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5 Reasons Focusing on Employee Development is More Important than Ever

Your employees are the lifeblood of your organization, but are you taking the time to properly invest in their development? The concept of employee development continues to grow, making it a necessary focus to consider at your company. Here are five reasons employee development is more important than ever. 

1. Keeps you current

When you encourage your team to grow professionally and invest in their growth, you’re making efforts to keep your company current. In their learning, they can see new technology and options that can streamline your own business and keep you competitive. Stifling your staff’s growth could mean falling behind in the times.

2. Improves your company financially

Hiring and training is an expensive process, so when turnover occurs, you’re back at square one paying everything again. Focusing on employee development, however, can lead to higher retention rates. Even better, these loyal employees can boost your bottom line because they’re more engaged and productive.

3. Aids in internal hiring

Growing your team now is preparing them with promotions tomorrow. Outside hires serve a purpose, but there are also benefits to raising up your current employees into new roles. By investing in their career, you’re helping to prepare them for a long tenure spent working for you in different roles.

4. Attracts top talent

If you need to look outside for talent, your employee development program will help there as well. As the workforce evolves, more employees are looking for opportunities in professional growth at their companies they apply to when job searching. By making it a part of who you are, you might just be sending the right message to the right candidate.

5. Supports employee engagement

How engaged are you when you’re bored? Probably not very, but that’s what you can do to your employees when you fail to help develop them. They will do the same job day in and day out and eventually become restless and feel like they aren’t learning anything new. Taking the time to encourage and arrange growth opportunities can bring them back around and get them excited to work again.

Staffing and recruiting for multiple industries

Whether you’re looking for temporary, seasonal, or highly skilled manufacturing, light industrial, warehouse, and office workers, Workbox Staffing is here to help! We do our homework to make sure we deliver on all your staffing requirements, every time. Locate a Workbox Staffing agency near you to get started!

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How to Properly Handle No Call No Show Employees

As an employer, you know your employees are going to miss days at work. Whether scheduled days off or unexpected illnesses, occasional absences are a normal part of the business. Fortunately, many if not most of these situations you will hear from the employee and know why they cannot make it in for work. That is unless it’s a no-call, no-show.

An employee absence qualifies as a no-call, no-show when they don’t let you know they aren’t going to make it into work and instead simply miss the shift without notice. Certain circumstances can excuse this, like a car accident or other major problem that leaves the employee unable to call. These are forgivable, but not all no-call, no-shows are. Here’s how to properly handle your no-call, no-show employees.

Be proactive – have a policy in place.

Before you even face the situation, you should have clear guidelines in your handbook. From these pages, an employee should learn about your attendance policies, how to call off a shift, and the process for scheduling paid time off, as well as the consequences of failing to follow these procedures. This way, when the no-call, no-show situation arises, you have everything in writing.

Make sure your employees know the policy.

This should go without saying, but a policy doesn’t do any good if you don’t make it known to your staff. Have them sign off on their handbooks to know they were received and periodically do reminders to keep them up to date.

Maintain consistency in your enforcement.

One of the easiest ways to show your staff you mean what the no-call, no-show policy says is to enforce it every time. Unless there were extenuating circumstances like an accident, hold every employee to the same standard to avoid whispers of favoritism. When you start to let things slide, your employees may start to see ways they can take advantage of the system.

Consider a new way to schedule.

If no-call, no-shows are becoming a problem, there could be bigger issues. Take time to listen to your team to see if something in your process is making things difficult for them. You don’t want to bend immediately to their thoughts, but they may offer something worth considering.

For some, you may just need to add more flexibility to your scheduling. There are apps that allow your workers to go right in and request time off, and some even permit self-scheduling. The ease of operations can help your employees get all the days they need. Another option is letting them work it out amongst themselves, meaning you give them the power to switch their shifts with co-workers, so when they need a day, they can take it and make sure their shift is still covered.

An employment agency with you in mind.

When you’re looking for a new team member, you want more than to fill a void. At Workbox Staffing, we’re dedicated to finding you the right candidates in a less stressful and faster way. Find a location near you to get started today!

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5 Perks You Can Offer Your Employees Without Breaking the Bank!

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You want to offer the best possible experience for your employees without spending all your money to make it happen. You know you need good perks to attract new talent, but you worry about the additional costs. If this sounds like you, consider these five perks you can offer your employees without breaking the bank.  

1. Flexibility 

As the workforce evolves, one of the greatest benefits you can provide is the option of flexibility. Depending on your industry, culture, and his or her specific job, you can determine just how flexible you want to be. Whether it’s the option to work from home, stack your hours, or even leave early based on their judgement, you can make your team happier by being looser about standard 9 to 5 in office hours.  

2. Play hooky  

When you build in days where you leave the office to do something not work related, like a happy hour or sporting event, you’re reminding your team that you value them, and work isn’t the most important thing in life. Even if it’s just an afternoon where you visit a local free attraction, days of playing hooky are a great perk to offer.  

3. Casual environment 

This may depend on what your company and employees do but relaxing on business casual and other standard formalities can be a completely free but immensely appreciated perk. Sometimes you need to look the sharp in suits, but if that doesn’t apply to you, maybe it’s time to loosen up your standards.   

4. Fun food days 

Everyone gets excited about free food and it’s a nice gesture to show your team you appreciate them. When you provide lunch once a month, bagels on Fridays, and/or monthly birthday cake, you’re allowing everyone to pause from their work and gather together for a nice treat. Inexpensive yet effective.  

5. Increased recognition 

Make more of an effort to applaud your employees when they’re working hard and doing a good job. Whether you partner with local business for prizes, provide gift cards, or do a fun wall of celebration, any effort to show you appreciate your team is a good idea. 

Staffing and recruiting for multiple industries 

When you need a performer and not someone to “fill a void,” trust Workbox Staffing. We place highly qualified employees in manufacturing, light industrial, office and administration help, and warehouse operations. Search our jobs today to see how we can assist your search! 

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What Do I Do If My Employee Isn’t Showing Up for Work?

Because employees are humans just like you, sometimes they will need time off. Whether it’s due to illness or a planned vacation, you can expect to receive requests and notices about when they’ll be absent. While this is normal, just now showing up for work is not.

A no-show employee is one who doesn’t come to work and doesn’t tell anyone they aren’t going to, either. When this occurs, it can be frustrating to other team members who maybe have to cover and cause a delay in finding a replacement. If you’re having problems with employees no-showing their shifts, here’s what you should do.

1.Establish a policy

If you’ve already completed this step, skip to number two. If not, stick around. Without a clear policy in place, it can be hard to reprimand your employees who don’t show up for work without letting you know. You don’t really have any basis to stand on except fundamentally you know it’s wrong.

This policy should cover how to call off work, how to request days off, and what will happen if you fail to show without notifying the company. By writing this down, you have clear language explaining the repercussions of no-showing, especially after it becomes a repeated behavior.

2. Educate your employees

Second in importance to having a policy is making sure your team is aware of it. Take time to go over the rules with them, especially if this becomes an ongoing issue. Make the consequences clear so people are aware of what will happen if they break the rules.

A good way to start employees off on the right foot is to provide your policy to them and have them sign saying they’ve received and read it. This works for current employees, too. With written proof of their reception, they can’t use ‘I didn’t know’ as an excuse to get out of trouble.

3. Enforce your rules

When you don’t make it clear the rules matter, your employees will begin to pushback because they’ve yet to face any real ramifications for their behavior. They’ll know they aren’t supposed to be late or not show up, but you’ve never done anything about it so why should it matter?

Disciplining isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. In order to make sure your rules are followed, they must be enforced.

An employment agency with you in mind

When you need a new employee, whether it’s because an employee had too many no-shows or an increased workload, trust Workbox Staffing to deliver. We understand your team is the lifeblood of your business and it takes more than just a warm body to keep things moving. Find a location near you today to get started!

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Are you documenting everything as a manager?

Are You Documenting Everything as a Manager? Maybe You Should Be

Paperwork is a tedious part of anyone’s job but documenting certain things as an employer can save you time and money down the road. By having a record of your conversations with employees, you have the tools you need when you need them.

What should you document?

Certain records are documented through human resources, including employee records, incident reports, performance evaluations, policies, and procedures. In addition to those, you should document your own conversations with employees regarding their performance. Establishing these documents of record are essential to assist you in the performance management of your team.

How should you get started?

Start by creating files for all your employees, both the top and poor performers. The goal with these documents isn’t to simply monitor the employees who need more assistance but consistently track all employees. It’s important to develop a system that will help you in the recordkeeping process, which can laborious.

What is included?

Each new record should contain the following four pieces of information: the date, the subject of the conversation, what in particular was covered, and the next steps. With these recorded, you know exactly how your conversations went and what is now expected of the employee.

While this is helpful in documenting improvements, it’s also helpful in the case of termination. If you have to let an employee go and they argue it’s without cause, you have the records to indicate the chances they had to improve.

What should you do with the records?

Once you’ve written the report, follow up via email with the employee so they have a record for themselves. This can also help you because you have proof you and the employee were both aware of the details. Make sure you keep the emails you send and receive regarding the performance management documents as further records.

At the start, these will seem overwhelming to write, but ultimately, they exist to make your life easier. Should you face any lawsuits claiming one thing, you have the proper records to refute the claims. When it comes to evaluating performance at the end of the year, you have the reports already assembled to back up your thoughts about your employees’ growth.

Find the right candidates, easier.

Sometimes your performance management reports will show someone just isn’t where they need to be and it’s time for them to be replaced. Instead of being overwhelmed with the process, partner with Workbox Staffing. We know hiring its stressful, which is why we do the heavy lifting for you through our thorough vetting process. We’re a staffing agency that understands you need the right person in a role, not just a body on the payroll. Find a location near you and contact us today!

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