. She wondered why he picked that gift, and he told her that he just moved into his first apartment and needed them.

She said, “Sandy, if I tried to select a gift for him, it would never have been pots and pans.” That was a lesson for me as well.

Posted in Case Histories, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Incentive Award Choices

July 11th, 2008 admin

Monetary compensation has been used as an incentive for a long time. It is appreciated but can be quickly forgotten when used to pay bills. There is nothing left to visually remind the recipient of their achievement.

Recognition awards that include a specific item creates a memory. The recipient will always look at the gift item and remember when, how and why they received it. Chances are that even years later that person will remember the award.

Let us help you create memories. Go to http://www.ksyocum.com for more information.

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New Incentive Solutions Lens on Squidoo

July 8th, 2008 admin

We have developed a “Business Incentive Solutions & Strategies” lens on Squidoo in order to extend our informational services and resources to you.

This lens will recommend books and other sites as well as give additional incentive trend information. Visit it at http://www.squidoo.com/incentivesolutions.

Posted in Incentive Trends | No Comments »

Business Half-Time

July 7th, 2008 admin

If 2008 is a football game, we would call this July “half-time.” It is a time to look back over the last six challenging economic months and reevaluate our strategies.

As mentioned before, employees are a company’s most valuable asset. Although some employers may think employees are lucky to have their jobs, others recognize the cost of retraining employees. Since the cost of retraining cuts into company profits, it is very cost effective to run moderate incentive programs that show employees appreciation.

Seventy- nine percent of those who quit jobs site lack of appreciation as one reason for leaving. If leaders in a company are not appreciated, they only mirror that behavior to others. Incentivizing all levels of productivity will help a company navigate through stressful times.

As we navigating through this chaotic environment, there is the perception that there is no time to reevaluate objectives. Why not identify the most challenging aspects of your company and have a contest for cost-saving ideas, or how to market smarter? Programs should be set up for short-term goals but tied to a long-term strategy.

We would like to help you with creative solutions to reach your objectives for the rest 2008.

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The Weakest Link

July 4th, 2008 admin

In these challenging economic times, we must strengthen every aspect of business. You have heard that, “We are only as strong as our weakest link.” What are the areas of needed improvement and change within your business?

Creating an environment of change starts with rewarding employees for “best ideas,” encouraging additional training, rewarding behaviors not just sale figures, and developing leadership influence anywhere in an organization. Praise and recognition of employees increases productivity, moral, engagement, and retainment. Don’t forget that every employee represents your brand.

Genuine praise and recognition (not flattery) will energize and encourage employees. Knowing the types of personalities, “unique” languages, and interests of employees help you manage one person at a time.

So very few people are told that they are doing a great job and their services are appreciated. A simple hand written thank-you a $25 spot award will go a long way in creating the proactive behavior that you want as opposed to reactive behavior that are far less favorable.

Your most important assets are your employees and when they feel validated and appreciated, everyone benefits.

Visit us at http://www.ksyocum.com

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Health Incentive Programs

July 3rd, 2008 admin

The cost of healthcare for corporations and individuals continues to increase, and along with the drugs for cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes, pushes our healthcare expenditures to more than we spend on food.

Since employees are the most valuable asset in a corporation, it would be wise to educate and incentivize people to good health. Did you know that nutrition has an important role in the way our genes work? We can get control of our health. Educating employees to change their lifestyle and rewarding them for behavior change, will be a win-win for everyone.

We have several ideas for a healthy, happy workforce. Contact us and visit our site at ksyocum.com.

Posted in Health Incentives | No Comments »

Choosing the Right Incentive

July 2nd, 2008 admin

I was consulting with a national book company last year, and they made a very big mistake with their Christmas incentives the previous year. The human resource director gave all 200 employees the same watch. The watch was marketed as a unisex watch. No one was happy with the selection – the women thought the watch was too big and the men thought it was too small. The result was no one wore the watch. This is not the result that you want from an incentive program.

A perfect incentive program would ensure that everyone receives a benefit. Our job is to provide you with efficient solutions and strategies to make that happen.

For more information go to ksyocum.com.

Posted in Case Histories | 1 Comment »