Employment & Happiness: Why Employees Stay with the Company

Do happy workers equate to higher profits?  If we believe in economic karma, as the USA Today article calls it, benevolent employers should see better productivity and earnings.  In fact, as Fortune Magazine’s 2013 list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” shows, companies who treat their employers well do indeed see their stocks prosper.

Google, ranked #1 on this year’s list, has seen its stock soar over 600% since its inception in 2004.  And Google employees have a lot to be happy about; perks offered include college reimbursement plans, legal aid, 100% health-care coverage, onsite fitness centers and childcare facilities, and even subsidized massages.

An effect of providing all these benefits?  Reduced employee turnover.  And in turn, by minimizing the need for continual retraining and hiring headhunters, for example, the employees who stay on board help their company save money and increase earnings.

However, a good benefits package is not the only contributor to employee retention.  Julie Gebauer, managing director for talent and rewards at Towers Watson, explains the key:

The data strongly support the fact that organizations that focus on the engagement of their employees deliver stronger performance…It’s not just making them happy—that’s not a business issue.  Engagement is.

The engaged employee, an employee who exhibits enthusiasm for work, commitment, organizational pride, and alignment with organizational goals, is more likely to stay with their company.  Moreover, as Gebauer notes regarding employee treatment: “What makes the biggest impacts are things that don’t have significant costs.”

CEC’s Fall 2012 New Worker delves into the topic of hiring and maintaining employees, but we’d like to hear from you: what do you think makes employees stay with a company?  Do you agree that the intangible aspects (e.g., maintaining a work environment that keeps employees engaged) contribute to employee retention as much as quality benefits packages do?  How might a company encourage employee engagement?

Let's Make It Easy To Be Green

Where we’re at:

• In 2012, the U.S. endured its hottest year on record,
• The 13 hottest years on the planet have occurred since 1998,
• The seas are rising faster than forecast, and
• The cost of the extreme weather is rising every year.

This data has been abstracted from David Leonhardt’s article, “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” published in the “Sunday Review” section of the New York Times on Saturday, February 9^th.

These facts are certainly astounding.  However, James Balog recognized that images illustrating undeniable evidence of climate change could more effectively inspire and raise awareness among the public.  So for visual proof, Balog, a photographer for the National Geographic, recorded the reality of climate change using time-lapse photography of the receding ice (that thereby raises ocean levels).  Balog’s cameras were placed in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.  A documentary about Balog’s work and the results, Chasing Ice, is now being shown nationwide. 

On Sunday, February 10^th, CEC Associates, Inc., sponsored a showing of Chasing Ice at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.  Over 250 people showed up for the movie, through our own efforts, as well as the Theatre’s advertising.  It showed us that people in this area are supportive of the climate warming effort.  Aside from some largely political holdouts, the human causes of climate change are now accepted by increasing numbers of the public as fact (as they have been for a long time accepted by climate scientists).

On Sunday, February 17^th, the Sierra Club, 350.org, the Hip Hop Caucus, and over 80 additional organizations will host the largest climate rally in U.S. history. If you would like to join the rally, it will start at noon from the National Mall in Washington D.C.  Visit www.forwardonclimate.org for more information on the rally and how you can show your solidarity even if you can’t make it to D.C.

If you or your company have ideas on the subject, please tell us about them.  When and how did you accept the reality of the human causes of climate change, and what have you done to help curb the change?  Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.  We’ll try to share your good ideas and good intention with our readers.

Employers & MOOCs

An exciting revolution is emerging among the online higher education world – MOOCs (massive open online courses).  MOOCs are free online college courses taught by top professors from distinguished universities (e.g., Stanford, MIT, Harvard) through websites such as Coursera, Udacity, and edX.  Colleges typically don’t grant academic credit for completing MOOCs; however, the self-motivated participant will find him or herself rewarded by gaining new or necessary information or skills, as well as connections with other students with shared interests.

Thomas L. Friedman, in his article for the New York Times, “Revolution Hits the Universities,” sees this new online platform for education as being an egalitarian force and as having the potential to “unlock a billion more brains to solve the world’s biggest problems” and to “enable us to reimagine higher education.”  Perks include:

• Free courses taught by top professors
• Courses can reach a much broader demographic
• Connection to students around the globe
• Ability to sculpt your own college education

Friedman goes so far as to say that MOOCs will change not only how we teach and learn, but also our pathways to employment.  Courses are offered that teach real-world skills that employers want to see in interviewees and improve in their current employees.  Practical computer-related instruction and business development are among many areas that MOOCs cover:

• Udacity offers courses in programming languages and software debugging
• Coursera offers business/management courses, such as “Surviving Disruptive Technologies” and “Foundations of Business Strategy”
• edX provides a Harvard-sponsored course in current copyright law

However, the usefulness of MOOCs for employers is still being ironed out.  Many MOOCs do award certificates of completion, and through Coursera, if you complete a course taught by a Stanford professor, for example, you receive a certificate from Stanford.  This certificate, stamped by a respected college or university, could show prospective employers you’ve taken the initiative to gain usable job skills, as well as further your self-improvement.  Still, MOOC providers have not yet completely established a process, upon which an employer can rely, to guarantee credible credentials that verify a student has mastered the subject (and without cheating).

MOOC providers do have employment in mind – Coursera is developing their Career Services program, a recruiting service that matches you to potential employers based on your interests, skills, and knowledge.  By opting into the service, you allow Coursera to share your good marks in applicable courses with interested employers.  MOOCs, as they change the way higher education is perceived, may inevitably change the way hiring and ongoing employee development is approached.  What do you think – do you believe this trend will be helpful for employers in hiring?  How can MOOCs be used to further employees’ continued education?