by Holley Maher
As a benefits consultant, I visit with HR leaders and business owners on a regular basis. Over the past few years, more companies are saying “Our leadership team is working with a consultant to help us develop succession plans.”
Succession planning takes many different forms, but any successful company thinks of the future. While it is necessary to be financially prepared for the death, disability or retirement of key personnel, it’s also important to build a pipeline of talent to ensure leadership continuity.
Onboarding a new employee is costly. Investments in training, interview expenses, recruitment and advertising expenses, lost productivity, and other factors can cost an additional 50 to 75% of an employee’s annual wage.
It’s tough to develop recruitment and retention plans for a diverse group of employees, especially when communicating with millennials and boomers, and it’s important to ensure that new hires feel engaged and committed to the workplace. Millennials place a high value on engagement. They’ve grown up in an age of text, infographics, emojis, social media and YouTube. Despite the communication changes, many employers continue to recruit, train and communicate company benefits in the same way: meetings and paper. As a result, this transient group of millennials becomes disengaged and entitled.
A few ways to ensure effective communication to all generations:
1. Keep communications short.
2. Incorporate graphics and videos.
3. Ensure that communications are available electronically and that HR can report on reader engagement.
4. Seek out text and mobile-friendly communication platforms.
Most important, maintain face-to-face personal meetings, as this is the most timeless and effective communication.
Holley Maher (hmaher@SmartBenefitsPlus.com) is a partner at Maher, Rosenheim, Comfort & Tabash LLC, specializing in group and individual insurance.
Submitted 7 years 227 days ago