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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

For those in the HR field looking for a relevant article, I refer you to the first one this week.  It should come as no surprise that employee retention is a key part of the job for any HR professional...but more so in this employee friendly job market.   

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Tips For Improving Management Styles in the Midst of an Employee Friendly Job Market

As the saying goes, “employees do not leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”  (I would posit that money is a key factor too, but I digress.)  This article from The Fast Company has four tips for how employers can be a better boss while working (or struggling) to maintain a fully staffed workforce.  While some tips are somewhat common sense (such as a suggestion that employers stop micromanaging and focus on the big picture), there are a few that might not have crossed your mind (such as encouraging employees to pursue internal opportunities.)  As always, some of these tips might not be applicable to every workplace but at a minimum, they are worth considering.


Employer Paid College Tuition Programs: Not All They Are Cracked Up to Be?

Vox published a recent article in which it took stock of some employers that have started to offer employer paid (or employer assisted) college tuition programs for their workers.  Readers might have heard of several employers initiating these programs, such as Starbucks, Target, and Chipotle, among others.  However, as the article notes, these college tuition programs might not be as beneficial as they seem.  For instance, some employers only offer to pay the tuition costs of their employees if the employees attend a certain college or university or only major in a certain field of study.  These restrictions can greatly limit the options employees have to get their employer to pay the tuition costs.  With that being said, it is understandable that employers might limit these college tuition programs to only fields of study that apply to the job (ie marketing, business, finance, etc.) rather than underwater basket weaving or a leisure studies.  Although this article does not necessarily opine one way or the other as to the “success” of these college tuition programs, in so much as to whether these programs actually help employers draw in/retain employees, it is worth a read for those looking for a more in depth analysis of the matter.

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