How do you crack the list of the “100 Best Companies to work for?”

How do you crack the list of the “100 Best Companies to work for?”

You know the list we’re talking about. Every year, FORTUNE magazine ranks companies that rate highly with their own employees. Over the years, First Cut Communications has seen familiar names on that list . . . names we’re proud to do business with. One company in particular is a perennial regular and often in  the top ten.

We recently worked on a new orientation video with them and again got the opportunity to see up close and personal why the company scores so highly with employees year after year. It sounds almost too basic, but first and foremost, they focus on what’s important – the core issues that most affect the people who work there.

Constant dialogue is key. From Day One, employees know they can talk with anybody and their voices will be heard. The culture of listening starts at the top and flows down to line management. There’s a definite eye on continuous improvement, whether it’s products and systems, or employee wants and wishes.

The company recognizes great ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. Finding better ways to do what needs to be done not only helps the bottom line but employee relations as well. Whether it’s automating drudge tasks or searching for opportunities to fulfill employees’ needs, this company lives by the credo that you take care of your people and they take care of your customers. The fastest way to end a career at the company is to treat fellow employees badly. Fortunately, that doesn't happen very often.

As we saw once again during our most recent visit, people are proud of the place where they work. It’s probably why so many of them start young and end up making long-term careers at the company. Respect for each other and taking a true interest in the welfare of each and every employee are not just words on paper but a guiding principle of how the company operates.

Communicating, collaborating and caring. That’s the short formula for the “Best” success.

Three union campaigns in 30 days stopped COLD.

That’s a sampling of the track record for 2013. In the space of just 30 days, our new card-signing video Signing Your Rights Away stopped three union campaigns in their tracks. Some companies are using it for prevention in orientation meetings; others when the rumblings begin. Could you use some of that firepower?

Call us for a preview.706-883-6366.

Is Your Company The Next Target?

January 2013 In this Issue The next target for the union is... New Videos! First Cut produced 8 new generic videos for our sister company AGTS. The instant best seller is our card signing video named Signing Your Rights Away (it is now available in union specific version), Contract Negotiations and Conversation Starters, six short videos designed to get people talking in group meetings during a campaign. Plus we just started working on several new interactive courses. If you have a request for an interactive course or a new DVD title please email me. We are always looking to produce new videos! We look forward to being of service!

Do you know who the new Steelworkers are? The Union does. A recent report showed that, in 2012, the most frequently targeted industries were “Business Services, Health Services, Passenger Transportation, Construction and Electric, and Gas & Sanitary Services.• Not a Steelworker among them. Nor an Autoworker, nor any other representative in the manufacturing sector.” Of the approximately 2000 NLRB petitions filed in 2012, 335 were from Business services alone. Health services accounted for 265, and Local and suburban transit & interurban passenger transportation had 149. Virtually every state was hit. In the words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a’changing.”  Actually, the times have been changing for quite awhile now, but sometimes it takes cold hard facts for all of us to realize that. The move toward service sector jobs and away from manufacturing started slowly but is now at full throttle. What’s that mean to you? Basically, everyone is a target. The Teamsters, the SEIU and all unions have a lot of Administrative salaries and perks to pay. Dwindling manufacturing membership has forced them to try and organize anybody and everybody they can. Often, employees in the service industries have little perception, positive or negative, of what it means to have a union in their workplace. The unions are more than happy to provide their version of utopia. We suggest you counter such activity before it starts. That doesn't mean union bashing. It means union education. The basics, like union rules, lack of flexibility, dues, negotiations, etc. Couple that information with the positive aspects of current company wages, benefits and other policies. That way, if and when the union comes calling, employees are prepared to make legitimate comparisons. Who’s next on the “hit” list? Who’s got a target painted on their back? You might as well open a Business Directory and just point to a random name. Hunting season is open and everything is fair game. Don’t wait until a union has you in their sites. Take preventive action now, communicate to your employees. *Information Source Susan Connelly, PTI Labor Research 1/16/13

I get my benefits advice from George

I recently read an interesting article from Aflac insurance. According to their research, people are less likely to take someone's advice about dinner choices at a restaurant at which neither has eaten, than they are to take uninformed advice about what to order from the company's benefits menu.

Just 40 percent of employees participating in the Aflac study feel extremely/very informed about the benefits offered at their companies. In part, this may be due to the fact that employer communications about benefits are sporadic and infrequent. For example, most employees report: their employers communicate about benefits less than three times a year.  Only 24 percent do so three or more times a year. Perhaps most telling is that 44 percent of employees say they receive too little communication about benefits from their employers. In the absence of real information, employees often turn to less-than-reliable sources for insight and guidance. The majority surveyed, 61 percent, say they receive information and/or advice about employee benefits via word of mouth; 45 percent consult colleagues and 36 percent rely on friends or family.

A strong business case can be made for improvements to companies’ benefits communications efforts. The Aflac study found that 41 percent of workers agree they would be less likely to leave their jobs if they were well-informed about their benefits. The turnover cost alone is an incentive for employers to make changes in how and how often their organizations share benefits information.  A crucial step forward for companies is acknowledging the possibility that their communications need improvement. Often, executives have false perceptions. For example, 85 percent of employers believe their HR departments are effective at benefits communication. However, more than one-quarter (27 percent) of workers say their HR teams communicate not very/ not at all effectively, and another 39 percent say the efforts are somewhat effective.

Benefits packages can influence employee loyalty (86 percent), productivity (81percent), job satisfaction (89 percent) and retention (77 percent). With all of those things at stake, implementing a more effective communications and education plan is simply smart business.

Call First Cut Communications at 706-882-5581 we can help!