JobSync

Six Ways to Keep Your Office Competitive

February 22, 2012

With companies frequently complaining there aren’t enough skilled individuals to fill their positions, it’s becoming increasingly important for them to stay competitive when recruiting. One way to do that is for them to position themselves as a company that is incorporating key changes that keep employees satisfied and engaged in the office.

Recently, Sodexo, a leading provider of integrated food and facilities management services in North America, published a report outlining ways to keep your office competitive. Here are six ways to improve working conditions that will keep present employees from leaving while attracting new employees to join you:

1. Acknowledge employees’ excellent efforts with awards (monetary or non-monetary) that make them feel special. This is far more effective than granting them extra vacation time or other standard benefits.

2. Emphasize performance, not productivity. It’s not how many hours employees work, but how effectively they work and surpass expectations.

3. Deploy more resources to improve the look and feel of the office. A nice office is a happy office. Especially when it is designed to cut down on interruptions to the flow of work.

4. Provide health perks such as wellness programs, onsite dining, and gyms. Such programs keep employees healthier and more productive.

5. Maintain diversity in the workplace. And by diversity, this doesn’t necessarily mean race, culture, or gender but also embracing those with rich and varied backgrounds.

6. Offer employees flexible schedules and flexible places from which to do their work. Balancing work and life has become more important than ever.

The happy and engaged office of the future is here today. Are you ready to have your staff and job candidates work in it?

• Tweet