Lots of great stuff coming out of the roundtable discussions this afternoon. Without naming names or companies, here are a few more of the major points covered by the groups.
SUCCESSION PLANNING:
Many companies are concerned with the aging employee base, and how they are going to replace those who are getting ready to retire. Some companies have backfill lists with names of people interested in certain positions. When those positions come open, the employer goes to their list and chooses candidates. Seems like a win-win-win for everyone – a valuable employee gets to retire, a younger generation gets to move up in the company, and the employer has a ready supply of skilled workers to keep important roles – and the industry – moving forward.
Another struggle along these lines is with those retirees, getting enough advance notice so as to be able to train their replacements. Some companies are offering incentives for their veteran employees to set a retire date six months in advance. This gives the company enough time – and the resource of the long-time employee’s knowledge – to train the up-and-comers.
MORALE:
How does your company keep up morale in the work place? In our roundtable discussions, we heard some great ideas. From a “Celebrate the Company Day,” to making sure employees voices are heard, to offering great benefits packages – employers are looking for more ways to boost morale.
Do you have an idea for how your company could save money, time or resources in day-to-day operations, but you think “No way will anyone take me seriously.”? Well, one company has a great solution – employees who offer up ideas that result in cost savings for the company receive a bonus check for HALF of those total savings. Talk about boosting morale!
EFFICIENT DELIVERY:
In today’s instant-gratification society, everyone wants their order as soon as possible – or yesterday. What solutions are out there for making deliveries more efficient, or at least more accessible to the client? One company utilizes GPS tracking on their drivers’ phones, giving them the ability to tell customers “I see our driver is at Main Street and Elm Street. He should be to your location in about 10 minutes.”
And that wraps up Day 1 at LEAD. Stay tuned…
–Nicky Herron