Employee Engagement Keynote Speaker Lisa Ryan Shows Companies How to Retain Workers at All Levels

CLEVELAND, Jan. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies can spend as much as four times an executive's annual salary to replace that person.

"Companies can reduce their costs and increase their profits if they adopt a culture of gratitude," said Lisa Ryan, MBA, a motivational keynote employee engagement speaker and author of "The Upside of Down Times."

"By creating a culture of appreciation, you keep your top talent from becoming someone else's top talent," said Ryan, president of Grategy.com, who consults with companies that need to improve employee retention.

Employee recognition programs can lead to higher productivity, increased sales, better employee retention rates, stronger customer loyalty and a happier work environment, said Ryan who has spoken about appreciation strategies at annual conferences in many industries including healthcare, industrial, corporate and professional services.

The cost benefit of investing in a culture of gratitude can be measured in the time and money it takes to attract and train employees, said Ryan, who has a background in sales for executive recruiters, industrial products and healthcare products.  

"Research shows that a disengaged employee costs $3,500 for every $10,000 of their salary," she said. To replace and train an $8 an hour employee, a company could spend $3,500 to $16,000 – which is that employee's annual salary. For an executive, the expense could cost up to four times their annual salary. Hard costs and soft costs are part of employee engagement measurement techniques.

How do you keep your employees from going to work for other companies?

Show gratitude.

"When an employee is engaged and appreciated with specific praise, you can actually pay your employees less because they don't want to work anywhere else," she said. 

Here are three unique employee engagement tips that Ryan has created:

• Acknowledge people: Follow the example in the Avatar movie. When people greet each other they say, "I see you." Make eye contact. Smile. You have no idea what that person went through five minutes before they came into their lives. You can change their day.
  
  
• Show the higher purpose: Let them know they are an important part of the company mission.
  
  
• Shift their culture: Managers have forgotten how to praise employees. They should highlight the change by telling employees, "I have not been appreciating you and I am letting you know that this will change." Then do it.

To learn how to create an attitude of gratitude, subscribe to her free "Gratitude Thought of the Week," a 300-word inspiring email that can be read in less than one minute, but have profound effects on how you see the world. To subscribe, go to http://www.Grategy.com

To hire Lisa Ryan to deliver keynote presentations or hands-on, interactive workshops on employee retention or employee engagement, call 216-225-8027 for a free consultation.

To connect with Lisa Ryan on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/LisaRyan14
http://www.linkedin.com/in/asklisaryan/
https://www.twitter.com/grategy
http://youtube.com//user/mygrategy
https://www.pinterest.com/grategy

About the book: "The Upside of Down Times"

In this book, Ms. Ryan considers the importance of gratitude across a variety of areas, including self, other people, health, business, and wealth/abundance. She provides a variety of journaling prompts and simple exercises that the reader can put to use immediately and begin experiencing and sharing with others the many benefits that a life of gratitude can provide.

"I highly recommend this book if you want to be happier, healthier and wealthier. The ideas are easy to implement but powerful in their result," said Jack Canfield, Co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series and "The Success Principles."

The book also includes the latest in research. Ms. Ryan backs up the stories in this book with well-referenced research, and a list of recommended reading.

About Lisa Ryan

Along with being a published author, Ms. Ryan leads keynote addresses, workshops, and seminars about gratitude through the company that she founded, Grategy®. She has also been featured in two movies, "The Keeper of the Keys" and "The Gratitude Experiment."

She has been a guest on local TV shows (ABC and NBC affiliates), radio talk shows, and contributes to several monthly online magazines.

Read more news from Lisa Ryan.

SOURCE Lisa Ryan