Becoming a Best Place to Work

It’s nice to be known as the best. When it comes to being known as a “best place to work,” it’s not only nice, it can have a meaningful impact on your company’s bottom line.

Being known as the best can help you attract – and retain – top candidates/employees. The less turnover your company experiences, the less you’ll be spending in the recruiting “churn”: Sourcing, interviewing and filling positions again and again because employees leave.

One critical way to become known as a best place to work, or a worst place, lies in your managers. Or, as an April 2010 blog post at HR.BLR.com put it bluntly:

The main reason employees are happy holds constant. And it’s not compensation, benefits, family-friendly practices, or on-site wellness centers. It is employees’ relationships with their immediate supervisors that make them happy to come to work.

“This relationship directly affects morale, productivity, loyalty, retention and turnover,” the article continued.

To ensure that supervisors and employees get along, the article recommended that supervisors must commit themselves to communicating clearly and often with their staff members and rewarding them for their good work. The reward doesn’t have to be monetary; a thank you card, an “atta boy” in front of the department, are just two examples of recognition ideas that don’t cost a lot in time or money but can have a huge positive impact on an employee.

As for communication best practices, look at the list below for good communication strategies:

• Managers should lead by example.
• Always be honest. Always. Even when it comes to sharing bad news.
• Ask for – and listen to – employee feedback on department/company goals, ideas, projects, etc.
• Be flexible. Is it really that important where a project is completed so long as it’s done on time?
• Offer employees opportunities for additional training, customer service basics, leadership how to’s, and chances to advance.
• Reward good ideas and those employees with an entrepreneurial bent who go above and beyond and/or come up with innovative suggestions.

While their pay rate isn’t the top reason workers decide to stay or go, it is important: Make sure your company provides competitive wages.

What about your insurance firm or department? Do you consider it a best place to work? More importantly, do your employees feel the same way?

Whether you’re looking for skilled and reliable insurance professionals for temporary or for direct hire opportunities, contact the recruiters at Insurance Relief™. We can source, vet and place professionals with the skills and background you need quickly. Contact us today.