10 Effective Employee Retention Strategies

21 Sep 10 Effective Employee Retention Strategies

There’s been plenty of talk the past few years about employee retention or, conversely, why so many workers are quitting their jobs. Retention makes for a stronger team, with a historical understanding and knowledge of a company and how things work; losing team members weakens that and creates a loss of productivity as people have to cover multiple jobs until a new person is hired and trained. 

Here are 10 ways to help keep your employees under your roof. 

• Start with a strong onboarding experience. Begin at the beginning. Make it clear to the employee from day one, or before, that they are an important and valued member of the team. Talk about your company’s culture and how you hope they participate in all that your company has to offer from very early on. Discuss early and often how each job fits into the overall picture and let that serve as a reminder that everyone is working for the same goal. 

• Mentorship. New employees who have someone to coach them as they learn the ropes feel like they’re taken care of and being set up to succeed. Pairing a new employee with someone who shares their job title or responsibilities can help them learn the job faster and without a feeling of being left alone. 

• Offer training and educational opportunities. People start to look for different jobs if they feel their skills are going stale. To prevent that, and to keep your people both happy and learning new things, make it possible for them to try new things or pick up new information. Whether that’s job shadowing with someone within your company who does something the other worker is interested in, or offering access to online learning tools, it’s an easy way for people to continue to learn while they earn. 

• Make sure your employees feel they have a voice. It can be incredibly frustrating to feel like information and conversation is a one-way street, with the managers and bosses giving orders and the workers having to stay silent. Encourage your team to speak up and offer feedback, to you personally or through another channel. Make sure that they have a way to express concerns and have a system in place to address those issues raised. Empower your team to offer new ideas for projects or ways to solve problems. They’ll feel more invested in their positions and the company. 

• Show appreciation. It’s the smallest thing but it can make a huge difference: Say thank you. Show your team that you see, respect and appreciate their hard work. Without their efforts, your company wouldn’t be as successful as it is. As it is with any relationship, people who feel taken for granted or invisible will take steps to find someone who appreciates them and their efforts. 

• Offer perks. Salary is an important part of this equation — more on that in a moment — but the little extras can help too. Things like flexible scheduling and the ability to work from home can help promote a healthy work-life balance without causing stressful conversations. Offering health insurance coverage is another greatly appreciated perk, as are memberships or discounted price offers for local entertainment options. 

• Train your managers to be supportive leaders. There’s a lot of truth to the belief that people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers. Make sure your management staff are compassionate and understanding people who can communicate effectively without tearing down your employees or making them feel uncomfortable or unwanted while at work. Take action if you learn that a manager is creating friction within your staff to address the problem before it costs you employees. 

• Improve communication overall. Time is of the essence at work. How much of your days, and your employees’ days, are spent in meetings that take up a great deal of time? If the meeting could be an email, letting people read the information they need at once and allowing for questions on an as-needed basis, maybe it should be. But for that to work, people need to have good communication skills and be able to relay information quickly and concisely. 

• Acknowledge the milestones, benchmarks and achievements. When your team finishes a big project, something that required them to give a little extra, celebrate that moment. Don’t just dive into the next big task; take the time to congratulate them on a job well done. Remind them, from time to time, that they’re all in this together and working for the same goal. Call out workplace anniversaries and, if your employee is comfortable with it, personal achievements and life events too. This builds teamwork while fostering a culture of appreciation. 

• Make sure they’re fairly compensated. If your team feels like they’re not getting paid what they’re worth, they will look elsewhere. Get a sense of what your competitors are paying their employees for similar jobs and make sure, at the least, you’re matching their salaries. If not, there’s work to be done. Also, as the company’s budget permits, make sure people are getting cost of living raises each year.

It can cost thousands of dollars to recruit, hire and train new employees. That’s on top of lost productivity from your existing team when someone leaves. It’s worth your time and resources to keep the team you have. 

If the time comes that you need to add to your team, contact LeadingEdge Personnel. We have great candidates who can join your company and get up to speed quickly, on permanent or temporary bases depending on your need. Call LeadingEdge today and let’s get started.