Five minutes with Rod Lacey

With Gartner forecasting a steady increase in turnover for the foreseeable future, we consulted Chief People Officer Rod Lacey to learn how SimPro made attrition practically non-existent. The revolutionary secret behind their success? Applying the adage we’ve all heard since childhood: “Do the Right Thing.”

Today’s workforce wants something different, especially in a job market where wage competition is the norm. What employees really want to see is how you can help improve their lives qualitatively, enabling them to achieve their personal and career goals. While there’s no avoiding market conditions outright, SimPro’s Do the Right Thing strategy provides an intriguing window into how Employee Value Proposition investments can dramatically tip the scales in an employer’s favor.

As explained by Rod Lacey, SimPro has experimented with several different programs intended to systematize doing right by employees, including:

• Increasing paid parental leave for primary caregivers to 24 weeks. While this isn’t mandated in the US, SimPro felt it was an impactful way to improve the work-life balance of new parents.
• Creating an Outreach Fund for employees in need to receive financial assistance during emergencies. This is funded through voluntary employee contributions each pay cycle, and is administered by a third-party to ensure confidentiality.
•  A 4-day workweek, which saw a reduction in hours worked, but no decrease in productivity. The experiment coincided with company growth, a near elimination of turnover, and significant employee praise.
  
  

Rod Lacey
As simPRO’s Chief People Operations Officer, Rod Lacey leads all aspects of simPRO’s global human resources, aligning their people strategy with the company’s aggressive business and customer goals. Rod has nearly three decades of HR experience, having led and transformed the human resource experience with highly successful companies in the technology and online ordering industries.