[Editor’s Note: PAN Communications was named one of PR News’ 2016 Top Places to Work in PR this past fall. We asked PAN’s president/CEO Phil Nardone to explain his philosophy of employee engagement and retention. How does an agency become a best place to work? Here is what he told us.]
PAN Communications is much more than an integrated marketing & PR agency—we’re a work family. We received several awards last year as a best or top place to work, from PR News, Boston Globe and Orlando Business Journal. How did PAN get so lucky? Well, it wasn’t luck. It was a very well planned and executed people strategy.
There were three keys to our success: 1) understanding how to execute and foster employee engagement; 2) providing the right kinds of benefits and perks; and 3) keeping employee retention at an all-time high.
Below are best practices in these areas and examples from PAN Communications that you and your company can apply.
1. Employee Engagement
Employee engagement doesn’t happen organically as some assume. In fact, a recent report from Gallup says 68% of employees are disengaged at work. That’s an outstanding number and most employers don’t know how to fix this problem.
Employee engagement takes effort at every level. It starts during the hiring process. PAN has been a growing agency for the 20 years. We wouldn’t be where we are today without our Human Resources (HR) department and its superb job of sourcing and screening every candidate. It’s more than a candidate’s professional background and skill set under consideration; HR also assesses if the person would be a cultural fit within the "PANfam." If a candidate doesn’t share the same values as your company, then he/she may not thrive professionally within its environment.
Once you have stellar staff on board, consistent and constant communication is key to employee engagement and survival. As a cross-office agency, communication can be a challenge. There are options to make this easier, however.
First off, technology is your friend. We use Skype for Business and Zoom for video-conferencing to ensure communication remains fluid. We also have monthly staff meetings, where we share updates from all departments and teams. Our dedicated VPs also host bimonthly team meetings where team members serve up the agenda. Staying connected is a critical success factor. We even have "PANpubs"—our social hour held cross-office via Zoom—which helps bring us together as an agency.
Recognition also is a huge factor when it comes to employee engagement. At PAN, we are champions for one another. We acknowledge accomplishments weekly. For example we have a Hit of the Week to recognize an employee scoring top-tier coverage for a client. "PANtastic" awards honor those who go above and beyond. There is a set of awards to recognize staff on a monthly and quarterly basis during staff meetings.
Professional growth and helping employees along their career path is a necessity for engagement. At PAN, we work with employees to establish learning and development goals. The leadership team works closely in a shared resource model to map out advancement opportunities. Timing of promotions is customized to the individual. Our VPs meet with their team members on a regular basis, providing performance feedback and taking time to listen and offer sound advice and counsel.
We supplement this with PAN University (PANU) sessions. These are offered to all PAN offices and are delivered by internal or external experts in various topics. We all are continually learning. If employees continue to grow within your company, engagement will increase and spread like wildfire.
2. Benefits & Perks
Supporting professional growth is just one of many benefits companies can offer. We encourage a work-life balance to support improved productivity and employee retention. While there are numerous employee benefits to choose from, make sure that you have the essentials within your plan first.
While there are certain benefits that are required by law, there are benefit essentials not required by law but that should be offered to stay competitive within your industry. Those benefits include retirement, health, dental, vision and life insurance plans, alongside paid vacation and sick leave.
Once you have the benefit essentials down, it’s time to start catering to your employees and their needs outside of work. What perks would they enjoy? What do they value the most? At PAN, we value spending quality time with each other, which is why we have a weekly cocktail hour to catch up with our office buddies. We also believe that giving back to our community is extremely important, so we give our employees one paid day every year to go into their communities and make a difference within their organization of choice.
As a part of embracing a work-life atmosphere we implemented flex schedules on Fridays so that employees can leave at 3:30 p.m. and get a jump-start on the weekend. During the summer, we boast Summer Fridays, allowing PAN employees to start their weekends at 1 p.m. We also close between Christmas and New Year's Day. Stepping away together reenergizes everyone and helps us kick off the New Year fully rested. We also celebrate birthdays the best way possible—by giving that employee the day off.
While some of these options may not be available for smaller companies or start-ups, there are workarounds and group activities that can be planned. Employees will see them as a perk. If your company values fitness, think about scheduling a one-hour yoga session in-house once a week. Maybe your employees would prefer a mentor program or buddy system? Casual Fridays? There are plenty of options to consider, but the most important part of having benefits and perks is that you tailor them based on feedback. As a result, you’ll end up with a people-first organization because you are not just providing a job, but benefits and wellness options that employees greatly appreciate.
3. Employee Retention
80% of business leaders rank employee retention as important or urgent. But just like employee engagement, retention doesn’t happen overnight. There are a few key best practices that amount to having a high retention rate.
Hiring and holding on to the right management team can make or break your company’s retention rate. A management team needs to be communicative, trustworthy and, most important, advocates of internal teams. Having these types of leaders on board will foster other leaders within your company.
Transparency is also a must have for employee retention. To start, ensure that your company has a clear value proposition. This should be shared and circulated with every team member. You’ll also want to discuss goals within your company; whether these are financial, growth or otherwise, it’s important for employees to know what they’re working toward to help achieve business success.
Finally, understand your competition. Always conduct thorough exit interviews to learn and identify problem areas to address with management and staff. Alongside exit interviews, consider developing employee satisfaction surveys throughout the year. After conducting these surveys, you can then analyze those results and develop improvement plans around the most critical areas for employees. Alongside this approach make sure that you are keeping a consistent pulse on your team by checking in frequently and asking about employee work satisfaction.
Remember that employee retention doesn’t rest on the shoulders of HR. The responsibility falls and trickles down to all employees. Setting superior examples at the top of any organization, however, helps set tone and precedence for employees.
While these best practices worked in many ways for PAN Communications, they may not be the sole keys to success for your company or organization. There are several moving parts to remember when growing and nurturing a company. Start with your internal brand advocates. Request feedback and foster a culture to ensure their growth, work-life balance and overall retention. Ensure that your company’s message and pride starts with senior management and seeps into all areas of the business. But most important, be proud and confident of your company and culture. I can never express enough how proud I am of our PANfam and the strides we’ve made to date. Onward!
Note: The deadline to enter PR News’ 2017 Top Places to Work in PR is June 2.
Philip A. Nardone Jr., is president/CEO at PAN Communications.