Category Archives: featured

Are You Creating Company Culture That Builds Retention?

It takes a lot of effort to build culture, and it takes very little to destroy it.

A recent study revealed that 75% of workers cited Company Culture as the primary factor that influenced their decision to work at a company; for many, culture ranked higher than salary. It might be surprising to hear but job seekers are likely to pass on a “perfect job” if the Corporate Culture isn’t a good fit.

So what exactly is Corporate Culture and how do you create culture that builds retention. Read on to learn more.

What is Company Culture?

In short, Company Culture is simply the way things are done in an organization.

Every company has values, rules, and unspoken routines that make it a one-of-a-kind entity. Some are formal and some are informal but your culture bleeds into everything: the way you handle problems, the way employees interact with each other, and the way your leadership team carries itself.

It doesn’t stop there, culture also sets the tone for virtually every interaction your employees have with your customers. From emails to face-to-face interactions, your Company Culture is constantly on display in your employees to your customers. For your clients, it really doesn’t matter what you say to them, what you DO is what they’ll remember. This is why having a motivated workforce that both believes in the company mission and feels supported by their team is so key to building and fostering client relationships.

How do you build positive Company Culture?

Positive Company Culture trickles down to every aspect of your business. It can be seen in communications in your office, the way your team interacts, how your team behaves, and how your people connect with one another.

Good Company Culture will foster both engagement and retention. Conversely, bad Company Culture will emphasize punishment and reward the wrong behaviors. It’s hard to see how far reaching the effect of Company Culture is because its impact is both internal and external; intrinsic and extrinsic.

Signs of a bad Company Culture can look like toxic employee gossip, high turnover rates, and overall poor morale. If you’re noticing the beginnings to these behaviors, now is the time to act. Prioritizing Company Culture is a choice. It starts with hiring the right people to do the right jobs and continues with intentional effort. Building a great Company Culture requires thoughtful leadership, time, attention to details, and is not really based on compensation

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Building culture should be fun and rewarding. If you need help cultivating a positive Company Culture, reach out to us at marketing@corpstrat.com

What’s the hottest, zero cost benefit in Employee Benefit planning today?

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two coworkers meet to discuss voluntary benefits

The answer may surprise you. Hint: AFLAC

58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck after the inflation spike. This means that most of your employees are relying heavily on their paycheck to keep them from becoming financially vulnerable. If an employee falls ill or gets hurt, they’ll likely have little to no income coming in. On top of that, state Disability is so restrictive and can involve such an arduous process that your employees simply can’t count on it.

Voluntary Benefits

Voluntary Benefits, commonly referred to as AFLAC, can help employees maintain their income by paying cash benefits directly to them. Employees can use these cash benefits to help cover rent, groceries, and other daily living expenses while they’re out of work.

It’s true, major medical policies can be adequate for addressing most of your employees’ direct medical expenses. However, out-of-pocket medical expenses like deductibles, co-insurance, office visits, etc. aren’t covered by a primary healthcare plan and can still present a problem. These expenses add up quickly and can become an insurmountable financial burden for employees.

Voluntary Plans can help cover some of the large financial burdens employees face. Did we mention there’s no cost to you as the employer? Consider offering these plans to your employees on a voluntary basis:

Accident
Short Term Disability
Life, Dental
Vision
Cancer Expense & Critical Illness

Don’t forget, you can offer these programs on a pre-tax basis. This can help lower your FICA and FUTA contributions, making these plans even more affordable to your team.

We think Voluntary Benefits are a win-win for you and your employees and should be a part of any comprehensive Benefits Package. If you have any questions regarding how to get this set up, please contact us at marketing@corpstrat.com

4 Ways to Better Take Care of your People

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An organization really is nothing without its people. We’re big believers in cutting edge HRIS technology but if it’s not accompanied by great relationships, we know a company simply can’t thrive. We care about facilitating the right ecosystem in which your team can create relationships with one another that truly add value to both their work and overall well being.

We want companies and professionals to advance and thrive, and we believe the key to this is ensuring both your team and clients feel seen and appreciated. Here are four of our top tips for taking better care of your people:

1. Hire the right candidates.

This might sound like a no brainer but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to hire a “rock star” on paper who isn’t a team player. Take special care to check that your prospective hire matches your core company values. You want someone who is committed to having meaningful relationships in business and can relate their skills and expertise to the benefit of your organization. Hiring the right people is especially important if the position calls for interfacing with clients; every person you hire becomes a representation of your company and its values.

2. Take every opportunity to reward and recognize.

Employees are by far your greatest asset and it’s important to be intentional about making stellar workers feel appreciated. When your team members help a customer or client achieve their goals, make them feel seen and rewarded. Small things like a free lunch, holding a happy hour in their honor, or a gift card to their favorite coffee shop can have a big impact.

3. Don’t treat clients like they’re just business assets.

We strive to be an important ingredient in our clients’ success, but we never want to treat them like they’re just a number on the page. You never know where a solid client relationship might lead to. So many of our current friendships, business connections, and referrals have been the direct result of cultivating a genuine relationship with our clients. Encouraging your team to form relationships with their clients that are authentic, caring, and helpful pays off no matter what.

4. Create a culture that encourages lasting relationships.

We are always encouraged when our employees form strong relationships with one another. We know their strong connections make us a better team and allow us to work together better than ever. In addition, when our clients engage and form friendships with our team, we feel that it really completes the circle both emotionally and economically.

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We firmly believe that creating meaningful personal relationships goes beyond any sort of efficiencies technology can create. If this resonates with you, let’s talk. Call us (818) 377-7260 or email us at marketing@corpstrat.com.

5 Tips for Bringing Your Team Back to the Office

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After over two years of working remotely, we know a lot of employers are grappling with if and how to bring their teams back into the office. They’re faced with a barrage of questions: Should they bring employees back full time? Keep them remote? Should they offer set hybrid programs or let employees decide their own schedule? The risk of losing great employees by pushing them to return to the office looms large however, full-time remote work doesn’t suit every business.

The answer is there is no right answer. It’s almost impossible to establish a protocol that makes sense for everyone. The bottom line is companies have to get creative with how they balance safety, productivity, and culture as we begin returning to the office. We do think companies will likely employ various hybrid work iterations for the foreseeable future.

Here are our best ideas to help find balance between encouraging company culture while your team is remote and building rapport back in the office:

1. Give Employees Their Own Work Spaces.

Try rewarding employees with their own work spaces as opposed to the shared work spaces that are so popular nowadays. The pandemic has created all sorts of uncertainties about touching other people’s stuff.

2. Offer up free lunches.

We know there’s “no such thing as a free lunch” but we’ve seen companies have tremendous success when they offer their employees meals as a gesture of appreciation. Sending your remote employees a voucher for a food delivery app and an invitation to join a team Zoom hang out is a great way to allow your team to interact more casually. When your team is in the office, providing free lunches allows people to connect with each other. We’ve found that this desire for connection is greater than ever since the pandemic began.

3. Create Memorable Moments to Connect

Try and use culture building opportunities as frequently as possible. This is where employers can really get creative. Consider setting up both remote and in-person fun experiences like an Escape Room or a virtual Pub Quiz. Give away memorable gifts, company merchandise, or a welcome back to the office care package so employees feel that their experience is being valued.

4. Provide Gas Cards

Send gas gift cards to anyone who comes into the office on a regular basis. Gas is expensive right now so this is an easy win because it makes employees feel valued for their efforts.

5. Use Social Media to Show Off Company Culture

Make sure your employees are proud of the team that they’re on and feel included. One way to do this is share notable team experiences on your public Social Media channels and in your internal team communications, like a Slack channel or team newsletter. You’ll be able to show the community being built back up in the office and ease the minds of employees still on the fence about returning to the office.

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Need help creating positive Company Culture? We can help with that. Contact us.

California Competes: What Is It and How Can You Benefit?

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California Competes: have you heard of it? It’s a state sponsored opportunity specifically geared towards companies located in California. The California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) is an income tax credit available to businesses that want to relocate to California or stay and grow in California. Essentially, it’s an income tax credit available to businesses that intend to remain in California and grow their employee base over the next five years.

The CCTC is accepting applications from companies from any industry, of any size, and at any location in California. The CCTC has $180 million of credits available per fiscal year through 2022-23 with a minimum credit request of $20,000.

Credit awards are based on a number of factors such as:

Number of jobs created
Compensation paid to employees
Amount of investment
Duration of proposed project and commitment to remain in the state
Opportunity for future growth and expansion
Overall economic impact
And more

If this if of interest to you, consider submitting a business plan that includes your plan for growing your company and retaining employees in the state of California. The program will provide an income tax credit to companies that grow populations and they’ll even co-op investments in people and technology. The program opens for new applicants once a quarter.

For more information and to apply: https://business.ca.gov/california-competes-tax-credit/