Avoiding unnecessary staff turnover is a deliberate strategy used by the top companies in the workd. They do this to keep their skills, knowledge and expertise in-house without having to constantly slow down to bring new people up to speed.

Fortune Magazine in the US has recently produced its latest list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America and it makes for very interesting reading.

NOTE: You’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

In this HRwisdom post we’re bringing you the rankings 1 - 10 of the Fortune Magazine 100 Best Companies To Work For In America.

1 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Dallas Why is Southwest No. 1? Listen to a typical comment from the more than 100 we received from enthusiastic employees: “Working here is truly an unbelievable experience. They treat you with respect, pay you well, and empower you. They use your ideas to solve problems. They encourage you to be yourself. I love going to work!!”

2 KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY Fountain Valley, Calif. Nearly everyone in the U.S. wanted to work at this manufacturer of computer memory devices after last year’s stories about its year-end bonus averaging $75,000 per employee. The largesse was in line with company policies: free soft drinks and cups of noodles at all times and a golf driving range in the back of the plant.

3 SAS INSTITUTE Cary, N.C. The world’s largest privately held computer software company. Superb on-site child care for $200 a month. An on-site clinic that offers primary medical care at zero cost to employees. An award-winning cafeteria, where a pianist plays during lunch. No surprise that turnover, at 4% a year, is among the lowest in the software industry.

4 FEL-PRO Skokie, Ill. They make auto, truck, and motorcycle gaskets in a sprawling plant just north of Chicago. Ultra-family-friendly: $1,000 savings bond at child’s birth, affordable on-site child care, summer camp on company’s 200-acre recreation area, summer jobs for employees’ kids, and $3,500 annual college scholarships.

5 TDINDUSTRIES Dallas TDI installs and services air-conditioning and plumbing systems in six Texas cities. All stock is in the hands of employees, with no one owning more than 9%. A monthly meeting fills in all employees on financial results. Employees are wildly upbeat. One said, “This company makes you feel like a human being again.”

6 MBNA Wilmington, Del. This house of plastic, the second-largest issuer of credit cards, pampers employees so they will be nice to customers. The coddling includes four on-site child-care centers, one-week paid leave for new fathers and adoptive parents, adoption aid of up to $10,000. No. 1 hiring criterion: “People who like other people.”

7 W.L. GORE Newark, Del. Makers of Gore-Tex waterproof fabrics, Glide dental floss, and dozens of other high-tech materials. Employs avant-garde management theories that seem to work. Instead of a traditional hierarchy topped by bosses and managers, the company uses an organization in which dozens of so-called sponsors set the pace.

8 MICROSOFT Redmond, Wash. Remarkably challenging atmosphere for the brainy. Everybody gets stock options, and most professionals hired before 1992 have thus become millionaires; six became billionaires. All-company picnics with a rodeo and five bands. And Bill (never Mr. Gates) personally answers all E-mail from employees.

9 MERCK Whitehouse Station, N.J. The corporate credo is to put patients before profits, and that sense of mission permeates this drug company’s culture. Employees take obvious pride in the fact that Merck provides a low-cost anti-AIDS drug and gives away a medicine in developing countries that prevents river blindness. Some 31% of managers are women.

10 HEWLETT-PACKARD Palo Alto The godfather of Silicon Valley, still a trailblazer in people practices. Recently added domestic-partner benefits and nursing-home-care insurance for spouses, parents, and grandparents to an already lush benefits package. “They ‘walk the talk’ when they say their people are their most important asset,” one worker told us.

Remember, you’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

HRwisdom

Avoiding unnecessary staff turnover is a deliberate strategy used by the top companies in the workd. They do this to keep their skills, knowledge and expertise in-house without having to constantly slow down to bring new people up to speed.

Fortune Magazine in the US has recently produced its latest list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America and it makes for very interesting reading.

NOTE: You’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

In this HRwisdom post we’re bringing you the rankings 11 - 20 of the Fortune Magazine 100 Best Companies To Work For In America.

11 SYNOVUS FINANCIAL Columbus, Ga. Strange sighting in the southeast: bank employees who love their jobs. Synovus owns 34 banks in four states, and employees, wherever they are, recite chapter and verse on how good they feel about being able to learn, grow, and have fun. Employees are paid $50 to take annual physical, receive $200 if results show they are healthy.

12 GOLDMAN SACHS New York One of the planet’s most profitable enterprises, chalking up $260,000 pretax profit per employee last year. Employees love the excitement of working with people they consider the best and the brightest of Wall Street. “Teamwork here is better than on any professional sports team I’ve ever seen,” according to one professional.

13 MOOG East Aurora, N.Y. No time clocks, no strict work rules at this aerospace company on outskirts of Buffalo. Plus, through retirement plans, employees own nearly half the stock. They also benefit from unusual vacation plan: on tenth year of service and every fifth anniversary after that, an extra 35 paid days off, in addition to regular three-week vacation.

14 DELOITTE & TOUCHE Wilton, Conn. Launched a cultural revolution five years ago with Women’s Initiative, aimed to stem the flow of departing female professionals. Program’s success as seen by one young D&T man: “The initiative has dramatically changed the environment from work/work to one that is very sensitive about balancing work and family needs.”

15 CORNING Corning, N.Y. Inventor of the TV picture tube and optical-fiber cables keeps technological edge by expecting all employees to spend at least 5% of their time in training. Open, informal environment. Extra ten days of vacation every five years. Free rides on the company plane to New York City from upstate headquarters.

16 WEGMANS FOOD MARKETS Rochester, N.Y. Family-owned Wegmans prides itself on being first with new features, whether it’s optical scanning at the cash registers or ready-to-serve gourmet food. Fun aspect of stores rubs off on employees. Said one: “They bend over backward for their employees.” Said another: “I feel as though it’s my second family.”

17 HARLEY-DAVIDSON Milwaukee Employees exude their pride for this company. One assembly-line worker asks: “What other company has employees who tattoo the company name on their bodies? Or offers not just a job but a lifestyle?” Harley has a 12-week paid maternity leave, a no-layoff policy, and unlimited sick days for salaried staffers.

18 FEDERAL EXPRESS Memphis Last summer, after employees worked their tails off during the UPS strike, management came through with a $20 million thank-you bonus–10% of pay, including overtime, over that three-week patch. Good profit-sharing plan and one of the best grievance processes in U.S. business. Still adheres to a no-layoff policy.

19 PROCTER & GAMBLE Cincinnati More than a marketing powerhouse, P&G also has some 1,250 Ph.D. scientists trying to come up with the next Pampers or Pringles. P&G believes in growing its own talent: Of the 32 top execs, 31 started at the bottom. Oldest profit-sharing plan in U.S. is also one of the richest: P&G contributes up to 25% of pay to retirement fund.

20 PEOPLESOFT Pleasanton, Calif. Exponential growth selling software for corporate HR, accounting, and manufacturing. Easygoing work environment with free bagels and pastries, gourmet coffee, no executives-only perks, casual dress. Dave Duffield called by one employee “the coolest CEO any company ever had.” The corporate rock band plays at pep rallies.

Remember, you’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

HRwisdom

In one of the free HRwisdom reports (available here: staff management advice), we tell of a national business survey conducted not too long ago which revealed that two-thirds of the organisations surveyed had been affected by skills shortages.

A separate study found that only 37% of organisations had a plan to find and keep good employees.

If you can use the global financial turmoil to your advantage by putting together put a comprehensive employee attraction and retention plan in place, you can get the jump on the 63% of organisations which are doing nothing to protect their biggest asset.

Proactive companies are careful not to repeat that tired old line: “People are our most important asset” and then offer higher salaries and leave it at that.

Why?

The answer is simple: Nothing operates in isolation.

We’ve seen time and time again how wrong companies can be by taking a narrow focus and assuming that salary and recruitment strategies are the only way to find and keep good employees.

The employment website Seek.com.au published a survey of jobseekers and this is the list of the main things that, when done badly, drive employees away.

Remember, people may have issues with all or any of these:

SEEK.com.au – Reasons Why Employees Leave

• Career development
• Feedback/appreciation
• Stress levels
• Variety & content of work
• Hours of work
• The way work is organised
• Benefits and conditions
• Job security
• Quality of management
• Salary
• Access to training or skill development
• Working environment/ atmosphere
• Tools & equipment
• My boss

You need to make sure you are at least ok in each area and you need to start right away on finding out what’s really going on in the minds of your employees.

Now, we highly recommend you take ten minutes to watch this excellent presentation by Dan Pink and The RSA Organisation.

The presentation combines science and art to reveal some some fascinating insights into really motivates our staff.

Enjoy.

 HRwisdom

Avoiding unnecessary staff turnover is a deliberate strategy used by the top companies in the workd. They do this to keep their skills, knowledge and expertise in-house without having to constantly slow down to bring new people up to speed.

Fortune Magazine in the US has recently produced its latest list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America and it makes for very interesting reading.

NOTE: You’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

In this HRwisdom post we’re bringing you the rankings 21 - 30 of the Fortune Magazine 100 Best Companies To Work For In America.

21 FIRST TENNESSEE BANK Memphis In 1996, Tennessee’s largest bank formally declared that employees come first, followed by customers, then shareholders. Plethora of family-friendly programs such as child-care subsidies and a sick-child center. Shareholders aren’t left out either, as the bank’s stock has shot up 100% in the past two years.

22 J.M. SMUCKER Orrville, Ohio Small-town American values flourish at this jams-and-jellies producer, still under the benevolent direction of the founding Smucker family. Employees cite the close-knit family feeling as the best feature of working here. More than 40% have been at Smucker longer than ten years.

23 GRANITE ROCK Watsonville, Calif. Imagine an operator of rock, sand, and gravel quarries winning a Baldrige National Quality Award. Granite Rock did it in 1992. Entry-level employees start at $15.90 an hour and progress to such positions as accomplished job owner and improvement champion (base pay: $25.90 an hour). Has no-layoff policy.

24 PATAGONIA Ventura, Calif. When the surf is up in the Pacific near Patagonia’s home office, employees grab a board and wet suit. A seller of rugged outerwear, Patagonia maintains two on-site child-care centers and contributes 1% of sales or 10% of profits (whichever is greater) to environmental groups. Women hold more than half of the top jobs.

25 CISCO SYSTEMS San Jose Cisco is king of networked computer systems, and the lure is working for a hot company and getting your hands on possibly lucrative stock options ($10,000 put into Cisco stock in 1993 would now be worth around $80,000). Pumped-up atmosphere. Every day begins with Cisco Boot Camp at 7 a.m.: one hour of calisthenics.

26 ERIE INSURANCE Erie, Pa. People come to work at the nation’s 12th-largest auto insurer and never leave. Erie has a no-layoff policy and is one of a small minority of companies offering a pension plan, profit-sharing bonuses, and a 401(k) savings plan with a company match. It also pays 100% of the health insurance premium.

27 MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL Bethesda, Md. Mormon-led company maintains strong ethical tone and rose to top of hospitality industry without operating a casino. Set up 24-hour hotline to answer questions from employees having family and personal problems. Spearheaded establishment of 24-hour child-care center for children of low-income hotel workers in Atlanta.

28 FOUR SEASONS HOTELS Don Mills, Ontario “I’m treated like a five-diamond hotel guest” is how one employee described the congenial working environment at this chain of luxury hotels and resorts. Special perks include free meals in the company cafeteria, tailored uniforms cleaned and pressed daily, and free nights at any Four Seasons in the world.

29 ROSENBLUTH INTL. Philadelphia Corporate travel agent, now ranked third in its industry in sales volume, emphasizes hiring “nice people.” Great travel perks include two free domestic plane tickets after the first year and two international tickets after the sixth year. Huge, all-expenses-paid companywide bash every five years in Philadelphia.

30 AMERICAN MGMT. SYSTEMS Fairfax, Va. Flexibility is the hallmark of this consulting company, where revenues and labor rolls have doubled in past five years. A quarter of the staff telecommute from home, part-time schedules can be chosen, and employees on long business trips can have their husbands or wives join them for the weekend at company expense.

Remember, you’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

HRwisdom

HRwisdom is pleased to announce the release of the latest HRwisdom free staff management resource.

The HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide is an excellent resource for any organisation.

In this comprehensive guide, top management practitioners offer you their best employee attraction & retention advice.
 
For a limited time, the guide is available to be downloaded for free.

 In this comprehensive E-book, here’s what you’ll find:

• Alan Hargreaves: Start Serving: A Holistic View of Service
• HRwisdom Blog: Orientation For Employee Retention
• Andy Partridge: Built on Values – Creating An Enviable Culture
• Anthony Sork: Top Tips For An Effective Induction
• Juliette Robertson: Retaining Your Key Gen Y Staff
• Tony Crosby: Career Management For Yourself
• Les McKeown: The Most Important Interview: Why Are You Staying?
• Mathew French: Social Media In Recruitment
• Marie-Claire Ross: Engage Your New Starters
• Emma Driscoll: 5 Ways To Become An Employer of Choice
• Vlasta Eriksson: Get The Basics Right – The Ground Rules in Employment Contracts
• Robert Watson: Generation Y In The Workplace
• Josephine Thomson: The Move to Quiet Leadership
• Charles van Heerden: Five Effective Strategies To Increase Employee Engagement
• Nicole Underwood: Who’s Hot Who’s Not. What The Perfect Resume Won’t Tell You
• Michelle Lambert: 10 Questions To Test Your Psychological Contract
• Les McKeown: Where Does Retention Start?
• Ron Jones: Attraction and Retention Strategies

In addition to the Guide, you can also choose to download some special new bonus resources.
 
You can download the HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide (and other goodies) right now at:

Employee Attraction & Retention Guide

Kind regards,

HRwisdom

Avoiding unnecessary staff turnover is a deliberate strategy used by the top companies in the workd. They do this to keep their skills, knowledge and expertise in-house without having to constantly slow down to bring new people up to speed.

Fortune Magazine in the US has recently produced its latest list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America and it makes for very interesting reading.

NOTE: You’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

In this HRwisdom post we’re bringing you the rankings 31 - 40 of the Fortune Magazine 100 Best Companies To Work For In America.

31 S.C. JOHNSON WAX Racine, Wis Family that founded company in 1886 still owns and runs extraordinarily benevolent enterprise: no-layoff policy, rich profit-sharing plan, 146-acre employee park, vacation resort in northern Wisconsin, superlative child-care center, knockout fitness center that includes lap pool, full-length basketball court, squash courts.

32 INTEL Santa Clara, Calif. If you like having your ideas challenged, Intel is the place for you. The king of the PC chipmakers values directness in its relentless quest to come up with new ideas to stay ahead of the pack. Very egalitarian; CEO Andy Grove works in a cubicle. Great stock-option plan has turned more than 1,000 employees into millionaires.

33 UNUM Portland, Me. Largest writer of long-term-disability insurance. Stock options for everyone, profit-sharing bonuses that pay out between 10% and 30% of pay, a wellness program that reimburses employees who work out regularly, and an annual chairman’s award that rewards outstanding workers with $5,000 in cash and $2,500 in travel expenses.

34 WHOLE FOODS MARKET Austin, Texas You don’t simply get hired at the country’s biggest natural-foods supermarket chain. You have to be voted in by a team of fellow employees in order to achieve permanent status. The very model of an egalitarian corporation; CEO’s compensation capped at ten times the average team member’s pay.

35 MINN. MINING & MFG. St. Paul “A young company that’s 90-plus years old” is how one 3Mer described the culture of innovation and risk taking. All technical employees encouraged to devote 15% of their time to their own projects. Went through its biggest restructuring ever in 1996, eliminating over 7,000 positions–but laid off fewer than 100.

36 L.L. BEAN Freeport, Me. Intense focus on service animates this family-owned seller of outdoor apparel and equipment. Employees sing the praises of company for vacation campsites (available by lottery), one-third discount on merchandise (even more on returned items), paid outdoor wilderness days (hiking, rafting, fly-fishing, cross-country skiing).

37 REI Kent, Wash. Growing chain of stores that sells equipment needed for outdoor adventures is organized as a Rochdale cooperative (consumer-members own the enterprise). But unlike some utopian enterprises, it is an extremely well-run business. Number of stores–and employees–doubled in the past decade.

38 ACXIOM Conway, Ark. Highly charged employees–called associates here–process data about American consumers to help companies sell their products and services. Associates talk about no one looking over their shoulders. On-site child-care center and fitness center. Plenty of small-town Arkansas goodies: floats, cookouts, pizza parties.

39 USAA San Antonio Pride of San Antonio, where this auto and life insurer occupies world’s largest private office building. On-site areas for softball, soccer, tennis, golf, and two fitness centers. Some 80% of employees work a four-day week. Best in-house education and training programs in its industry. Five on-site child-care centers.

40 CMP MEDIA Manhasset, N.Y. Leading publisher of technology magazines went public in 1997–and made owners out of employees. Each employee received ten shares of stock, plus 30 more for each year of service. First company on Long Island with on-site child-care center. Founding Leeds family widely admired by employees for its extensive philanthropy.

Remember, you’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

HRwisdom

How to manage staff to get the best business results?

This is one of the key issues addressed in the new free guide available for instant download at HRwisdom: Employee Engagement.

In the new “The HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” sixteen expert employee management practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offer their best employee attraction & retention advice.

How to manage staff?

Much of the information in the comprehensive free guide goes towards answering questions around how to manage employee engagement to get the best business results?.

In the wider context, the free guide has been developed to help business owners and Human Resources professionals who want to fast-track their staff management success.

One such expert contributor is Tony Crosby.

Tony is internationally recognised as one of Australia’s leading career management professionals and author, having successfully assisted thousands of clients, lectured at university level on career management techniques and appeared as an expert witness in career related matters.

Associated Career Management Australia is focused on the delivery of quality products and services in the human resource management areas of career transition management and corporate outplacement. The underlying philosophy of ACMA is the personalised and targeted provision of services, plus the ongoing management and support to ensure achievement of all desired outcomes.

When attempting to define employee turnover, it is important to consider the career management component.

Career management in today’s workplace is essential for any career focused person . . . ignore it at your own peril.

The world of work and career success has changed dramatically over the last 15 years and bears little resemblance to previous times. This change continues at a rapid pace and Tony shares with you excellent advice on how to manage this rapid evolution.

For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Employee Engagement now.

HRwisdom

How to manage staff to get the best business results?

This is one of the key issues addressed in the new free guide available for instant download at HRwisdom: Employee Engagement.

In the new “The HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” sixteen expert employee management practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offer their best employee attraction & retention advice.

How to manage staff?

Much of the information in the comprehensive free guide goes towards answering questions around how to manage employee engagement to get the best business results?.

In the wider context, the free guide has been developed to help business owners and Human Resources professionals who want to fast-track their staff management success.

One such expert contributor is Ron Jones.

With over 25 years experience across all areas of human resource management and workplace relations, Ron Jones has worked at a senior level in both the public and private sectors as well as in one of Australia’s leading Universities. A major focus of his consulting activity is working with small to medium size enterprises to build compliance with Fair Work Act requirements. Areas of engagement include preparation of enterprise agreements and employment contracts; alignment of policies and procedures to business practice; transmission of business arrangements; termination procedures; development of middle management support programs and overall organisation risk analysis.

Ron explains the ‘zero sum outcome’ when it comes to employee ‘attraction’ and ‘retention’ for companies in their drive to gain access to talented people.

Ron cleverly analyses the problem and then provides some very useful ideas on how to resolve this staff turn over issue.

For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Employee Engagement now.

HRwisdom

Avoiding unnecessary staff turnover is a deliberate strategy used by the top companies in the workd. They do this to keep their skills, knowledge and expertise in-house without having to constantly slow down to bring new people up to speed.

Fortune Magazine in the US has recently produced its latest list of the 100 Best Companies To Work For In America and it makes for very interesting reading.

NOTE: You’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

In this HRwisdom post we’re bringing you the rankings 41 - 50 of the Fortune Magazine 100 Best Companies To Work For In America.

41 EDDIE BAUER Redmond, Wash. This Spiegel division helps employees balance career and family with two weeks’ leave at full pay for all new parents, flexible work schedules, adoption aid of $2,000, postpartum care that will send a nurse to an employee’s home in the three days following delivery. On-site massage available twice a week at headquarters.

42 LIFE TECHNOLOGIES Gaithersburg, Md. Supplier to biotechnology industry in strong growth pattern, with sales up more than 50% in past five years. Casual dress every day and flexible workplace for employees with family obligations. Paid leave for new fathers and adoptive parents. Unlimited time off to care for sick child. Turnover is half the industry average.

43 LANDS’ END Dodgeville, Wis. Bucolic Wisconsin atmosphere, where policies include no layoffs, full benefits for part-timers, 40% discount on catalogue merchandise, and scheme enabling employees to try out new jobs in the company. State-of-the-art fitness center with Olympic-size swimming pool.

44 J.P. MORGAN New York Yes, there is a free lunch. And it’s a good one too, if you work at this pillar of Wall Street. Employees appreciate the high ethical standards, a top-flight training program, and a “hassle-free atmosphere” where they feel that the company genuinely cares about them. First (and so far only) Wall Street firm to offer domestic-partner benefits.

45 PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS Lakeland, Fla. Expanding Florida-based supermarket chain, with over 500 stores, is entirely owned by employees. Aside from a sex-discrimination case, which it settled for $81.5 million in 1997, the company has a good reputation. Quarterly bonus tied to profits. Rich savings and retirement plan. No layoffs. Never hires managers from outside.

46 GILLETTE Boston A Brahmin of the Boston business community. Most of the U.S. employees work in New England, but potential managers must be willing to be mobile. Some 500 managers are based outside their home country. Stresses promotion from within; 85% of employees in our survey said they hope to stay with Gillette till retirement.

47 MEDTRONIC Minneapolis Makes half the world’s heart pacemakers, as well as other implantable medical devices. Each new hire receives a bronze medallion inscribed with the company’s mission: “to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.” Patients come to annual holiday party to tell employees how Medtronic saved their lives.

48 WORTHINGTON INDUSTRIES Columbus, Ohio Steel processor maintains no-layoff policy. Employee councils vote to admit workers as permanent employees. Profit sharing accounts for a large share of pay. On-site medical clinic saw 14,000 patients in 1996. On an acquisition binge recently, Worthington maintains 56 facilities in 22 states.

49 BE&K Birmingham, Ala. Alabama construction company, specializing in heavy-duty jobs like building pulp and paper mills, has taken heat from labor for its resistance to unions. But company sticks by its people, and the workplace abounds with stories of employees who have been supported by BE&K during periods of personal trauma.

50 BALDOR ELECTRIC Fort Smith, Ark. Employees cite over and over how clean the plants are, the heavy commitment to continuing education, and top management’s open-door policy. Stock options are offered to everyone after five years’ service. Profit sharing pays out close to 10% of pay annually. Never had a layoff.

Remember, you’ll pick up many great ideas to help you become on of the Best Companies To Work For in the new HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide. The Guide has sixteen employee management expert practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offering their best employee attraction & retention advice. For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Reduce Staff Turnover now.

HRwisdom

How to manage staff to get the best business results?

This is one of the key issues addressed in the new free guide available for instant download at HRwisdom: Employee Engagement.

In the new “The HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” sixteen expert employee management practitioners from all areas of the human resources field offer their best employee attraction & retention advice.

How to manage staff?

Much of the information in the comprehensive free guide goes towards answering questions around how to manage employee engagement to get the best business results?.

In the wider context, the free guide has been developed to help business owners and Human Resources professionals who want to fast-track their staff management success.

One such expert contributor is Robert Watson.

Robert has had an extensive professional career across the spectrum of Corporate functional areas: engineering, production, sales, quality improvement, strategy, human resources, greenfield site establishment and information systems. He has been an invited presenter three times at the exclusive Mt Eliza School for Executive Education.

When examining your employee turnover ratio, rather than shaking your head in frustration at Gen Ys, your challenge is to tap into their many strengths so that your business can ride the fast wave into the future.

Robert excellent advice will help you if you are recruiting Gen Y people or if your business already has Gen Ys.

For instant download of the comprehensive free “HRwisdom Community Employee Attraction & Retention Guide,” click on Employee Engagement now.

HRwisdom