By Zev Gotkin – ZEV Media
From The Business Digest presented by COLlive & CHYE
How do you make an employee or team member feel like a partner in the organization? How can we empower employees to feel they have a stake in the company’s future?
Yisroel Swimmer, CFO of TileBar:
Involve your employees in decisions and be transparent with them so they see their work and get exposure to more of the business as a whole. Then, they will feel part of the team and not as if they are just ‘doing their job.’ Hold monthly meetings to encourage cross-department discussion and collaboration.
You can also establish a Bonus Plan that links specific KPIs (key performance indicators) tailored to each employee back to company profitability. The bonuses can be allocated on a sliding scale based on how well they’ve hit their KPIs. This will give them a feeling of having a greater stake in your business and transform employees into stakeholders. If you plan to sell your business at a future date, crafting a Management Incentive Plan is an alternative to a Bonus Plan. i.e. offering your employees shares (secondary shares), that only vest over time and if they meet their KPIs. This is only useful, of course, if the business plans to sell. Otherwise, the bonus route is the best way to incentivize people.
Shmuly Goldman, Director of Enterprise Accounts at B&H Photo:
One thing you can do is actually make them partners by establishing some kind of employee equity program. However, this may not be right for many companies. The alternative is to truly give your employees a seat at the table. Be humble, transparent, and authentic in your communication and interactions, and open to being wrong. Make it clear to everyone in the organization what matters most to leadership and make sure your employees know that leadership will always consider and, whenever appropriate, act on employee ideas.
Gabe Guilis, Managing Member at United Pacific Brands:
Empower them to be accountable in executing their job duties and involve them in the decision-making process. This will give them a real perception of “ownership.” Keep the lines of communication open. Leadership can create an inclusive business/management culture, foster greater team cohesion, and make employees feel included by being transparent and sharing information.
Communication is crucial to helping employees feel a greater sense of ownership in the organization. Bring them in on your decision-making process and create a vision for them, clearly demonstrating how their efforts will help achieve the company’s goals and objectives. You can also have them participate in a profit-sharing plan. A profit-sharing plan is a great way to give the employee a sense of “ownership .”This profit-sharing plan should include a vesting schedule and another employee retention tool.
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