Top Talent, Top Company
The demand for advanced technologies--especially IP telephony--is rapidly increasing. But how do you attract and retain the top talent necessary to keep up with the demand? Today's highly competitive market makes that difficult for some companies to do.
Certainly, the industry hasn't gone back to the days of the bubble, but times are indeed changing. No longer are employees merely happy to have a job; rather, they seek out employers who will give them opportunities for professional and personal growth.
Below are four successful strategies for enticing new hires and further increasing employee satisfaction:
1 Skills For Success
Launch a solutions academy focused on enhancing the skillsets of your employees, allowing them to grow with your company. Develop tracks around each of your practices geared to specific functional areas. For example, we have launched two tracks around IP telephony (IPT)--one directed at engineers and the other at account managers.
2 Empower Your Employees
Develop forums where personnel are tapped to help set overall business strategies and increase customer and employee satisfaction. For example, a cross-functional forum can act as a communication bridge within the sales, solutions and delivery teams, where selected individuals help to develop processes, standards and methodologies that meet each group's goals and expectations.
3 Find Time For Fun
Appoint regional CFOs--Chief Fun Officers--that are allotted a quarterly sum of money to spend any way they choose. Whether it's office parties, hiring an office masseuse or masseur for the day, or taking staffers boating for an afternoon, these activities help to foster a family atmosphere and enable your employees to take a much-needed break.
4 Care For the Community
Establish a corporate social-responsibility program that allows employees to make a difference in their communities. Launch local initiatives such as rebuilding shelters, holding book drives or collecting toys for needy children.
While these activities require time and money, the rewards far outweigh the costs. The bottom line: Happy employees translate into happy customers, and happy customers result in increased revenue and profits.