Business ideas to make employees happier.

[elcojo2]

To all business owners:

I ran a crew of 18 electricians in CA. I was hoping to get ideas about how other companies are keeping long time employees happier?

This is what I am doing for my employees overall.

Competitive hourly pay.
401K match 6%
1 week vacation paid
6 holidays paid
paid insurance 100%
End of the year bones (10k) just to my key employees the other ones is less.

Work truck to commute from home to shop. Many times this truck is used to do site jobs. ( for my key employees)

Basically, what I am trying to do is get them more involved and brings those jobs to the company and figure out a way to compensate them.

Now I thought commission, should those be a percentage based on profit, volume sold?

I was thinking add a profit sharing plans?

Any ideas would be appreciated? I am still the one that works the most amount of hours and get almost paid the same as some of this key employees now . I just have the assets of the biz which is not much.... but also I need the employees to survive and grow.

Thanks,

 

[petersonra]

The fact that you keep referring to "key" employees should be a clue. All your employees are important.

People want to be appreciated. You cannot do that with money, although it is a part of the equation. If they feel their work is appreciated, it goes a long way.

In any case, you cannot make anyone happy. Some people are going to be miserable because that is just the way they are.

 

[elcojo2]

Thanks for the quick response. I believe everybody at the company is appreciated. I have employees working with us for more than 10 years, but is hard to keep them happy.

 

[ptonsparky]

Your bennies look good, other than the miserly one week. You might let them accumulate .xx minutes of time off for xx minutes of work. I never quibbled about it being sick or vacation time although it was calculated respectively. Maxed out at 160 hours for both.

 

[petersonra]

Thanks for the quick response. I believe everybody at the company is appreciated. I have employees working with us for more than 10 years, but is hard to keep them happy.

Once again, you cannot make them happy. If that is your goal, you will fail. People come and go. They get bored and decide to move on sometimes. Or they don't like their coworkers for some reason. People are fickle that way.

 

[Fred B]

Your "key" guys should be making you substantially more than the apprentice. There are ways to show an appreciation for them and to provide motivation to excel and enhance their feeling of being valued.
Bonus for Job performance with profit sharing per job, can be percentage based on completion under budgeted labor hours. Best when divided between all guys on the job based on seniority, It will give a sense to all the guys of being appreciated. Many times the view can be by the employee "why put in any extra effort, I get nothing from it" the performance bonus helps to motivate, making you more profit even though you are giving some away.
Involvement via input on jobs during the planning process, will give a sense of "ownership" of the project motivating them to give more to it's successful completion. When combined with a bonus like above, even more so. Even involving the apprentices in the process can lead to innovations that can add to the project success. Even the "Stupid" question can lead to a beneficial outcome and teaching moment and add to a feeling of accomplishment, so long as you don't make them "FEEL stupid" for the question.

Of course the Benefit package in some ways a little light, but other ways rather generous.
For one, Health benefits are very generous but only if it's valued, a young apprentice may not even see a value in such a benefit, but someone approaching mid career may see this as a very valuable benefit (depending on coverages).
Most would value time off more than even a bonus or base pay increase (if it is truly "competitive"), 1 week paid time off is very light for someone who has committed years of service.

 

[brantmacga]

1 week of vacation isn't enough, and its especially hard once you're making enough money that you can take multiple trips per year.

Those guys you mentioned that have been there for 10 years should have at minimum 3/wks of vacation, preferably 4.

 

[synchro]

It might seem to be a minor thing, but taking the crew out to a nice restaurant can improve morale and "team spirit". You could do it after a larger project is successfully completed. Maybe even include spouses for a once a year dinner.

 

[4-20mA]

Vacation is a serious benefit for me. I could leave where I'm at now for more money, but I won't because of my PTO. I'd rather have vacation time than more income. I can make money anywhere. Time is my most valuable asset to spend with my family and friends and hobbies. I wouldn't even apply to a job that topped at 40hrs PTO.

Also, the lunch or dinner thing, golf and or fishing trip as a crew is always a great way to build and sustain comraderie.

 

[augie47]

IMO, good package.
I would agree that added vacation time based on longevity.
If you are not supplying all tools, an annual "allowance" for hand tool replacement
(I did that and the old-timers built up a nice supply of hand tools)
Incentive pay for completion of any training classes. (Benefits the employee and the company)

My guys were never receptive to social events with the co-workers. Some had the attitude: "I get paid for working with him/her, not for socializing with them"