Taking Care of Employees Is Good for Business
At Voice Systems Engineering, one of the things we are proud of is many of our employees’ long tenure. As a part of our monthly acknowledgments, we celebrate both birthdays and work anniversaries, and we are regularly celebrating milestone anniversaries, such as 5, 10, 15 years or more with VSE.
While it doesn’t tell the whole story, paying attention to how long your employees stay with your company is important and can give insight into your employees’ satisfaction. When your employees are loyal to your company, they are more likely to succeed, be more engaged, and be happier. We want VSE employees to enjoy working here as well as for them to be challenged toward growth and work-life integration.
We talked to a few of our employees who have been with us for quite a while to understand, from their perspective, what makes them want to stick around past the normal 4-5 years employees stay at a company.
Meet Carole.
Tell us a little about your role at VSE and how long you have been working here.
My role at VSE is to acquire new customers via various media channels and optimize these channels based on metrics like low cost to acquire (CPA) and high retention and revenue per customer (RPA). I started working at VSE in April 2002 as a part-time employee and went full time in 2006 when the Media Manager resigned.
What is your favorite part about working at VSE?
The talented team of co-workers, my role within the company, flexibility (including unlimited vacation), fitness reimbursement, working from home and, pre-covid, the convenience of being close to home.
What has contributed to your 15+ year career here?
I mentioned some of the reasons in my previous response. Also, the employees at VSE work in unison to provide an exceptional experience for our customers. As the landscape of marketing changes over time, the VSE team adapts to these changes to continue providing optimum service to our customers.
In my role, it’s necessary to get ads in the market to keep the funnel growing with new customers. Whether it is banner or image ads, commercials, copywriting, or landing pages, there is someone internally or externally to keep the marketing flowing. It’s always exciting to launch and analyze customer response from ads and measure customer value along the way.
What has helped you create a work-life balance?
The flexibility has greatly helped to create a work-life balance. When I began working at VSE, I had school-aged children and aging parents living with me, so I needed to be close to home to care for them. Today, my children have children of their own, and I now have aging in-laws living with us. So while I’m not a direct caregiver, it’s good to know I can take one of those unlimited vacation days to care for another if needed.
In your opinion, what is important for employers to know to retain employees?
Good pay and health benefits, flexibility for a satisfying work-life balance and company perks like community events are all important.
Meet Jo Clare.
Tell us a little about your role at VSE and how long you have been working here.
I have been with VSE for 20 years. My role is to nurture advisor relationships to create a higher level of commitment and performance on all Expert Link brands. I use metrics, analytics, and quality assurance results to identify advisor life cycle and performance trends to assess and improve overall advisor performance. I also communicate and support best practices to guide advisors to success.
What is your favorite part about working at VSE?
One of the things I enjoy most about working at VSE is the flexibility and ability to work from home. It’s a relaxed workplace that fosters teamwork and collaboration with friendly, supportive co-workers. I also appreciate the employee recognition and feedback programs as well as the opportunities to give back through charity events.
What has contributed to your 15+ year career here?
The co-workers I have met and formed relationships with over many years have become my extended family and helped shape my career. The pleasant work environment influenced by the company culture and values has provided me with many opportunities to continuously learn, grow in my role, take on new challenges, set goals, and achieve them.
What has helped you create work-life balance?
Being able to prioritize my time and utilize a flexible work schedule while also being able to work remotely has been a big help in creating balance. It has also been very important to me to take time off to enjoy family and friends.
In your opinion, what is important for employers to know to retain employees?
I would say respect employees and show appreciation. Trust and encourage them by allowing employees to grow within the organization and have fun by creating a positive work environment. Also, great health benefits help as well.
Meet Eric.
Tell us a little about your role at VSE and how long you have been working here.
I find myself lucky to be at VSE for over 27 years! I am currently filling a number of roles within VSE, but my primary roles are in VSE’s Infrastructure Circle with a focus on supporting and improving the interaction between our users, customers, and technology. So, in short, I am part of a team that provides support for our current technology and helps integrate new technology into the business. I do this by energizing both my Information Technology (IT) Support Technician role and helping guide our support processes by energizing the Help Desk Coordinator/Champion role.
What is your favorite part about working at VSE?
I can’t choose just one. For me there are several things, so I will touch on a few:
- Variety – When people ask me how I can be at the same job for so many years, I tell them that every year what I do and how I work is constantly changing. VSE never stops growing and adopting new technology. Because of this, I never feel stagnant in my career. I am constantly learning and working on new things.
- Challenge – There is a drive to always make yourself and how you work better, and you are always challenged to grow and adapt. You are encouraged not to be stagnant and to explore new options and opportunities. You are allowed to be a driver creating new initiatives and projects. If you don’t like something, you are encouraged to find a solution and help bring about change.
- People – I am always floored by the amazing and talented people I get to work with. They are not just highly skilled but also kind and caring. I am proud of the team I get to work with and enjoy the collaboration I get to experience.
- Culture – We are encouraged to not only be a part of the culture within VSE but to help guide it. Whether it is VSE’s amazing work-life balance or how we are encouraged to work with each other, VSE’s culture belongs to the employees. With the leadership team supporting these efforts, we have been able to guide our culture and create a fantastic place to work.
What has contributed to your 15+ year career here?
As you can guess, I like working here. If you read my previous response, you can pick up some of the reasons why. To help illustrate one of the reasons that has contributed to my career here at VSE, I would like to relay a short story. During my first week at VSE, I received a call from a customer that I was having difficulty answering. One of the company’s executives happened to be nearby, and I asked him how I should handle the call. He responded saying “Take action as if you owned the company. I trust you.” This theme of the employees helping to drive the company is one that I continue to see played out over my 27+ years at VSE. We are encouraged to take ownership of projects, take action, help make things better, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. Even VSE’s management style promotes that decisions should be made closer to the work happening.
What has helped you create work-life balance?
It isn’t always easy. Supporting technology that needs to be running 24/7 can be challenging. I am not going to say that there haven’t been plenty of late nights and long hours. However, VSE has invested heavily in Infrastructure, which allows us to support our technology working as a team. This avoids us all getting “burned out” and feeling overwhelmed. We are also encouraged to take time off, leave early before holidays, and take time to see to our mental and physical health. Salaried employees are allowed “unlimited” time off and are truly encouraged to make use of it. Even before working from home was as common, VSE encouraged it and made sure we supported remote work from a technology standpoint.
In your opinion, what is important for employers to know to retain employees?
You should take the time to hire talented people and help empower them to make decisions and take action without always needing approval. Encourage risk taking while rewarding successes as well as failures.
