Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | September 18, 2023 | wbjournal.com By Julia Becker Collins Julia Becker Collins is the COO of Vision Advertising, a full- service marketing agency based in Northborough. Competing for top talent in this post-2020 world with the Great Resignation and quiet quitting is chal- lenging, especially for small businesses like mine. Yet, our 10-person agency had a 100% retention rate the first two COVID years, and we've hired two full-timers in the last year. (For one position, I had 400+ applicants.) How has Vision kept our people happy and recruited new teammates? 10) Money isn't everything. I've had candidates take a pay cut to work here. Though their former jobs were paying more, it was making them miserable. 9) Time off is essential. You can always get money back, but you can never get time back. The days of offering only two weeks vacation are over. 8) So is flexibility. Expecting someone to be glued to their desk eight hours per day, five days per week is unrealistic. Dentist appointments and school pick- ups can and will happen during working hours. 7) No one likes traffic, high gas prices, unreliable public transit, or commuting in snow. Remote work affords employees a better quality of life. Plus, top talent can be found anywhere. What if physical distance is the only thing separating you from the perfect candidate? 6) Finding the right fit is a high priority for job seekers. A big ideas self-starter doesn't want to spend 40 hours per week reporting to a because- that's-how-we've-always-done-it micromanager. 5) People don't leave bad jobs; they leave bad bosses. The job of a leader is to support their staff. Be reliable, available, understanding. 4) Transparency builds trust. Candidates don't want you to waste their time. Employees don't want to be left in the dark. 3) Proactivity = key for retention. If an employee gives their notice and the supervisor is shocked, there's a disconnect. Had this supervisor not neglected to be present, check in regularly, and ask for input, they could've seen this coming. 2) Stagnancy hinders. Employees want to know their job has room for growth: learning new skills, taking on responsibilities, or otherwise advancing their career. 1) Happy employees are good for business. Your people are your business' greatest asset. Happy employees = happy clients. K N O W H O W e secret for a successful merger BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to WBJ T hose quick walks around the parking lot, down to a nearby smoothie shop or even a few minutes with one's head down on the desk are beneficial. Chad Brooks of BusinessNewsDaily reports on a 2014 Staples study showing even though 85% of employees believed regular breaks would boost productivity in their work- place, one in five weren't doing so (guilt being the reason). But employees need not feel guilty; breaks do a company good. Microbreaks have major plusses. Brooks cites a 2021 North Carolina State University study showing fatigued employees can benefit from five-min- ute microbreaks in terms of cognitive functioning and redirected blood flow to overworked parts of the brain. e same study found employees who could take breaks on their own schedule best met their work goals. Breaks improve decision making. A famous study references a case of Israeli judges who took two daily breaks. ey were more likely to grant parole to prisoners aer considering their cases, notes Meg Selig of Psychology Today. But when those breaks were taken away, the rate of parole gradually dropped to 0% "because judges resorted to the eas- iest and safest option – just say no," she writes. eir judgments became more simplistic. How breaks are spent matter, too. Work-fit.com's Kimber DiVincenzo suggests employers who want to avoid workers crashing from caffeine and sugar spikes offer alternative break options. Break rooms can have media- tion areas and healthy snacks in vending machines instead of junk food, for example. Organized aernoon exercise breaks, like with stretching, are good. "Half to two-thirds through a shi is when workplace fatigue typically sets in the hardest," she writes. "Exercise breaks bring a whole host of benefits for your team and increased productivity is just one of them." 10 THINGS I know about... ... Post-2020 employee recruitment & retention E M P L O Y E E B R E A K S Amy Morrissey is a corporate attorney at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, who solves complex business issues with sound, real-world legal advice. A graduate of Purdue University, Morrissey earned her law degree at New England School of Law. BY AMY MORRISSEY Special to WBJ M ergers & acquisitions are common in business, as organizations seek to expand reach, increase market share, and achieve synergies. But many mergers fail to deliver the expected results. Harvard Business Review reports between 70-90% of mergers and acquisitions fail due to a lack of integration strategy. e deal is not over when you sign all of the paperwork; it is over only when you successfully integrate the companies. ere are many ways to boost the odds of successful integrations. 1. Cultural alignment is a crucial aspect of an integration. Companies with distinct organizational cultures may have trouble agreeing on their values, new norms, and the best way to do business going forward. Businesses who have successful integrations are the ones proactively assessing cultural differences and developing strategies to foster collaboration and a shared vision. Communications, transparency, and inclusivity are key. 2. Leaders must be present. e CEO cannot merely hand off integration. Leaders must actively guide the process and be committed to the task. ey must communicate a clear vision and establish realistic goals. To build trust and alleviate uncertainty, I find that regular town hall meetings are helpful. Open forums and other feedback mechanisms can help address concerns and provide updates. 3. Strategic planning can ensure the integration process aligns with overall business objectives. It involves creating a roadmap for integration, analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for both companies. It identifies potential synergies, streamlines processes, and defines roles and responsibilities. Take strategy from both companies. Aer all, there was a reason for this merger. And make transitions slowly. I once helped two merging companies that offered different pay plans, where all executives had to go from a bonus every quarter to a bonus every year. e new company made the change over a two-year period. 4. Employees are companies' main assets. Keep them informed and prioritize their engagement and retention. Not only should employee input be encouraged, but companies should reward workers for contributions to a smooth integration. Such recognition can go a long way to maintaining morale and motivation. Once I had a client who ignored that the company it acquired had an unlimited vacation policy. e client did not believe in such a policy and implemented its vacation policy by seniority, capped at 15 days. Turnover attributable to this was at an all-time high of 34%. e cost to replace those employees far exceeded what an interim policy would have required. 5. Don't overlook the importance of maintaining a seamless customer experience. Disruptions or inconsistencies in service can aggravate clients and cause them to stop working with you. Organizations should proactively communicate with customers, ensuring they understand the benefits of the integration and addressing any concerns. ey should also integrate customer databases, which ultimately will lead to better interactions. Do not ever underestimate the importance of integration and do not think it is a fast or easy process. If you put a lot of work into it, you will definitely be rewarded with a merged company stronger than ever. W W W

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