One of the biggest challenges of being a supervisor is telling employees how much you value them. Supervisors are supposed to be the organizations cheerleaders, boosters, promoters and I will be the first to admit that over the last few years this has not been one of our strongest traits. With the advent of managed care and other changes in our system, it has been very difficult to stay positive. We were continually beaten down, bruised and battered, and many people have retired or left the system for jobs that were less stressful. When almost all news is bad news, there is only so many times you can fake a smile and maintain that stiff upper lip. Some people would argue that is what supervisors get paid the big bucks for, but to be honest with you, sometimes it is not worth the money.
Over the years, Tri-Valley has spent quite a bit of time planning and discussing what we could do to retain good employees. We already had some great benefits. For example, for the past 12 years, employees have either received a raise or a one-time bonus. We have kept health care costs low by utilizing generic drugs and telemedicine. We have even received refunds for our health insurance which we passed on to our employees. We have a great retirement program with KPERs. We have a free life insurance policy for employees and the list goes on.
In the past, studies indicated that money was not always the first answer when people were asked why they remained with their employer. It was usually further down the line, but one thing that has happened over the last couple of years is that money is becoming more and more important to employees. The number of available openings has created an employees market where they can shop around for jobs. Money is one thing that non-profits do not have a lot of, and it is difficult for us to compete against for profit businesses.
To cope with low unemployment, we created a retention task force several years ago that came up with some great ideas, ideas that focused on showing appreciation for hard work. In the past a thank you was enough, but modern workers expect more. For example, we send out gift cards on employees birthdays, we provide gift cards for employees that receive a pat on the back, we have employee luncheons, pizza parties, public recognitions, and I send cards to employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions. In addition, I send out employment anniversary cards. In our executive team meetings we go around the table ask the supervisors what they have done for their employees or co-workers in terms of appreciation. That way we stay focused on that aspect of our jobs.
I have spoken to local business owners about employee turnover and what they do to retain them, and for the most part we are on par or ahead of what many for-profit companies do to show appreciation to their employees. The one thing we are always lacking is pay, which many non-profits cannot change, especially if the vast majority of your funding is from government sources.
So the question is, what can we do to ensure our employees are happy? We are currently conducting an extensive survey to gauge employee satisfaction with their supervisors. Once that is complete, we have another survey that will examine other aspects such as pay, benefits, communication, etc. From this data, we hope to be able to find other ways in which we can increase employee morale and appreciation. We have some fantastic employees who are dedicated, compassionate, and willing to go above and beyond, but I know there is more we can do to ensure they are satisfied with their jobs.
