LaVay Lauter’s Post

🎉 Employee of the Month December 2023 🎉 Each month we appreciate and celebrate our hard-working employees by choosing an Employee of the Month. We would like to congratulate to Usman Arshad for consistently going above and beyond, embodying dedication, excellence, and a positive team spirit—truly deserving of the Employee of the Month award! #EOM #employeeofthemonth #Appreciation #employeeofthemonth #employeeappreciation #employeespotlight #employee #employeeengagement #employees #employeeexperience #employeerecognition #employeeappreciationday #employeebenefits #teamwork #business #employeewellness #employeeretention #employment #thankyou #employeemotivation #companyculture #humanresources #work #leadership #employeeperks #team #hr #employeegathering #employeetraining #employeedevelopment #career

Results and improvement are core to who we are as a company at Gorilla 76. They're two of the five values that guide us, and they're both attributes we try to ALWAYS hold ourselves to internally/externally as a team and professionally/personally as individuals. So when we recently learned that our very own Elyse Guttmann, SHRM-CP was named one of the best HR professionals in the St. Louis area by the St. Louis Business Journal, we were ecstatic. Her journey of growth at Gorilla is a case study in both results and improvement. - - - Elyse joined our team in June of 2021 as an Administrative Assistant. She had never worked in human resources and she had never worked at a marketing agency. However, she embodied all of our core values, and that's the recipe that matters the most. Soon after starting and getting comfortable with internal systems and procedures, Elyse raised her hand and shared that she wanted to develop more skills related to the HR aspects of her job. Joe Sullivan and I emphatically supported, as we saw a need for a true "people pro" emerging. Elyse quickly earned her SHRM certification, her role evolved to Employee Success Executive, and she eventually even picked up a "Senior" to add to that title as well. But it wasn't just her business card that got better; look at what she's done for Gorilla in just her short tenure so far... 🦍 Employee turnover has hit all-time lows (less than 8% to end 2023) 🦍 eNPS scores have hit all-time highs (94 in March 2023; averages for trailing 12 have been 80+) 🦍 Employee Engagement (weekly metric measured by Workleap Officevibe) has hit all-time highs (9.1 in February 2023) 🦍 We were named the Best Place to Work for Young Professionals in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal - - - So what's the lesson here? Be like Elyse. Speak up when you want something and run with opportunities when you get them. She's hungry and it's paying off. Elyse, congrats on such an incredible award! You should be proud. We certainly are! #employeesuccess #companyculture

Last week, as we often do, we held a roundtable with HR leaders across the St. Louis area. This discussion was focused around “the balance of empathy and resiliency” within our organizations. The topic stemmed from a lunch conversation between Mark and Julie Tuggle-Nguyen PHR EVP/HR for Midwest BankCentre, which turned into an invitation for Julie to lead this conversation among peers. Julie kicked off the conversation talking about well-being in the workplace and even well-being in our world (and how that overlaps) for our team members. That led us to conversation around how our roles as HR have changed, and how the role of the leader is evolving too, especially considering the changing expectations of team members. As we do during these roundtables, we make this a safe space to share so what follows are thoughts and experiences, not necessarily solutions. Our hope as you read these notes is that you too can feel seen and heard and can continue to learn and grow with us! Read more: https://lnkd.in/ggbSwaxr

It's tough to find employees, but when you do, you gotta keep them! Culture is one of the most critical reasons that employees STAY and LEAVE. Employers need to know how they are doing when it comes to culture. Just guessing how it goes isn't enough. Taking the "straw poll" or basing your opinion on what people tell the boss is definitely not enough. They won't tell you to your face what they are thinking or how they feel. I've done employer surveys for many years. When employees trust the survey, they tend to give feedback. When they trust you'll do something with the feedback, it's even better. First thing's first...let's launch the survey to ask them. It's time for the Best Places to Work survey. We've been using this in the Inland NW for the past few years and we have more employers jumping on board each year. It's a great way to say "we care" and you can be a part of a program that has proven to be very effective. Check out the link and sign up. If you have any questions, reach out. It's sponsored by the Spokane Journal of Business along with INSHRM (Inland Northwest SHRM), Bank of America, and Providence. Wagstaff, Inc. has participated in the past and supports great cultures. Anyway...check it out and jump on board! LINK: https://lnkd.in/gMn9uaF7 #bestplacestowork #hr #culture #leadership Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce Greater Spokane Incorporated Human Resource Network of North Idaho #shrm #humanresources #manufacturing #manager #leader #journalofbusiness

I appreciate how Justin Sun, SPHR connects pay transparency to the employment value proposition in this video clip from a panel discussion we had this summer. People want to work for "a company where they feel like they belong and are treated fairly" and without pay transparency, it is very difficult to achieve this sense of inclusion and belonging. There are many leaders who do not intuitively understand the neuroscience behind this. When working with those leaders, HR & compensation professionals should build a case leveraging market studies & statistics before establishing programs that create fairer and more satisfying workplaces. Moving towards transparent practices can be hard! Leadership worries about losing flexibility and competitiveness when in reality, trying to keep things in a black box is exactly how you lose your competitive edge in today's market.

Want to hear more about how we can help you increase retention and attract the right talent? Reach out today!

We all like to feel appreciated and valued at work. However, it can be challenging to determine which perks employees would like to receive. In the latest episode of BCH AMEN Corner for MBE magazine, Sid Curry and Saundra Curry, MBA share their best ideas for rewarding employees for a job well done. Watch: https://bit.ly/4dKzl4b #EmployeePerks #EmployeeRetention #SmallBusinessTips #BCHoldingsTN 

Who's heading to Elevate? You can find Trisha Neogi and I in the festival's new Masterclass track, leading a session on how to apply your organization's core values to create a super unique employee experience that attracts, retains and gets talked about. If you aspire to build an incredible place to work but aren't sure where to start, this one is for you. https://lnkd.in/gFAUNX6T