Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)– Smaller Employers Add a Personal Touch to Well-Being Benefits
Mindfulness Matters
When attracting and retaining employees during times of crisis, mindfulness matters, said Melodie Bond-Hillman, senior manager of human resources and administration at Simi Valley, Calif.-based XYPRO Technology Corp., a cybersecurity solutions company with 87 employees.
“Regardless of company size, the real key in attracting and retaining employees in this new environment is the ability on the part of the employer to demonstrate flexibility and stability,” Bond-Hillman said. “The degree of flexibility can mean a lot of different things, including flexible hours, work from home arrangements, flexibility with benefits, PTO and sick policies.”
It’s important for employers to stay attuned to and aware of what matters most to employees, which could be easier for small companies to do, she explained.
As for helping employees feel safe in the workplace, “smaller companies, in some cases, will have a perceived advantage due to numbers and the ability to control office density more easily, minimizing risk to exposure,” Bond-Hillman said.
While she acknowledges that a larger company may have the ability to put practices in place at an institutional level to reduce exposure to the virus, “a smaller company can listen to the voice of the employees more readily and address individual concerns more quickly, which could increase employee comfort levels,” she noted.
“Rather than focusing on one aspect of employee benefit as a decision point,” she explained, “employees will be considering their total package and experience when seeking employment because they will need to choose the best fit for their new normal.”
