CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) is a financial corporation based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and noted for its 600-foot (180 m) tall red headquarters building, CNA Center. Its principal subsidiary, Continental Casualty Company (CCC) was founded in 1897. CNA (the parent company) was incorporated in 1967. The primary business focus of CNA is to provide commercial property and casualty insurance to businesses and professionals. CNA markets its products and services primarily through independent agents and brokers.
CNA itself is 89% owned by a holding company, Loews. This holding company also has interests in offshore oil and gas drilling rigs, natural gas transmission pipelines, tobacco, and in hotel operations.
CNA Surety Corporation (the “Company” or “we”) is committed to maintaining high standards for honest and ethical conduct in all of its business dealings. This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (referred to as this “Code”) covers a wide range of business practices and procedures. It does not cover every issue that may arise, but rather is intended to set out basic principles with which we expect you, our employees, officers and directors, to comply. Each of you is expected to conduct yourself in accordance with the policies set forth in this Code and seek to avoid even the appearance of improper behavior. All supervisory and management personnel, including all officers and directors of the Company, have a special responsibility to lead according to the standards in this Code. Our supervisory and management personnel are also expected to adhere to and promote our “open door” policy. This means that they are available to any of you who may have ethical concerns, questions or complaints.
Retention strategies are employed by an organization to reduce their rate of employee turnover. Some retention strategies are of course perceived to be better then others. There are five retention strategies in particular that are addressed in this article: (1) Hold supervisors accountable – by tying managers compensation to employee retention, (2) Explore various work options for retirement aged employees – it is important to retain our older experienced employees by offering them consulting positions within the organization, (3) A balanced workplace – We can look at PepsiCo and how they offer their employees a shorter workweek during the summer months to spend more time with their loved ones, (4) Stay interviews- conducting an employee needs assessment will provide feedback to the organization that certain employees require certain attention, and (5) Leadership skills development - Leadership skills development and or Management development can foster new skill sets and leadership skills in which will help the supervisor and or manager retain employees. Each retention strategy will be thoroughly described in great detail below.
1. Hold Supervisors Accountable
Some HR managers believe that the employee’s immediate supervisor is the most influential individual in sustaining worker retention. So, it has been suggested that firms should start to hold supervisors directly responsible for the employee turnover within the organization. They may be held responsible by having their compensation tied to retention efforts in reducing the organizations risk of employee turnover. Often when supervisor’s retention efforts are low, it can contribute to the supervisor having a less credible reputation in dealing with employees resulting in many cases; smaller bonuses or other perks made to the supervisor by the organization. Supervisors should head their respective departmental improved efforts in working to reduce employee turnover. Firms can align organizational retention goals to their supervisors by having: a) a supervisor’s compensation and the corporation’s retention goals intermingled with one another b) education and training of supervisors in current workplace retention issues, and how to respectively manage and employ improved retention efforts on a departmental level. They need to incorporate these retention strategies to their managerial style, whatever that may be.
2. Explore Various Work Options for Retirement Aged Employees
It is important for firms to retain its most experienced of employees. As a retention strategy, it is important to remind the soon to be retired employee that there are a multitude of other options within the company to consider. Often only one in three workers actually plan on fully retiring, many subsequently go into consulting work. The company can offer the employee other job options that are not considered full-time, for example, the aged employee can lead and head training programs, or even provide consultation services to the firm on special projects that require experience and expertise. An organization can increase their efforts on passive recruiting – which entices high performing content employees to new job opportunities. The best way to ensure older workers are retained is by offering jobs they may want, in most cases a flexible part-time job.
The success of your organization depends on your work force. To get the best out of your employees, you need to identify, hire and retain quality staff to achieve the highest level of performance and integration into company culture. Employee assessment is at the core of both selecting the right person for the right job and optimizing their work life.
Hiring the right talent for your firm can result in a host of benefits including increasing sales, improving customer service, increasing employee retention, enhancing employee engagement and improving overall teamwork. Employee assessment is critical to the hiring and recruitment process.
This means that human resources (HR) related activities such as hiring, training, and organizing are critical in getting the maximum value for the organization. At the heart of functional HR lies employee assessments - understanding and predicting human performance and potential so that you get the right person for the job.
The trouble is that many HR departments still limit themselves to traditional methods such as, interviews, resume reviews, background screening, and so on. These techniques still have their place, but in today's dynamic, highly-competitive business environment you really need a more comprehensive system. Only then can you get that vital edge that having the right staff can give you.
If you have a number of equally well-qualified candidates applying for the same position, how do you choose the right one? They all have the right academic credentials and work experience, they can all show glowing references. With traditional HR procedures, hiring would probably be made on gut feeling.
Clearly something better is needed - the ability to determine such factors as a candidate's work style, his propensity for team work, sense of judgment and so on. The fact is that these are things which can be objectively assessed and this is what modern employee assessment offers.
The purpose of business entertainment and gifts in a commercial setting is to create good will and sound working relationships, not to gain unfair advantage with customers, suppliers or others with whom we do business. You should never give, offer or accept a gift, entertainment or other item of value unless it: (1) is not a cash gift, (2) is consistent with customary business practices, (3) is not excessive in value, (4) cannot be construed as a bribe or payoff and (5) does not violate any law or regulation. You should take particular care to avoid accepting any favor or anything of value which could reasonably be interpreted as influencing your judgment in performing your duties for the Company. In addition, there is a wide variety of federal, state, local and foreign laws governing the offering or making of gifts, payments, favors and other gratuities to a government official and you must comply with those laws. If you are uncertain about the propriety of any gift or payment, you should consult the Company’s General Counsel.
One of the best ways to keep your finger on the pulse of staff retention is to implement targeted hiring practices from the beginning. Remember that you’re hiring for today’s needs and tomorrow’s vision! Keeping in mind that you’re hiring for the future could help in retaining individuals that not only address your current needs but are also a good match for the changing demands you see in the future. This is why hiring the right person is crucial. Hiring the wrong person could temporarily fill the gap but turnover is more likely since they’re not a good fit to begin with. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that given the costs of recruitment, selection, and training—it costs approximately one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him/her. That’s money your home could put towards other things!
While focusing on the hiring process alone won’t impact your retention rates—it is one of the many steps needed to begin long-lasting improvements to staff retention. Use pages 19 through 28 of the Staff Stability Toolkit for more advice regarding hiring practices and explore the other sections such as absenteeism, scheduling and orientation to further strengthen your retention rates
Recognizing that your employees have special talents and areas of expertise can assist in improving staff satisfaction and in turn impact staff retention. One of the challenges every nursing home faces in holding on to devoted, well-trained and compassionate caregivers is making sure that staff feel respected, valued, and supported by the management team. It’s important to praise their successes to ensure they feel appreciated but it’s also important to recognize their talent so you can utilize their strengths in achieving goals and improving outcomes of care.
CNA itself is 89% owned by a holding company, Loews. This holding company also has interests in offshore oil and gas drilling rigs, natural gas transmission pipelines, tobacco, and in hotel operations.
CNA Surety Corporation (the “Company” or “we”) is committed to maintaining high standards for honest and ethical conduct in all of its business dealings. This Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (referred to as this “Code”) covers a wide range of business practices and procedures. It does not cover every issue that may arise, but rather is intended to set out basic principles with which we expect you, our employees, officers and directors, to comply. Each of you is expected to conduct yourself in accordance with the policies set forth in this Code and seek to avoid even the appearance of improper behavior. All supervisory and management personnel, including all officers and directors of the Company, have a special responsibility to lead according to the standards in this Code. Our supervisory and management personnel are also expected to adhere to and promote our “open door” policy. This means that they are available to any of you who may have ethical concerns, questions or complaints.
Retention strategies are employed by an organization to reduce their rate of employee turnover. Some retention strategies are of course perceived to be better then others. There are five retention strategies in particular that are addressed in this article: (1) Hold supervisors accountable – by tying managers compensation to employee retention, (2) Explore various work options for retirement aged employees – it is important to retain our older experienced employees by offering them consulting positions within the organization, (3) A balanced workplace – We can look at PepsiCo and how they offer their employees a shorter workweek during the summer months to spend more time with their loved ones, (4) Stay interviews- conducting an employee needs assessment will provide feedback to the organization that certain employees require certain attention, and (5) Leadership skills development - Leadership skills development and or Management development can foster new skill sets and leadership skills in which will help the supervisor and or manager retain employees. Each retention strategy will be thoroughly described in great detail below.
1. Hold Supervisors Accountable
Some HR managers believe that the employee’s immediate supervisor is the most influential individual in sustaining worker retention. So, it has been suggested that firms should start to hold supervisors directly responsible for the employee turnover within the organization. They may be held responsible by having their compensation tied to retention efforts in reducing the organizations risk of employee turnover. Often when supervisor’s retention efforts are low, it can contribute to the supervisor having a less credible reputation in dealing with employees resulting in many cases; smaller bonuses or other perks made to the supervisor by the organization. Supervisors should head their respective departmental improved efforts in working to reduce employee turnover. Firms can align organizational retention goals to their supervisors by having: a) a supervisor’s compensation and the corporation’s retention goals intermingled with one another b) education and training of supervisors in current workplace retention issues, and how to respectively manage and employ improved retention efforts on a departmental level. They need to incorporate these retention strategies to their managerial style, whatever that may be.
2. Explore Various Work Options for Retirement Aged Employees
It is important for firms to retain its most experienced of employees. As a retention strategy, it is important to remind the soon to be retired employee that there are a multitude of other options within the company to consider. Often only one in three workers actually plan on fully retiring, many subsequently go into consulting work. The company can offer the employee other job options that are not considered full-time, for example, the aged employee can lead and head training programs, or even provide consultation services to the firm on special projects that require experience and expertise. An organization can increase their efforts on passive recruiting – which entices high performing content employees to new job opportunities. The best way to ensure older workers are retained is by offering jobs they may want, in most cases a flexible part-time job.
The success of your organization depends on your work force. To get the best out of your employees, you need to identify, hire and retain quality staff to achieve the highest level of performance and integration into company culture. Employee assessment is at the core of both selecting the right person for the right job and optimizing their work life.
Hiring the right talent for your firm can result in a host of benefits including increasing sales, improving customer service, increasing employee retention, enhancing employee engagement and improving overall teamwork. Employee assessment is critical to the hiring and recruitment process.
This means that human resources (HR) related activities such as hiring, training, and organizing are critical in getting the maximum value for the organization. At the heart of functional HR lies employee assessments - understanding and predicting human performance and potential so that you get the right person for the job.
The trouble is that many HR departments still limit themselves to traditional methods such as, interviews, resume reviews, background screening, and so on. These techniques still have their place, but in today's dynamic, highly-competitive business environment you really need a more comprehensive system. Only then can you get that vital edge that having the right staff can give you.
If you have a number of equally well-qualified candidates applying for the same position, how do you choose the right one? They all have the right academic credentials and work experience, they can all show glowing references. With traditional HR procedures, hiring would probably be made on gut feeling.
Clearly something better is needed - the ability to determine such factors as a candidate's work style, his propensity for team work, sense of judgment and so on. The fact is that these are things which can be objectively assessed and this is what modern employee assessment offers.
The purpose of business entertainment and gifts in a commercial setting is to create good will and sound working relationships, not to gain unfair advantage with customers, suppliers or others with whom we do business. You should never give, offer or accept a gift, entertainment or other item of value unless it: (1) is not a cash gift, (2) is consistent with customary business practices, (3) is not excessive in value, (4) cannot be construed as a bribe or payoff and (5) does not violate any law or regulation. You should take particular care to avoid accepting any favor or anything of value which could reasonably be interpreted as influencing your judgment in performing your duties for the Company. In addition, there is a wide variety of federal, state, local and foreign laws governing the offering or making of gifts, payments, favors and other gratuities to a government official and you must comply with those laws. If you are uncertain about the propriety of any gift or payment, you should consult the Company’s General Counsel.
One of the best ways to keep your finger on the pulse of staff retention is to implement targeted hiring practices from the beginning. Remember that you’re hiring for today’s needs and tomorrow’s vision! Keeping in mind that you’re hiring for the future could help in retaining individuals that not only address your current needs but are also a good match for the changing demands you see in the future. This is why hiring the right person is crucial. Hiring the wrong person could temporarily fill the gap but turnover is more likely since they’re not a good fit to begin with. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that given the costs of recruitment, selection, and training—it costs approximately one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him/her. That’s money your home could put towards other things!
While focusing on the hiring process alone won’t impact your retention rates—it is one of the many steps needed to begin long-lasting improvements to staff retention. Use pages 19 through 28 of the Staff Stability Toolkit for more advice regarding hiring practices and explore the other sections such as absenteeism, scheduling and orientation to further strengthen your retention rates
Recognizing that your employees have special talents and areas of expertise can assist in improving staff satisfaction and in turn impact staff retention. One of the challenges every nursing home faces in holding on to devoted, well-trained and compassionate caregivers is making sure that staff feel respected, valued, and supported by the management team. It’s important to praise their successes to ensure they feel appreciated but it’s also important to recognize their talent so you can utilize their strengths in achieving goals and improving outcomes of care.
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