Retaining long-term employees through targeted incentives and team integration

Organizational Behavior and People Management

Motivating long-term company employees

Competitive remuneration cannot be used in isolation to motivate employees of a company that is focusing on its long time future. Money, an extrinsic motivation, is believed to extinguish intrinsic motivation like achievement motivation. However, money can be used as an indicator of success for various motives. To make long time company employees develop interest in the company's long-term future, some elements of innovation have to be integrated. As the CEO of the company I would initiate college scholarship schemes for veteran employees who may be having interest in furthering their education to be at par with the company's technological advances. College scholarship programs can also be extended to these employees' grandchildren because many grandparents still help with college bills. Long-term employees can also be given the first choice in vacation and shift-schedule request (Sixel, 2011).

I would also provide special parking places for employees with seniority and increase the amount of company-paid health insurance subsidies based on years of service. I would also provide gift cards for veteran employees who do their jobs extremely well. However, all these will be targeted to each specific employee like for example veteran employees who have readership culture would be bought gift cards for bookstores. Those in travel would be bought gift cards from a hotel chain. By doing this I would be recognizing their service and thanking them for what they have done. As a matter of fact, I would initiate incentive programs to deter my long-term employees from walking out of the door (Sixel, 2011). By doing this I would ensure that the skills and the long-term relationship that they had established with the company clients don't just disappear. Long serving employees eying retirement can also be offered ultimate flexible arrangement where they are given a summer off when their grandchildren are out of school. They can also be allowed to stay home in the month of December on condition that they work the rest of the year.

Team building

For this company to realize its objectives new hires with expertise in new technologies have to be fully integrated into the company. They have to work collectively with the rest of the team members who have worked with the company for some period of time and are probably not exposed to the new technologies. New employees will subsequently take the shortest period of time to become fully productive while also helping the veterans become abreast with the new technologies. I will ensure that the new hires are properly oriented so that they get to know the company's organizational culture and its history (Rummler, 2007).

I will ensure that the new hires are formally introduced to their new work team, peers, and superiors who they need to know to effectively perform their duties. With the use of strategic onboarding I will ensure that new employees are fully accepted into the workforce by their peers and others. It makes employees to become quickly accultured and impactful to the company as well as providing experience for new employees. Strategic onboarding increases employee retention, internal communications as well as improving employee engagement. Once new hires become fully integrated, the interaction between them and the veterans will ensure that the veterans adopt new technological know how hence helping the company realize its strategic goals (Rummler, 2007).

Our Approach

We have not been doing much of cutting edge technological work because our major pre-occupation has been the development of gas meters for the past 45 years. No major improvements have been made in the way we do our business. Because our utility companies are considering adopting systems which transmit gas consumption readings over wireless networks, we cannot afford to sit back and watch as our customers live us. We have to adapt to the changing business environments and establish ourselves as strong leaders in this market niche. As a company we will have to recruit new talents who are conversant with wireless gas meter technology and integrate them into our workforce.

Some veteran employees who may be having interest in exploring this technology can also be granted scholarships to go and study on condition that on finishing their studies they work for the company. New hires with technological know how can also induct the veterans on how the wireless gas meter technology works.