Pay rises are not the only way to employees' hearts
Bankers are still getting bonuses, much to the bitterness of the rest of us who are receiving no pay rises, or very minimal increases, swiftly wiped out by rising inflation.
This is demotivating for employees and problematic for employers, who need to find ways of attracting good candidates and retaining talented staff without bankrupting themselves in the process.
It was therefore interesting to hear messages that came out of this week's ‘reward conference' from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). This concluded that the public sector should be better at communicating the value of total reward to its employees in order to retain (or attract) top talent.
Apparently, public sector workers often do not recognise ‘the value of non-cash components of reward packages, though benefits account for 24 per cent of total remuneration in the public sector, compared with the private-sector figure of 13 per cent.'
Gillian Hibberd, president of the Public Sector People Managers' Association, told delegates that the public sector should be strengthening its approach to total reward in the face of huge national spending cuts.
For PCTs, GPs (and some nurses) who employ staff, now is the time to shout about the non-financial benefits that they offer their staff, or aim to introduce: for example, excellent pensions; generous holiday entitlement; training schemes; and flexible working hours.
Affordable extras may include paying for employees to attend conferences and for subscriptions to relevant journals; taking staff out for the occasional team-building meal; providing tea, coffee and a biscuit or three.
Don't underestimate the importance of fostering a pleasant and friendly working environment, free from bullying (or any ‘tyrannically demented' outbursts), and of praising and thanking people for their good work and valuable individual contributions.
Encourage innovation and role development, while enabling staff to get on with their jobs without constant organisational change, moving goalpost or unrealistic targets. (Listen up ministers!) Involve staff in decision-making and take note of what they say.
It's often the little things that make the most difference. Staff may leave over things that seem petty but mean a lot to them. People have been known to snap after being told to bring in their own supplies of tea and coffee; others have actually resigned over a change in loo rolls (to the tracing paper variety).
These are the things that can tip people over the edge, becoming matters of principle, seeming to symbolise the low value employers place on their employees. Penny-pinching is demotivating in the extreme.
Where pay rises are impossible, ask staff what other perks they would welcome, implementing at least some of their suggestions.
As an employee I know just how motivating this can be: in my company the most common request has been for a subsidised canteen. Of course, we're still waiting for this to materialise. However, we do now have a ‘break-out area' complete with two sofas, an IKEA table and a couple of pot plants....
...well it's a step in the right direction.
