Maintain Employee Safety During Winter Weather
This winter has been especially harsh on cities and towns across the U.S. Between the sleet, snow, ice and frigid temperatures we are beginning to hear Mayors and Governers talk about shortages in salt and sand used to minimize ice on roads and sidewalks. This all adds up to countless hours logged by public works employees clearing snow, de-icing roads and making sure the rest of us stay safe amidst the winter weather. The media covers how average citizens can stay safe in the inclement weather, but it is the job of public works departments to make sure their employees stay safe through the winter months as well. Make safety a priority this winter. Talk about how to maintain safe practices even in the worst situation. Publicly acknowledge employees that go beyond their basic job descriptions to make sure everyone around them stays safe. Safety recognition programs are a great way to motivate employees to maintain safe practices. Recognize safety milestones like "X days without a safety incident," or hand out small spot rewards for a job well done. Giving out small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like
Crutchfield,
AutoZone or
Speedway are a great way to say thank-you to employees who work hard in the worst conditions to keep the rest of us safe all winter long.
Staggering Stats About the (Lack of) Employee Engagement
We found some scary stats from the Harvard Business Review about employee engagement, and how much is lacking from today's workplace. Here are just 3 quick facts from a recent Bain & Company and Netsurvey study.
Wellness Programs Lead to Healthier Employees, Lower Costs
The Affordable Care Act is here, and even though
most open enrollment periods are now over for the year, there is still time to improve your employee health and lower future health care costs. Implementing health and wellness programs can both lower health care costs for employers, and place accountability on employees for their own health. Chad Koerten, who works for KI Furniture near Green Bay, WI has credited his organization with an 80 lb. weight loss over his 15 years with the company.
Happy Employees Can Be A Profit Center
Most companies' biggest "cost" is personnel. Manpower is expensive to the organization and the workers always feel they could be making more money. Employees that are less satisfied with their jobs are less helpful to the end consumer, who then spends less with the organization. Keeping your workforce happy is correlated to your profit margins. Offering employees incentives is a great way to set guidelines for employees to work for certain incentive rewards. Based on what behavior is fulfilled incentives can range from a small denomination gift card to a popular retailer such as
The Cheesecake Factory, to a paid vacation, or extra time off. Keeping your employees happy will keep your company healthy.
For more information on why keeping your employees happy can help cover your profit margins check out this article from the New York Times.
