The Price of Retention - What it costs to keep a good employee

Residents of the bay area are one group of many facing spikes in the costs of living while trying to get by on pay rates that remain the same.  While financial compensation is a major factor when deciding on a career, as the millennial generation navigates the work force, they are beginning to understand that there are many benefits that can’t be applied in monetary denominations. 

The benefits of cold hard cash are undeniable, however things such as flexible hours, growth opportunities and feeling appreciated by other employees have become major selling points for selecting and staying with a chosen company.  It’s the people that you work with that will make or break job retention.

Take a moment and think about how you came to be at your current company.  What were some of the attributes that you looked for while searching for a job?  And even deeper than that, while searching for that job, what was the motivation behind the search?  Were you trying to put out an immediate fire (i.e.: you needed money to pay bills, rent is looming and you need money to pay it) or were you already employed and looking to better your current situation (i.e.: maybe you aren’t getting along with your co-workers or although it’s a great job you just can’t afford to stay at it due to rising cost of living). 

As an employer, it is important to constantly be evolving.  Changing times mean constantly being aware of your employees needs and attempting to meet them when possible.  Working for Hendrick Automotive Group has given me direct access to a working reverse pyramid management structure that has been successful time and time again. 

The idea behind this working structure is to have leadership at the bottom of the pyramid allowing them to be of service to the people working on the front lines and beyond, while the front line associates and on floor staff are placed at the top, making them the most important to our teams’ success. 

Lead by Rick Hendrick and his management teams across the states, Hendrick Automotive Group has provided a covenant that they have stuck to from the beginning.  

1. We Think Big

2. We Embrace Openness

3. We Develop Solutions

4. We Demand Excellence

5. We Expect Great Things

6. We Execute Brilliantly

7. We Serve With Passion

8. We Communicate Effectively

9. We Cherish and Understand

10. We Always Win

11. We Celebrate Achievements

12. We Learn and Grow

Through monthly team appreciation luncheons, staff outings to baseball games for the Oakland Athletics and The San Francisco Giants, and even an annual trip to the Sonoma Races to celebrate Hendrick Motor Sport with Mr. Rick Hendrick himself, employees are reminded just how valuable they really are to this team. 

In addition to the incredible outings and events hosted by the management, team members are offered full benefits packages that include medical, dental, vision and 401K options.  They are affronted vacation and sick time allowing for them to come to work refreshed and rejuvenated while enjoying a healthy work and home life balance.   

But if you remember, it’s the people that will make or break your decision to stay or leave a company.   So in addition to the incredible benefits packages offered, it’s the people that we bring in that make this company so great.  By using MBS and Wonderlic testing we are able to determine the best communication styles for each team mate, and are able to help determine strengths within people that we are able to apply during the hiring process. 

Being able to approach and work with our team mates in a way that is best matched to their personality types allows for trust and comfort to be built between our staff and management.  This trust enables the company to communicate more effectively and allows everyone to understand how they fit into the big picture for the company’s growth. 

Employees and job hunting hopefuls alike will always have a list of values that they want in a current or future company.  Not all of them are motivated by dollar signs.  As employers, it’s our job to be aware of the rising costs of living, adjust pay scales as needed and provide benefits not found at any other company. Giving your employees and future employees a comfortable and enriching work environment that values their time as much as the companies time, will always result in longevity and harder working employees, happy to further your company’s future results.  

Want to learn more about the Lexus of Pleasanton business culture? Interested in joining our team? 

Click on the link below to take your first step!

https://www.facebook.com/PleasantonAutomallEvents?fref=ts

The Pursuit of Happiness in a Millennial Era

In a world filled with iPhones, laptops, tablets and smart watches, Millennials are inundated with advanced technology.  The ability to connect directly to your personal happiness has become more challenging than finding parking downtown at Union Square.   For the majority of us living and working in the city, happiness is something we read about on Buzzfeed or Elephant Journal on our 10 min breaks or in between bites while we Instagram our lunch within the allotted hour. 

The world around us has become a constant stream of instant gratification opportunities; however no one seems to be feeling satisfied.   All the instant gratification has left our generation feeling jaded and unimpressed.  After going through almost a full year with a, “Now what?” feeling inside of myself, I decided it was time to make a change.  I created a five step plan to bring me back to life. 

1.      Put down the technology.  This was probably the hardest for me.  Having grown up with a computer in my house from the age of 7, I have been cord-connected longer than I care to admit.  I purchased my first cellphone in college and haven’t put it down since, (that was over 20 years ago…).  My ability to reach for my phone after the text message alert rings would match that of Doc Holiday in Tombstone.  But it was the act of NOT picking up my phone that really opened my eyes. Obviously there are certain messages and calls that you are expecting, and need addressing.  But what I have tried to do is put the phone away after my work day has ended.  I keep it in my bag and only allow myself to check it periodically to ensure I am not missing an emergency.  If the messages I find are not urgent, I force myself to wait until the next day.  At first the act was very conscience for me.  I would have to talk myself down from checking, but do you know what happened after a while?  I didn’t miss it, nor did I feel like I was missing out. 

2.      Drink more water.  This seems so straight forward; however the proper intake of water in my life did more than just quench my thirst.  There were so many benefits I wasn’t expecting including helping to control calories, energize my muscles,  keep my skin looking amazing,  as well as helping my kidney’s and bowel functions.    I know drinking water doesn’t sound sexy, but it’s incredibly easy to incorporate into your everyday life.   Start with including a glass of water with each of your meals and keep a bottle of water with you in your car or at your desk at work.   Just having the water available will make it that much easier to make it a regular part of your daily routine. 

3.      Step outside at least three times a day.  As I was brought up by my hippy mum, I was forced to play outdoors all the time.  I never understood why it was so important, when I could just as easily play with my Barbie inside as I could outside.  It wasn’t until I entered adulthood that I began to understand benefits of the sun.   The sun provides the body the ability to create Vitamin D, which is essential for many functions such as bone health, anti-cancer, immune system support, protects against dementia and brain aging as well as many others.   We have been so bombarded with the dangers of the sun, but in moderation, the sunlight has the ability to heal on so many levels.  Take a drive with the top down, and get out there to the local beaches and parks! Having a sun roof in my own car gives me the ability to take in the rays even if it is just during the morning and evening commutes to and from work.  The overall uplifting feeling I get can best be related to one of the best hugs from my little kiddo.  I mean it’s right up there for me.

4.      Breathe.  When I say to breathe, I mean get into a breath practice.   I like to focus on three deep breathing techniques that really help to calm my day to day OCD and social anxiety.  The first is Coherent Breathing, which is basically breathing at a rate of five breaths per minute.  The easy way to time your breaths is to count five seconds for your inhale and five seconds for your exhale.  Breathing at this rate will help to improve your heart rate variability.  The second type of breathing is Resistance Breathing, which is exactly what its name suggests, creating resistance to the flow of air.  Resistance can be created by pursing the lips, placing the tip of the tongue against the inside of the upper teeth, hissing through the clenched teeth,  tightening the throat muscles, partly closing the glottis, narrowing the space between the vocal cords.  Or if you are like me, the easy way is to just breathe through your nose with your mouth closed.  The final technique is Breath Moving.  Think, sending your breath on a little journey around your body.  As you breathe in, imagine you are moving your breath to the top of your head. As you breathe out, imagine you are moving your breath to the base of your spine, your perineum, and your sit bones. Each time you breathe in; move the breath to the top of the head. Each time you breathe out; move the breath to the base of the spine. Breathe in this circuit for ten cycles.

5.      Laugh.  If you haven’t heard, laughter really is the best medicine.  Laughing decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.  Laughter also triggers endorphins, which if you watched Legally Blond, you know, endorphins make you happy! Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. 

Having incorporated these five simple routines into my daily life, I have found my quality of life dramatically increased.  Feeling good and being able to laugh and let go of the minor stresses allowed for me to appreciating the life I was actually living, instead of the life I thought I should have been living.  I began to look forward to weekends with my daughter, taking off in our car for an impromptu adventure days.  And for the first time in a very long time, I can honestly say, I am happy.   Remember, the hardest part is getting started.  So maybe today, you drive with the top down or the sun roof open and enjoy some of those beautiful Vitamin D rays on your way home today.  Enjoy a nice cool glass of water and for those few moments let yourself begin to feel happy. 

Don’t have a convertible or sun roof in your car? Check out the link below to see our latest selection to choose from! It’s always a great time to start enjoying your life, one drive at a time.

http://www.lexusofpleasanton.com/NewModelsPage