7 Innovative Benefits That Will Help You Snag Top Talent

With the millennial mindset entering today’s market full throttle, skilled employees view new jobs as opportunities for growth, and won’t hesitate to take their talent elsewhere. In fact, a recent Talent Management study issued that a third of new hires leave their job by month six!

But don’t fret – there’s something you can do! Check out these retention strategies that can drastically reduce staff turnover, while channeling employee engagement, innovation, and creativity.

1. Create an Inclusive and Innovative Company Culture

Your company culture should be an experience in and of itself. Today, an exceptional culture is just as vital to employee satisfaction and retention as a high paying salary.

How do you build a strong company culture? Strive to create an environment in which “office drama” is minimized, and collaboration and communication are encouraged.

Respect and encourage creativity and innovation. Make sure everyone gets recognition for good ideas and hard work. Encourage people to think outside the box. Even if a particular solution isn’t currently feasible, remain encouraging and upbeat.

2. Revamp Your Hiring Process

Employees and companies have to be the right cultural fit for each other. Start by choosing the right talent! By onboarding an employee that will “mesh” with fellow teammates, you’ll leverage the productivity and group harmony of your business. Your new hires will most likely be happy in their role in a supportive environment, and the risk of staff turnover will gradually decrease.

3. Make Sure Your Benefits Package Is Up To Date

According to the US Incentive Federation, US businesses spend $90 billion a year on non-cash incentives, up 17% from 2013.

Be it traditional healthcare and retirement packages, or non-traditional gym memberships and tuition reimbursement, benefits are a vital consideration to prospective employees and the baseline for retention.

Consider small benefits, such as food discounts, pet insurance, or an errand running service. Offering perks is often quite affordable, and can generate a lot of appreciation among staff. Don’t know where to get started? Get in touch. We make rocking benefits easy.

4. Reward Hard Work and Exceptional Performance

Rewards and incentives can drive productivity. By acknowledging and supporting the employees who go above and beyond, you also encourage their coworkers to contribute. There are many ways to reward employees!

Provide your employees with regular feedback and recognition for their hard work. Of course, monetary incentives are a plus, but raises or promotions aren’t always an option. Don’t let that stop you from acknowledging your employees’ accomplishments! Everyone appreciates a personalized verbal or written kudos from their boss. This also strengthens the bond between you and your employee.

5. Discourage Micromanagement

Micromanagement, especially pertaining to incoming millennial talent, can be toxic to a work environment and employee retention. Often, the micromanager’s mentality – and drive for productivity – is well-intended, but unfortunately can result in annoyed, disengaged employees who feel like their bosses don’t trust them. Many employees may be tempted to look for greener pastures where they will be able to take on more responsibility.

Whether or not a staff leader can perform better than a subordinate, a “just let me do it” or “do it this way” mentality can hinder employee growth, innovation and morale. When training your management staff, focus on leadership and mentoring skills, and hire managers who want the best for their team, not to be the best player.

6. The Right Type of Management Is Still Needed

Eliminating micromanagement doesn’t mean eliminating management entirely. Managers must provide feedback, guidance, and organize their team, but with an approach that empowers employees rather than stifles them.

Quarterly one-on-ones are an excellent way to communicate and collaborate while still giving employees room to perform individually.

The role of a manager is not to be the smartest, or most capable person in the room; their job is to build high performing teams. Doing so will increase engagement, encourage innovation, and help establish a work dynamic employees want to stay in.

7. Do Exit Interviews

Turnover is inevitable; even in the highest-paying, most sought after companies, employees are going to leave. Consider it a learning experience: understanding why your employees are leaving can prevent others from walking out the door.

If an employee gives notices, plan an exit interview before they leave. Having a neutral party, such as an HR employee, conduct the interview, is often the most reciprocated dynamic.

Turnover is Inevitable, But You Can Improve Retention Rates

Understanding what keeps employees engaged, motivated, and satisfied is vital to attracting prospective hires, and retaining top-talent. While employees will inevitably change careers, needs, or locations, you can improve your retention rates through conscious effort. Many organizations are currently refocusing their retention strategies, and have implemented small-scale benefits such as Errand Solutions to create the “work-life balance” many young employees value. Building a value-based, team-driven, company culture, and rewarding your employees with benefits, bonuses and simple appraisals, is an excellent place to start.

International Women’s Day

Today (March 8) is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the social, economic and political achievements of women. Here at Errand Solutions, we celebrate those things every day.

Errand Solutions is made up of 80% women, including our founder and CEO Marsha McVicker. When I was interviewing with the company, hearing that the CEO was a woman immediately piqued my interest because that’s not something you see very often in the corporate world. In addition, as someone who has previously experienced sexist comments in the workplace, I knew that type of behavior would never fly here. I was excited to join a team filled with talented and respected women and I couldn’t wait to learn more from them.


While I’m lucky to work for a woman-owned and operated business, it’s unfortunate that there aren’t more like it. Despite making up more than 50% of the population, only 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Furthermore, according to a CNN Money analysis, only 14.2% of the top five leadership positions at the companies in the S&P 500 are held by women.

Of course, there’s more to our company than just the women. Not only do we have plenty of amazing male co-workers as well (Hi Micky!), but we also have a great mission. Errand Solutions is a unique service that can help any company change the lives of their employees.

It also makes sense that as a mother herself, our CEO Marsha created a service that would especially benefit working mothers. Between running their everyday errands to helping them find the perfect nanny, Errand Solutions makes it easier for women to propel their career without falling behind on their motherhood duties. We make it possible for working mothers to sustain the work/life balance they desire.

If like me, you want to support a woman-owned company, give Errand Solutions a call to find out how we can help your company today. You can reach us at info@errandsolutions.com or 312.475.3800.

Engaged To Be Married But Not Engaged

Wedding season is in full swing, which means over a million couples will be tying the knot throughout the next 6 months.

As any current or past bride (or groom) will tell you, wedding planning these days can be a full-time job. Studies have found that the average wedding takes 250 hours to plan. And when someone has a full-time job, how do they do it? Well 90% of brides have admitted to wedding planning while at work. Between emailing vendors, shopping for dresses, picking out the invitations and just staring at their new, shiny, engagement ring, there’s a lot to do and only so many hours in the day to do it.


As someone who’s currently planning my own wedding, I’m definitely in that boat. Vendors only respond during normal business hours, emails are coming in constantly reminding you of new tasks to get done and all the research you should be doing is just a click away. The distractions and temptations are real, and I’m sure it’s only going to get worse the closer to the wedding it becomes.

So what’s an employer to do? The first step is to simply keep them engaged (pun intended). Meet with them weekly to discuss what’s on their to-do list, give them consistent feedback on what they’ve accomplished and make sure they have resources and support. If your employee continues to feel motivated and appreciated, it will be easier for them to stay focused on work-related tasks.

In addition to keeping them engaged, remember to keep them happy. The occasional free lunch, fun outing or after-work happy hour can do wonders. And don’t forget to acknowledge and celebrate their big occasion! After they get engaged, a nice card and a bottle of champagne will be sure to put a smile on their face. Ask them how wedding planning is going, hook them up with connections you may have in the wedding industry, or even throw them a small wedding shower. Feeling loved and supported will make them happy to be at work, and happy employees=productive employees.

Errand Solutions is made for situations like this. Not only do we save employees hours of time, but we can even help plan their wedding! One of our concierges is currently assisting a customer with just that. So far, they’ve helped address the invitations, researched and scheduled hair and makeup vendors, and picked up bridesmaid dresses. By letting us take care of their personal to-do list, employees can better focus on their work.

To learn more about our services, including those of the wedding planning variety, send an email to info@errandsolutions.com.