Employee Retention of Lowe's : Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in 2007, with the opening of a store in Hamilton, Ontario, in early 2008. Lowe's started the construction of two stores in the Mexican city of Monterrey officially entering the Mexican market.[3] In 2011, Lowe's released plans to build over 150 stores in Australia over the coming 5 years, hoping to compete with the AUD$46 billion industry. Lowe's Companies, Inc. is 43 on the Fortune 500[4] list. As of 2010, the chain is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, near Charlotte. Lowe's is the second-largest hardware chain[5] in the U.S. behind The Home Depot and ahead of Menards. Globally, Lowe's is also the second-largest hardware chain, again behind The Home Depot and ahead of the European stores B&Q and OBI.
Have you visited the new Lowe’s store in Conyers? When it first opened I was a little impressed because of its convenience--I live on this side of town. Frankly, I hate to drive across town, cross I-20 to go to Home Depot. Every time I cross town it makes me question the decision why I moved here, but that’s another story for the future.
Secondly, I was impressed with the number and friendliness of the employees during Lowe’s grand opening. In my mind the number of employees should equate to better and faster service. This should boil down to shorter lines, which saves me a valuable commodity--time. I will gladly pay more if I can spend less time in a line.
However things have changed. The customer service and the employees have disappeared-poof, gone. I was there early this past Saturday to pick up a gallon of paint . . .a quick task right? I felt a little guilty going to Lowe’s because Cowan Hardware is a client of mine and I am pleased with the service they provide. But Lowe's is closer to my house.
At the counter the Lowe’s paint guy told me to walk down the aisle and he would be there in just a minute. I waited 15 minutes—he never showed up. Forget the paint, I also needed some tile to finish a bathroom project. Off to the tile isle and low and behold the tile was out of stock and I couldn’t find anyone working in the tile aisle either.
So I pushed my big shopping cart with two itsy-bitsy light bulbs to the cash register. Then I really hit the roof. Of the possible 14 cash registers only two were open and you guessed it . . .long lines in each. I mean this was Saturday and only two lines open! What kind of super store is this? I left the bulbs and tried to make my escape but all the aisles were blocked except for the two open cash registers. I felt like a rat on a sinking ship. I left Lowe's and went to the place I should have gone to first--Cowan Ace Hardware. I had my gallon of paint-mixed and was out the door in a few minutes.
It appears Lowe’s grand opening has not been too grand. Rumors have it that they laid off 22 employees because sales have not reached expectations.
Why do these big box, super stores come to town in the first place? Some civic minded people would like you to believe they are providing a service to our community or they provide jobs-yadda yadda. The truth is they are here for two reasons neither of which have anything to do with community service—arrogance and money.
I imagine some executive at Lowe's corporate headquarters looked on a map and saw there was a Home Depot in Conyers, "So by gosh we need to build a Lowe's!" So here we are in our small community with two large home-improvement boxes trying to out do each other. What wisdom allows them to come here in the first place I ask? I guess if you are a local government bigger means more taxes. Does this community need two mega-superstores?
What about all these smaller businesses who suffer the consequences? What about their livelihood? Many of these business people built Conyers. Competition is good has long as there are rules. I just hope in another six months we don’t have to look at another closed-up store because of arrogance and shortsighted thinking-time will tell.
Our lovely little community is turning into a haven for strip malls, dollar discount stores and cookie cutter houses. Some people call this economic development. I call it bad planning and a community losing its character. So if you want to stand in long lines go to Lowe's. If you want service go to Cowan Ace Hardware
New York, NY, February 25, 2005 - Employee retention and motivation?why should employers care? A storm is brewing. National productivity was up 3.9% in the second quarter and 1.9% in the third quarter of 2004. At the same time, the unemployment rate was up 5.5% in October 2004.
"Productivity is up, but fewer people are doing more," said Jennifer Loftus, SPHR, CCP, CBP, GRP, and National Director of HR consulting firm, Astron Solutions. "In addition, the number of 25-34 year old workers will decline by 2.7 million by 2008, resulting in a predicted shortage of 10 million workers within the next ten years."
Turnover can be very costly. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), each employee who leaves a company generates a cost. Conservative estimates place that cost at 30% of an employee's salary. For example, an organization that loses and replaces 150 employees a year, each at an average annualized salary of $50,000, incurs an estimated turnover cost of $2,250,000 in one year.
Making changes to recruitment and retention programs can make a difference. As Loftus explained, "If the same organization that replaced 150 employees were to implement changes, they would enjoy a $22,500 decline in recruitment and retention costs with each 1% decline in turnover. By working to improve the employment relationship, they would also reap the recruiting benefits of a reputation as an employer of choice."
Communication is the key ingredient in finding what will best motivate and meet employee needs by asking employees directly about what motivates them. "In order to avoid losing valuable employees, employers must expand their retention efforts by getting inside the hearts and minds of employees and candidates," said Loftus.
One retention and motivation option is instituting a variable compensation program. Team and small group variable compensation programs link organizations and their employees towards particular goals, while providing several benefits including increased total cash compensation opportunities, no increase to fixed salary costs, greater opportunities to reward top-performing employees and departments, enhanced goal setting, and improvement in organizational processes and fiscal situations.
Astron Solutions' client, Boston Children's Hospital launched a small group variable compensation program for their patient financial services department when their days in receivable had increased to 110 days. A quarterly incentive program was formulated focusing on the department's efforts to decrease days in receivable, with a maximum incentive pool equivalent to 20% of the department's total quarterly payroll. Cash payouts were equal among all employees, with the understanding that performance needed to be kept at satisfactory levels in order to be eligible for participation and payouts.
The results were extremely positive. The employees learned how to work more efficiently together as a team, the hospital greatly decreased its days in receivable which generated positive cash flow, and the employees increased their take-home cash without causing the organization any fiscal strain.
Of course there are other options. Spot cash awards are another option for organizations looking to motivate their employees, as well as non-monetary recognition awards such as public "thank you's" or recognition in company newsletters for a job well done. In addition, career matrix programs are a way to motivate employees by linking performance, job complexity, and career advancement. What works best really depends on your employees. "Employers should ask their employees how they would like to be rewarded. For example, employees who work for not-for-profit organizations know that money can be tight, and will often be an organization's best source of ideas with faster buy-in and appreciation," said Loftus.
With these various choices, employers should not feel like the spinning impaired, miller's daughter from the beloved children's fable, "Rumplestiltskin." Low cost solutions for retaining and motivating employees are readily available, proven to be effective, and are relatively easy to execute, resulting in a "happy ending" for employers
In 1999 employee turnover shot to its highest level in nearly two decades. On average, 1.2 % of the workforce left their jobs each month last year. This did not include departures due to layoffs, downsizing, or departures of temporary staff. Job turnover is soaring for a few reasons. One is definitely the strength of the economy. If companies need to find workers they can raise salaries, which increases the likelihood that someone will leave a job for one that pays more. Another reason is the loosening of bonds between employer and employee. There are lower levels of loyalty in today’s work environment. Money and perks can be used to attract people to a company but to retain skilled workers, it takes more then just tangible elements. In order to retain good employees, today’s workplace must make the proper adjustments to meet their demands. Good employees will not continue to work in an unpleasant environment if they know they can find a good job elsewhere.
Have you visited the new Lowe’s store in Conyers? When it first opened I was a little impressed because of its convenience--I live on this side of town. Frankly, I hate to drive across town, cross I-20 to go to Home Depot. Every time I cross town it makes me question the decision why I moved here, but that’s another story for the future.
Secondly, I was impressed with the number and friendliness of the employees during Lowe’s grand opening. In my mind the number of employees should equate to better and faster service. This should boil down to shorter lines, which saves me a valuable commodity--time. I will gladly pay more if I can spend less time in a line.
However things have changed. The customer service and the employees have disappeared-poof, gone. I was there early this past Saturday to pick up a gallon of paint . . .a quick task right? I felt a little guilty going to Lowe’s because Cowan Hardware is a client of mine and I am pleased with the service they provide. But Lowe's is closer to my house.
At the counter the Lowe’s paint guy told me to walk down the aisle and he would be there in just a minute. I waited 15 minutes—he never showed up. Forget the paint, I also needed some tile to finish a bathroom project. Off to the tile isle and low and behold the tile was out of stock and I couldn’t find anyone working in the tile aisle either.
So I pushed my big shopping cart with two itsy-bitsy light bulbs to the cash register. Then I really hit the roof. Of the possible 14 cash registers only two were open and you guessed it . . .long lines in each. I mean this was Saturday and only two lines open! What kind of super store is this? I left the bulbs and tried to make my escape but all the aisles were blocked except for the two open cash registers. I felt like a rat on a sinking ship. I left Lowe's and went to the place I should have gone to first--Cowan Ace Hardware. I had my gallon of paint-mixed and was out the door in a few minutes.
It appears Lowe’s grand opening has not been too grand. Rumors have it that they laid off 22 employees because sales have not reached expectations.
Why do these big box, super stores come to town in the first place? Some civic minded people would like you to believe they are providing a service to our community or they provide jobs-yadda yadda. The truth is they are here for two reasons neither of which have anything to do with community service—arrogance and money.
I imagine some executive at Lowe's corporate headquarters looked on a map and saw there was a Home Depot in Conyers, "So by gosh we need to build a Lowe's!" So here we are in our small community with two large home-improvement boxes trying to out do each other. What wisdom allows them to come here in the first place I ask? I guess if you are a local government bigger means more taxes. Does this community need two mega-superstores?
What about all these smaller businesses who suffer the consequences? What about their livelihood? Many of these business people built Conyers. Competition is good has long as there are rules. I just hope in another six months we don’t have to look at another closed-up store because of arrogance and shortsighted thinking-time will tell.
Our lovely little community is turning into a haven for strip malls, dollar discount stores and cookie cutter houses. Some people call this economic development. I call it bad planning and a community losing its character. So if you want to stand in long lines go to Lowe's. If you want service go to Cowan Ace Hardware
New York, NY, February 25, 2005 - Employee retention and motivation?why should employers care? A storm is brewing. National productivity was up 3.9% in the second quarter and 1.9% in the third quarter of 2004. At the same time, the unemployment rate was up 5.5% in October 2004.
"Productivity is up, but fewer people are doing more," said Jennifer Loftus, SPHR, CCP, CBP, GRP, and National Director of HR consulting firm, Astron Solutions. "In addition, the number of 25-34 year old workers will decline by 2.7 million by 2008, resulting in a predicted shortage of 10 million workers within the next ten years."
Turnover can be very costly. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), each employee who leaves a company generates a cost. Conservative estimates place that cost at 30% of an employee's salary. For example, an organization that loses and replaces 150 employees a year, each at an average annualized salary of $50,000, incurs an estimated turnover cost of $2,250,000 in one year.
Making changes to recruitment and retention programs can make a difference. As Loftus explained, "If the same organization that replaced 150 employees were to implement changes, they would enjoy a $22,500 decline in recruitment and retention costs with each 1% decline in turnover. By working to improve the employment relationship, they would also reap the recruiting benefits of a reputation as an employer of choice."
Communication is the key ingredient in finding what will best motivate and meet employee needs by asking employees directly about what motivates them. "In order to avoid losing valuable employees, employers must expand their retention efforts by getting inside the hearts and minds of employees and candidates," said Loftus.
One retention and motivation option is instituting a variable compensation program. Team and small group variable compensation programs link organizations and their employees towards particular goals, while providing several benefits including increased total cash compensation opportunities, no increase to fixed salary costs, greater opportunities to reward top-performing employees and departments, enhanced goal setting, and improvement in organizational processes and fiscal situations.
Astron Solutions' client, Boston Children's Hospital launched a small group variable compensation program for their patient financial services department when their days in receivable had increased to 110 days. A quarterly incentive program was formulated focusing on the department's efforts to decrease days in receivable, with a maximum incentive pool equivalent to 20% of the department's total quarterly payroll. Cash payouts were equal among all employees, with the understanding that performance needed to be kept at satisfactory levels in order to be eligible for participation and payouts.
The results were extremely positive. The employees learned how to work more efficiently together as a team, the hospital greatly decreased its days in receivable which generated positive cash flow, and the employees increased their take-home cash without causing the organization any fiscal strain.
Of course there are other options. Spot cash awards are another option for organizations looking to motivate their employees, as well as non-monetary recognition awards such as public "thank you's" or recognition in company newsletters for a job well done. In addition, career matrix programs are a way to motivate employees by linking performance, job complexity, and career advancement. What works best really depends on your employees. "Employers should ask their employees how they would like to be rewarded. For example, employees who work for not-for-profit organizations know that money can be tight, and will often be an organization's best source of ideas with faster buy-in and appreciation," said Loftus.
With these various choices, employers should not feel like the spinning impaired, miller's daughter from the beloved children's fable, "Rumplestiltskin." Low cost solutions for retaining and motivating employees are readily available, proven to be effective, and are relatively easy to execute, resulting in a "happy ending" for employers
In 1999 employee turnover shot to its highest level in nearly two decades. On average, 1.2 % of the workforce left their jobs each month last year. This did not include departures due to layoffs, downsizing, or departures of temporary staff. Job turnover is soaring for a few reasons. One is definitely the strength of the economy. If companies need to find workers they can raise salaries, which increases the likelihood that someone will leave a job for one that pays more. Another reason is the loosening of bonds between employer and employee. There are lower levels of loyalty in today’s work environment. Money and perks can be used to attract people to a company but to retain skilled workers, it takes more then just tangible elements. In order to retain good employees, today’s workplace must make the proper adjustments to meet their demands. Good employees will not continue to work in an unpleasant environment if they know they can find a good job elsewhere.
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