Winning Workplaces

Jim Giuliano has been writing on some great employee engagement trends on HRMorning, and today is no exception. He cites the latest figures from the BLS when it comes to the value of employers' pay and benefits.

Here's a key statistic that has an impact on your open communication: Of the average, per-hour amount that employers paid in March to cover pay and benefits ($29.39), over 30% ($8.90) went to benefits.

This stat has an impact when it comes to practices such as employee forums because it's what I call an "iceberg" figure – employees often can't see a good chunk of what organizations are investing.

Well, for both transparency and to walk the "people are our greatest asset" talk, you should consider putting this stat front and center at your next staff meeting, if you don't already. Between your HR manager and your accountant or controller, a one-pager on this should be pretty easy to put together.

Throw it up as a slide in your next all-hands meeting and use it as an opportunity for employee engagement at work. One of my previous employers was a master at this, and, naturally, it ended up being the portion of the meeting with the lowest number of "tuned-out" workers.

Do you already do this at your firm? What kinds of conversations has it spurred? How have you used these to your advantage?

Photo credit: Dixie Grammar School Library