The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

What can I offer my employees to keep them - apart from money? Tips from the career coach

2023-01-09T08:43:00.674Z


Elena wants to retain the skilled workers her company urgently needs. But she has no money to distribute, because production costs are also rising and customers are leaving. How should she tackle the problem?


Enlarge image

A tower full of money is nice - but there are other incentives

Photo: Niels Blaesi / DER SPIEGEL

Elena, 39 years old, Managing Director, asks: »Inflation has long been the number one topic in our company. We know that our employees have additional costs and want to compensate for this with higher salaries.

But the cost pressure can also be felt in our company.

We are threatened with immense sales losses due to higher production and operating costs and the loss of purchasing power of our customers.

At the same time, we want to retain and bind our employees.

What can I offer them without discouraging them if we can't meet the demands for more salary?"

Dear Elena,

Thank you for your question.

It describes a dilemma in which both large corporations and small and medium-sized companies are currently finding themselves.

Supply chain bottlenecks, rising commodity prices, and high energy costs impact the production, storage, shipping, and general operating costs for your business.

And you have the problem of finding suitable workers and retaining them in your company.

Many companies are currently still behaving cautiously, and among employers' associations there is still uncertainty as to how the economic situation of the companies will develop.

Some manufacturing companies have applied for short-time work, other organizations have imposed a hiring freeze and the number of bankruptcies is increasing.

In your role as an employer, you have to do a balancing act: the capacities of good employees are needed.

But a salary adjustment that brings a real increase in real wages cannot be implemented, at least not for everyone.

tackle challenges

This is not an easy task.

Dear Elena, if you are currently feeling uneasy about your responsibility for the company, but also for the employees and their families, that is understandable.

If you have not yet drawn up a concrete timetable within the company, the following considerations and questions can help you:

  • What leeway does your company have?

  • Can the entire remuneration structure be adjusted?

  • Does a one-time payment (e.g. a stay bonus or a retention bonus) make sense if certain competencies are to be retained in the company?

  • Can support be provided with other measures (benefits in kind such as vouchers, bicycles, IT equipment)?

  • How is your company positioned compared to its competitors in the currently competitive job market?

  • Can you pay the »inflation compensation premium« decided by the federal government?

    The employer's voluntary payment of up to a maximum of EUR 3,000 per employee is exempt from tax and social security contributions if it is paid in addition to the wage/salary by December 31, 2024 at the latest.

Clear communication helps

Can you offer a solution for all employees?

Then it makes sense to inform everyone about the current situation in a works meeting.

Provide clarity.

True to the motto "We're all in the same boat", you can prevent a possible, unwanted brain drain by transparently communicating the challenges you face as a managing director.

Make it clear what concrete measures you can take to accommodate your employees at least somewhat.

Conceivable are benefits in kind that provide some relief for each employee.

You can also split the inflation compensation premium listed above or pay it out in monthly installments by December 31, 2024.

Here you can pay up to 3,000 euros per employee in addition to the salary, which remains tax and social security-free on the employee side.

If you plan to find individual solutions for your employees, this should be done in personal discussions.

One solution could be to form groups.

Certain much-needed skills could be offered retention bonuses to keep them in the company.

pass on appreciation

In a personal conversation you can find out what could relieve your employees in each case.

You can offer your employees the assumption of the kindergarten fee, measures for workplace health promotion, further training or voucher solutions.

In addition, you can get feedback on what is currently moving your employees, what they want in everyday work, where they would like to develop, what is needed, whether there is a need for improvement in certain processes.

Appreciative cooperation and good feedback to your employees ensure confidence and promote intrinsic motivation.

Identification with the corporate culture is becoming increasingly important for employees.

Appreciation, the promotion and challenge of talent and real prospects keep good employees on board even in difficult times.

However, for comprehensible and measurable additional work, you should also consider salary increases.

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2023-01-09

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-02-20T15:22:40.357Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.