Episode 8: The Secret Sauce to Employee Retention and Productivity with Traci Chernoff

Where did we all go wrong? It seems like HR is about humans. How do we get to where we need to be to bring the humans back? Although it's good that we've optimized and focused on efficiency, innovation, and technology, we've lost our way a little bit in the age of technology. Streamlining, operational efficiencies, labor operations, labor efficiency optimization, and bringing people back into the equation is not an all or nothing game. It can all happen together at the same time. While we focus on optimization and efficiency, we should simultaneously focus on the people who make all that happen. Something operators/C-level execs forget is that employment and sales are relationship-driven. They get the sales and marketing piece right, but the HR piece wrong. Approaching employment and hiring with a relationship-driven mindset starts with the people in Hiring management positions (whether they're C-suite, executive/director level) focusing on creating a specific culture or product to solve a problem. By bringing thought leaders, people with different levels of emotional intelligence, and others committed to giving workers a good experience, we can create initiatives that support that goal. Happy employees create happy customer experiences. When you focus on building a happy employee experience and giving them an environment that allows them to be more productive, where they want to get to know the product better, and where they want to make the customer experience exceptional, you don't have to think about the bottom line because it positively unfolds for you. Many companies have spent a lot of time and money automating. Where did we all get it right? It's a myth that "if you pay people right and give them good benefits, they'll stay forever," people want more than that. 58% of Americans who are eligible to work are hourly. There's much vulnerability based on pay, benefits eligibility, being full-time vs. part-time. The truth is that employee engagement is not just about Pay and Benefits. At Legion we think of The four pillars of Employee Engagement: Pay (usual suspect) Benefits (usual suspect) Employees, as people, want flexibility and predictability: Employees want the opportunity to decide what their lives look like. They want to know they'll get 40 hrs/week of work. However, they want the flexibility to determine what those 40hrs look like and have the ability to switch shifts or work a different schedule. Feel connected to the bigger picture through culture and communication: When employees feel connected to the bigger, they feel connected and grounded to the purpose and mission of the organization. Having tools for frontline communication with employees makes a huge difference in the way they connect with the purpose and mission of the organization. An engaged workforce will do a better job. They'll be happier and more likely to stay than to churn. Why do companies process candidates like chickens instead of building relationships? What do companies get wrong before someone becomes an employee? Sometimes companies aren't clear on who they are. They sell blue skies because that's what they want from the company, but it's essential to be super transparent about where you are today and what you want your future state to look like. Sometimes companies, hiring managers, and people assigned to recruiting, are not hiring for diversity of thought. They aren't hiring people different from them, who think differently, who have other priorities. Bringing people onto a team who present and represent different ways of thinking and priorities creates a more comprehensive team environment. In this kind of environment where ideas are challenged, individuals have more growth opportunities. When we think about what we're expecting from candidates, there's an imbalance in expectations and what's reasonable. We shouldn't bring just anyone, but there's a way we can think about candidates differently, getting a little bit more humanity to the i