BusinessManagement

D A I L Y

Improve your
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
with proven strategies
 Improve your employee retention
with proven strategies

Hiring is expensive, timely, and harms productivity. That’s why

employee retention is so vital. Keeping employees on staff and
engaged helps productivity, saves money, and keeps valuable
institutionalized knowledge within the organization. However,
as companies struggle to maintain employees, what can you
do to set your organization apart and keep talent on staff?

In this special report, we’ve collected the best of Business

Management Daily’s advice on employee engagement and
retention strategies. Whether you’re a small business,
Fortunate 500 company, in-person, remote, or hybrid — we’ve
got the insight you need.

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professional service.
Employee retention strategies
Employee retention is a major challenge for employers at this time. Many
employers are seeing record turnover rates as the economy rebounds from the
coronavirus pandemic.

Employees largely put off changing jobs during the pandemic due to the level of
instability in the labor market. Many who did get laid off in 2020 do not wish to
return to their prior job roles or way of life. Additionally, many people took the
time at home throughout the pandemic to start a business, learn new job skills, or
pivot to freelancing. Others just got accustomed to remote work and don’t want
to return to the status quo. Retail and food workers who were hailed as heroes
and paid higher wages at the start of the pandemic don’t want to go back to
minimum wage. With restrictions lifting, some people are just ready to take time
off to travel.

Whatever the reasons for the labor shortage, one thing has become abundantly
clear; employers need to work harder to retain their current staff. They’re not as
replaceable as you may have previously thought. Even if you are able to hire a
satisfactory replacement, hiring and training new employees is costly and
produces a temporary decrease in productivity as they get up to speed.

To combat turnover, it’s time to take a more active approach in retaining

employees and boosting engagement. Here is a list of the most effective employee
retention strategies to help you create a workplace that your employees won’t
want to leave.

Allow telecommuting

Telecommuting has been around for quite some time but many employees and
employers had their first experiences with remote work during the pandemic. As it
turns out, your employees may not be eager to return to the office. The 2021
State of Remote Work report by Owl Labs reported that 84% of employees would
be happier continuing to work remotely after the pandemic — and some are even
willing to take a pay cut to do it! This doesn’t mean that you should cut your
employees’ pay, but it should serve as evidence of what is important to current
employees and prospective new hires.

The 2021 State of Remote Work report also found that 32% of employees said
that they would quit if they were unable to continue to work remotely and that
18% were undecided on whether they would remain with their current employer
if they are not allowed to work remotely. Be sure to solicit feedback from your
employees if you are planning to transition remote staff back into the office next
year. Most employers would experience business disruptions and recruiting
challenges if they lost one-third of their employees within a short time frame due
to in-office requirements.

Consider offering long-term remote or hybrid work arrangements for employees

that prefer telecommuting. In addition to decreasing employee turnover, allowing
remote work can also boost productivity.

Improve employee benefits offerings

You may already offer a great benefits package, but it never hurts to take a second
look. Perhaps it is time to explore new wellness benefits or upgrade the available
medical coverage options.

Some things to consider when evaluating the competitiveness of your company’s

benefit plan include:

● Add an FSA. Flexible spending accounts can help employees with health and
dependent care expenses by allowing them to set aside pre-tax dollars for
eligible expenses, thus reducing their tax burden on money spent for
medical expenses, childcare, or other dependent care expenses.
● Providing additional health insurance plan options. Try to diversify your
offerings with different plan options and make sure that there are options
with reasonable copays and good mental health coverage.
 ● Add on wellness benefits. Look into additional wellness benefits that you
can offer such as discounts on gym memberships, employee assistance
plans, or a quarterly wellness stipend.
● Offer education reimbursement. Invest in your employees by providing
tuition assistance to those that want to go back to school or earn a
certificate to help them learn new skills and advance in their careers. The
employer also benefits from having more qualified and skilled staff.

Create a thorough onboarding process

Set your new employees up for success from the beginning. A poorly designed
onboarding process creates a negative employee experience from the start of an
employee’s time with your company.

Many small-to-medium-sized businesses tend to have fairly informal onboarding

processes, but this can create problems for employees. New employees may feel
unsupported without frequent check-ins, a designated person to ask for help, and
thorough training. Employees that feel unsupported and overwhelmed early on
are more likely to quit relatively quickly after being hired.

Instead, try to design a plan for each new hire with at least a two-week
onboarding period and frequent check-ins throughout their first six months of
employment. Ideally, there will be some formal training and well-constructed
training materials that employees can refer back to as needed.

Pairing new hires with a mentor can also help them feel supported, know where
to go with questions, and start creating bonds with their coworkers. Mentorship
promotes a sense of community. Plus, it’s less intimidating to ask questions to a
trainer or mentor than it is to ask your new boss, so employees are more likely to
speak up when they need help.
Focus on company culture

Company culture shapes the employee experience. It is the personality of your

organization and guides how people communicate with each other within the
company.

Sometimes when your company is in its early stages or going through a period of
rapid growth, developing a company culture is put on the backburner. If this goes
on for too long, you may end up with a workforce that does not feel connected to
your company or their coworkers.

Team-building is a great way to promote company culture as well as effective

workplace collaboration. Happy hours, holiday parties, team-building exercises,
and other fun activities that bring employees closer together should be planned
regularly and encouraged. The small loss in productivity from allowing people to
have fun and get to know each other during work hours is easily recouped
through the higher productivity levels of engaged employees that can collaborate
comfortably.

Train and evaluate management staff

As the saying goes, people don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses. Your
department managers and front-line supervisors shape the employee experience
at your business. Make sure that managers and leads are upholding the company
culture and properly supporting their teams.

Consider doing 360-degree evaluations on management staff and allowing

employees to evaluate their managers. This can be a great way to identify
opportunities for additional leadership training in order to address issues that may
be negatively impacting employees. Cultural competency and inclusive leadership
training can also help managers lead in a manner that is inclusive and allows all
employees to feel respected.
Offer flexible schedules

The standard 9-5, or more frequently 8-5, doesn’t fit every employees’ life.
Employees need to be able to drop off and pick their kids up at school. They have
hobbies and want to attend social groups, church groups, volunteer activities, or
group fitness classes. Today’s employees want flexibility. As such, flexible work
arrangements have become popular.

Allowing employees to shift their schedule up or down a few hours from the
standard office hours can make a big difference when it comes to employee
morale. Allow salaried employees to adjust their hours to leave early or start late
one day a week if needed and make up the time elsewhere.

Employee recognition

Employees enjoy receiving recognition for their hard work. However, during busy
and stressful times managers may forget to provide positive feedback and
recognition. It’s important for leaders to look for ways to recognize high-achieving
employees who are going the extra mile.

Financial recognition can come in the form of bonuses. This most commonly
occurs at the end of the year or quarter and may be tied to key performance
objectives. However, holding a contest or raffle can also be a fun way to recognize
employees. For example, the person that opens the most new accounts in a
month could win a bonus or prize. Alternately, each employee that closes a new
account could earn a raffle ticket for each sale closed. This provides a bit of
recognition for everyone, and at the end of the raffle period, a winner can be
randomly drawn from all entries. Look for fun ways to engage the team and
acknowledge hard work.

Verbal or written recognition is also great for employee satisfaction. A simple

“good job” can bolster an employee’s confidence and job satisfaction. Consider
creating an employee recognition program that allows customers or coworkers to
submit positive feedback on employees. For example, if an employee helps out
one of their coworkers, that coworker can submit a note praising their work and
showing appreciation. Employees that receive positive feedback can be recognized
publicly at a weekly staff meeting or in a company-wide Slack or Teams channel.

Establish a healthy work-life balance

Establishing a healthy work-life balance for your staff is essential in preventing

employee burnout. Burnout is a major issue right now. 44% of U.S. workers polled
in a Robert Half study conducted this year reported that they are feeling more
burned out than they were a year ago. Burnout can have a major impact on
productivity, engagement, and retention. Look for opportunities to support
burned-out or overworked team members.

If salaried employees submit timesheets or log their work hours electronically, be

sure to monitor these submissions. While exempt salary staff is typically not
entitled to pay for overtime, it’s still important to monitor how much overtime
they put in and work towards solutions to prevent burnout among your
workforce. If a team is consistently working extra hours, it may mean that it’s time
to hire an extra person in that department. Have a talk with employees who are
frequently working 45-50+ hours per week to see if they need help with their
workload.

In many industries, it is expected that team members will put in overtime during
peak seasons or major company or client projects or events. However, there are
ways to minimize the impact this has on the employees’ job satisfaction. Consider
offering recovery time to allow employees extra time off after working excessive
overtime. Give managers the authority to give their team members an extra paid
day off after working late or on weekends to complete a major project or handle a
client emergency. Prioritize their wellness and work to minimize burnout to retain
your top talent.

Even those who aren’t working long hours may be feeling burned out after a
stressful past two years where they likely face frequent changes in their work and
personal lives. Encourage employees to use their paid time off for mental health
and self-care purposes. Also, ensure that employees know that they are welcome
to take breaks and time away from their laptops. Remote workers in particular
tend to have a harder time feeling “off the clock” during lunch or after work hours
due to the lack of separation between their workspace and living areas. Remind
them to take a walk outside if they need to and to put away their work laptops at
the end of the day.

Provide professional development and career advancement

opportunities

Your best employees are likely your most passionate and ambitious employees.
They likely do great work for you, but they may not stick around if they do not see
room for career advancement. It’s important to make career development
opportunities available to those who seek them. Managers should also be open to
speaking with ambitious employees and helping them understand what they need
to do to reach the next step in their career within the company. It may require
upskilling or leadership training. Don’t be afraid to let these employees take the
lead on a project to work on their management skills or invest in them by
providing continuing education opportunities.

On the other hand, a lot of people reevaluated their passions, interests, and what
they want out of their career over the pandemic. Their new goals may not fully
align with their current position. The obvious option is to look for a new job in
that situation, but there are some things employers can do to keep employees in
the company even if their current role is no longer a good fit. The main one is to
have an honest conversation with them and see where their interests lie. It may
be possible to adjust their job duties to include activities that would be
interesting, challenging, or rewarding to them.

Cross-training is a great way to allow employees to get involved in different job

roles or departments outside of their own. It also helps the company to have
someone that knows how to do others’ job duties in case someone is out sick or
on leave. A lateral transfer into a different department may also be an option.
Hiring employees is expensive and time-consuming. If you have an open role, why
not transfer a current employee into it if it’s a better fit for their desired career
path. It’s better to have one open position than two to fill.

Solicit employee feedback

Don’t wait for employees to bring issues to the attention of human resources or
management. Instead, actively solicit feedback from employees at regular
intervals. For best results, vary your approach to soliciting feedback throughout
the year.

One great way to solicit feedback is through an anonymous survey. People often
feel more comfortable providing honest and critical feedback to their employers
when they know that their responses will remain anonymous. The classic
employee satisfaction survey is a great option. Ask questions on what employees
enjoy about their jobs and the company, what they feel could be improved, and
whether they see themselves staying with the company for the next six months or
one year. Try to ask specifics such as their satisfaction with the benefits, their
manager, the culture, compensation, and the opportunities for advancement
provided to them. Remember, this data is only valuable if action is taken based on
it. The survey should help HR and the business leaders understand what
percentage of their workforce is on the brink of looking for a new job and what
actions they can take to prevent that and boost employee satisfaction.

Retention interviews or stay interviews are another great way to solicit feedback
directly from employees and find solutions before someone decides to leave the
company. These interviews are one-on-one meetings similar to employee reviews,
but it’s best to conduct them separately from reviews. The purpose of these
interviews is to check in with your top talent to learn of any concerns they may
have before these issues rise to the level of looking for a new job. The areas
covered can be similar to the employee satisfaction survey, but they should be
more open-ended so that the interviewer is able to better understand the
employee’s answers and reasoning. The questions can explore whether they feel
recognized for their work, desired growth or training opportunities, job
satisfaction, and how they feel about their current work-life balance. High
achieving team members are prone to burnout and are also likely to leave if they
feel they are not being properly recognized for their work or do not have room to
advance further. Catch these concerns early before you lose your top talent.

Lastly, you can explore some sources of indirect feedback. Monitor your
company’s Glassdoor page to see what current and past employees have had to
say. Potential new applicants are also likely to check out Glassdoor or other review
sites before applying, so it’s dually important to monitor what is being written.

Conduct exit interviews

An exit interview won’t change the mind of an employee that is already leaving,
but it will provide valuable insights that management can use to prevent more
employees from quitting. Employees are also apt to be more honest about their
frustrations with the company, management, and their job roles if they are
already on their way out the door.

Use this to uncover feedback that you may not get from your current employees
by asking direct questions about why this employee has decided to quit.
Remember, employees talk and vent to one another, so if one person is upset by
something going on in the company others are likely aware of it and possibly
upset about it too.

If the employee tells you that they were happy with their role and manager, ask
about what incentivized them to take a new role elsewhere. Employees don’t
always leave because they are unhappy, but it’s likely that the new company is
offering something that you aren’t. This could be more flexibility, better benefits,
higher compensation, or more advancement opportunities. The exit interview can
uncover what they didn’t like about your company, but it can also help uncover
what they really liked in their new offer.
Effectively manage change

Change is stressful for everyone, and most people have experienced a lot of it over
the past two years. Employees tend to be sensitive to change as it creates concern
over job security and can disrupt the company and team cultures.

Be honest with yourself and consider how well your company has handled
changes throughout the pandemic. Was adequate communication provided to
employees? Were employee preferences and concerns listened to and considered
when decisions were made? If changes weren’t managed well, that could result in
low employee engagement and high rates of attrition. Fixing the past may be
difficult, but you can improve your change management practices going forward
to avoid losing more good employees.

When a change is occurring such as layoffs, acquisitions, changes in management,

or changes in work policies (such as going back to the office after remote work), it
is important to communicate proactively. Take time to anticipate employees’
concerns and address them proactively. Deliver news of any changes in the correct
communication channel. If you anticipate that an announcement will leave
employees with a lot of questions, hold a meeting to allow for questions and
discussion rather than sending out an email announcement. Provide updates to
employees throughout the process to help them feel secure. Show your staff that
they are being considered at every step.

Conduct regular employee and salary reviews

Objectively, job-hopping tends to be a faster route to a significantly higher salary

than sticking it out at one long-term employer and receiving modest pay
increases. Younger workers like Millennials and Gen Z are particularly apt to switch
employers frequently — often receiving large salary bumps at each one.
Employers looking to retain talent these days need to be willing to give
competitive salary increases.
Most raise discussions occur during annual employee reviews. Employee reviews
serve as an important opportunity to solicit employee feedback, provide feedback
to employees, address requested salary increases, and discuss career
advancement opportunities. Each of these action items positively contributes to
retention, so don’t skip over reviews.

Before review season, conduct salary benchmarking research. HR and

management should go into salary negotiations with an understanding of what is
average and competitive in the region and industry for similar job roles. If through
benchmarking you find that an employee is being severely underpaid, be prepared
to give them a significant raise or lose them in the coming months.

Make employee satisfaction a priority

You’ll likely need to keep up with several of these employee retention strategies
year-round to have a meaningful impact. This may seem like a big time
commitment — and it is. Investing in employee satisfaction and retention is just
that; an investment. While you need to dedicate time and resources to the cause,
you are also saving time and money in the long run by cutting down on the costs
associated with hiring and training new staff. Retaining employees also allows you
to build up a more skilled workforce. Long-term employees will know your
systems, products, and workflows well and be able to work more efficiently as a
result.

10 ways to increase remote employee engagement

Savvy organizations have always been concerned about employee engagement.
Engaged employees with strong connections to their company, and the work they
perform for it, typically exhibit greater productivity, loyalty, and morale. For the
employer, this satisfaction translates into increased retention and a reputation as
a great place to work.

The COVID-19 pandemic, though, has brought additional challenges to employee

engagement. Employers need to think differently about the issue as they continue
to deal with remote teams operating fully or partially from home during a global
crisis. What worked before may need changing or tweaking.

“It’s no longer enough to set up a foosball table and a craft beer tap in the office
and call it a day,” says Mads Fosselius, CEO of Dixa. “Employers need to focus on
their employees’ mental health, flexible workspaces, clear career paths, the
opportunity to grow and learn, and most importantly — prioritizing listening to
employee cares and concerns. This is crucial to be able to attract and retain a
sufficient talent pool in a new and very competitive time.”

Employers also must get rid of notions that remote employee engagement is a
temporary issue. Dealing successfully with it now bodes well for the years to
come.

“At the end of the day, there’s no putting this genie back in the bottle: Remote
working will increasingly be an expectation employees will have of their
employers,” says Terry Traut, CEO of Entelechy. “Many leaders have used 2020 to
establish new methods of communicating with and developing their employees;
those leaders — and their employees — will continue to thrive in new situations.
Other leaders, specifically those who merely muddled through the pandemic
holding out for the return to normal, will find themselves left behind in this new
world we’re all living and working in. The lessons learned during and from the
pandemic will be valuable lessons for all future work moving forward.”

How might companies go about building remote employee engagement? Here are
10 strategies.

1. Utilize technology to the fullest

Staying in touch is no longer as easy as gathering everyone in a conference room

or dropping by someone’s cubicle for a chat. Take advantage of the full range of
collaboration tools and communication channels available to keep interaction
flowing.
Video conference as a staff or one-on-one, being sure to keep cameras on to
enhance personalization and view body language. Cloud-share files to promote
real-time collaboration. Use project management software so everyone can see
where things stand, including who is responsible for what. Set up a Slack channel
for casual conversation that mimics hanging out at the water cooler. Send an email
to inquire about how someone is doing. And don’t dismiss the value of a good
old-fashioned phone call.

2. Keep remote employees in the loop

Technology particularly proves a godsend when it comes to ensuring the same

news gets delivered to all workers at the same time. Remote workers should never
feel that they are “the last to know.”

“Poor communications impacts employee engagement by making team members

feel removed from decisions and devoid of any sense of ownership. In many ways,
poor communication — or a lack of communication — signals to someone that
they’re not valued enough to be included,” says Carlos Castelán, managing
director of The Navio Group.

For written announcements, send everyone an email blast at the same time. If you
want to announce something important in real-time, instruct all employees to join
a Zoom call from the office or from their off-site location.

3. Provide remote workers with what they need to do their job

A remote employee eager to work on an assignment will quickly become

discouraged if she sits down at the computer and discovers an obstacle. Maybe
nobody assigned her login credentials, she doesn’t have access to a client file
because it wasn’t done on the cloud, or the next step of a project requires
managerial approval that she asked for two days ago but still has not received.
Such scenarios frustrate employees and kill their momentum.
Try to anticipate potential pitfalls and deal with them beforehand. As part of this
effort, ensure each remote worker knows who to go to for various problems and
has their up-to-date contact information. Workers feel empowered and supported
when they can call a specific person in the tech department for a computer
problem or contact a knowledgeable individual in HR when there is a paycheck
concern.

Pay especially close attention to new hires. People are highly impressionable
during their early days on a job. Failing to provide them with the necessary tools
can have long-term consequences. Nobody wants to come into a new role excited
only to feel helpless and confused. Establish a solid onboarding program that
enables new employees to start doing meaningful work from day one. Assign a
mentor to each new worker. This seasoned employee can answer questions, offer
encouragement, and help the newbie better understand the company culture.

4. Give each remote worker individualized attention

An employee should never feel that out of sight is out of mind. Make a point of
conducting one-to-one check-ins. As remote workers often worry if they are doing
things “right” during these challenging times, offering feedback and instruction
will help ease concerns. You can also use the time to remind individuals of the
bigger picture and their specific role in helping the company succeed. Take a
moment to learn about the person’s life beyond work, too. Employees appreciate
your concern for their well-being and the insight aids in truly understanding what
someone has on her plate.

“Listen and pay attention,” Traut says. “We’re all going through a different journey
together, so it’s easy to lump everyone together. Don’t. Some employees are
struggling with kids home from school. Others with a stricken parent. Others with
the fatigue of it all. Some are itching to get back into the office while others are
perfectly content working from home. Listen to each and respond to each.”
5. Encourage flexibility

In many ways, remote work looks a great deal like in-office work. Employees have
duties and deadlines to fulfill regardless of location. But since remote work does
hold the potential for structuring responsibilities in ways that promote better
work-life balance, let your remote workforce benefit from greater control over
their workday. While there will be times when they must be available for meetings
or other scheduled activities, let them manage the rest themselves as long as they
continue to meet established benchmarks.

“It is crucial to give flexible working hours to employees and not limit them to sit
in front of the screens with ongoing video-conferencing throughout the working
hours as this will make them feel trapped and burned out. Because of this,
employees are more likely to lose interest. Thus, it is important to give them a free
hand and let them do things as per their own comfort level. However, it is
important to set expectations and ask the employees to fulfill those expectations,”
says Marilyn Gaskell, founder and business leader of TruePeopleSearch.

And when you say you want people to manage their time as they see fit, mean it.
You’ll destroy trust by micro-managing or trying to “catch” someone away from his
home office environment.

6. Respect work-life balance

Remote employees run the danger of never truly feeling “away from the office.”
Just because someone works and lives at the same location does not mean he is
on-call 24/7. Avoid intruding in the evening and on weekends. Look for signs of
burnout, engagement decreases as stress increases. Make it clear that every
worker should make time to attend to well-being, especially during these
challenging times. Encourage all employees, regardless of location, to use the PTO
to which they are entitled.
7. Solicit feedback from your virtual team

Want to know how your employees are doing and what would increase their job
satisfaction? Try asking. Talk as a group or one-on-one. Distribute surveys asking
about employee experience and how it could be improved. Hold virtual office
hours in which anyone can voice concerns or suggest initiatives. Most importantly,
do what you can to act on what you hear.

As Traut notes, “This global health crisis has shown us that employee engagement
is so much more than comment boxes, monthly happy hours, and ping pong
tables in the breakroom. Employees don’t just want their organization to engage
with them; they want to directly engage with the organization as well. People are
eager for their voices and ideas to be heard, acknowledged, and acted upon.”

8. Celebrate accomplishments

Every person enjoys employee recognition. Managers may be slower to extend

kudos, however, when the achiever is not physically around.

“Employee appreciation, in my opinion, is the primary motivator of employee

engagement,” says Kathryn Smithson, CMO of Path Social. “Employees who
receive regular recognition from peers and superiors feel more connected,
respected, and valued.”

Make a pointed effort to acknowledge the contributions and achievements of

remote employees. Sing their praises in the company newsletter. Send an email
shout-out. Create a place on Slack where anyone can tell a co-worker “Great job!”
or “Thanks for the help.”

Ensure, too, that remote employee recognition comes in the form of

advancement. Remote employee engagement is bound to plummet if they feel
like second-class team members always passed over for promotions.
9. Look toward the future

Along that same line, remote employees want to grow as professionals and evolve
with the company. Engagement rises when they are challenged to do new things
and move the organization in exciting directions.

“One of the most effective and proven ways to increase employee engagement is
by investing in learning and development. Today, growth opportunities mean
more to many employees than office perks,” says Jonathan Finkelstein, CEO of
Credly.

Evaluate what skills might be valuable for team members to acquire, and solicit
opinions regarding individual interests. While travel to seminars may not be
realistic at the moment due to safety concerns, a wealth of online classes and
virtual conferences exist.

Likewise, get people excited about a future with your company. Let them know
they are valued and seen as important to the organization’s long-term success.

“Outline a career path for every job role in your company,” says Anthony Martin,
CEO and founder of Choice Mutual. “This works for every kind of team, remote or
otherwise. It is human nature to be on the constant lookout for greener pastures.
Having a clear outline of career paths will show employees how they can grow
into bigger job roles and also help envision a longer future with your company.
This will promote a sense of loyalty to the firm, and anyone seeing their jobs as
temporary will feel differently.”

10. Value fun

Lastly, don’t underestimate the importance of socialization to remote employee

engagement. Working from home can at times be lonely and boring. Look for ways
for staff members to break the monotony and enjoy each other’s company.
“When you're in the workplace, it's simple to walk over to someone's desk and
suggest an impromptu lunch. Similar spontaneous exchanges can be enabled
virtually,” says Steve Scott, CTO at Spreadsheet Planet.

A few team building activities to consider include:

● Virtual coffee breaks or happy hours (co-workers video call together while
drinking beverages)
● Multi-player video games
● Fun online classes such as cooking or yoga
● Trivia contests
● Movie afternoons
● Online show and tell of pets, holiday decorations, etc.
● Delivering pizza to home offices and eating it together over Zoom

Ask remote employees for other suggestions. They will become more engaged
simply by being given a voice.

Don’t, however, go overboard. You're not a cruise ship entertainment director.

Read your audience. You might think virtual home tours sound fun, but if your
staff seems hesitant, respect how your team feels.

Likewise, don’t pressure people to participate. The past year or so has been
difficult for many individuals. Some may wish to refrain at the present time.
Extend the invitation and stay welcoming; they may decide to join in at a later
date.