Whether your company sells boutique clothing, creates infographics or paints houses, employee retention helps your business succeed and remain healthy.
Support your company’s long-term growth when you learn why employee retention is important and how to achieve it.
Why Employee Retention Matters
Your entire business will operate more efficiently, and you’ll reduce operating costs when you retain employees. Retention allows you to maximize training time, reduce lost knowledge and avoid expensive candidate searches. Plus, you’ll gain additional benefits.
- Higher customer satisfaction
- Better product sales
- More satisfied workforce
- Effective succession planning
- Efficient time management
- Smooth brand continuity
How to Retain Employees
Now that you know why you should retain employees, implement several tips as you improve the overall health of your company.
Clarify Expectations
When you change expectations often, employees feel stressed, insecure and on edge, and they’re unable to achieve their goals and succeed. The most satisfied employees know exactly what to expect when they go to work each day. For each employee, outline expectations, goals and other details as you create an atmosphere for success and satisfaction.
Hire Quality Supervisors
Employees often leave positions because of their supervisor, not the work duties. In addition to hiring kind and amicable supervisors, equip them to value, recognize and appreciate their team members. All supervisors should:
- Provide regular feedback, including positive appreciation.
- Keep their word.
- Clarify earning potentials.
- Verify expectations.
- Encourage and provide the framework for employee success.
Accept Feedback
Employees need to feel heard, so give your team members time, space and freedom to express their opinions, thoughts, and ideas. Actively solicit good and bad feedback, invite ideas and discuss thoughts, including innovations and improvements. When your employees know they’re heard, they are more likely to remain involved in and excited about your company.
Tap Into Talents, Skills, and Experiences
You may have hired employees to perform one specific job, but get to know your team members. Find out what talents, skills, and experiences they can contribute to the company as you improve your business and boost their job satisfaction. Listen, too, if they tell you they have an interest and ability in certain areas like customer relations, branded app creation or graphic design. You may be surprised at the benefits your company and your employees reap when you tap into their abilities.
Treat Everyone Equally
Employees value fairness and equitable treatment in the workplace. If you give one group or department a raise, bonus or access to more successful account but neglect another group, you will lose employees. Always consider how your decisions affect morale, productivity, and retention, and try to treat every employee the same.
Provide the Right Tools, Training and Time
Most of your employees want to succeed, but they need the right tools, training or time to excel. Reevaluate your work systems and training opportunities as you provide what your employees need to do their jobs and feel fulfilled.
Offer Growth Opportunities
Throughout the year, look for ways you can help your employees learn new skills and advance their careers. Workshops, seminars, online videos, and classes challenge your team members and prevent them from feeling stagnant, bored or undervalued.
Recognize Every Employee
Supervisors, senior managers and executives in your company should know the names of everyone on their team. Spend time talking with your employees, remember details about their lives, and prove that you value them, and you’ll see an increase in loyalty.
Encourage Work-Life Balance
A heavy workload or long work day promotes dissatisfaction and can create health problems. Protect your employees when you encourage work-life balance. Nontraditional work hours, frequent breaks and more holidays give employees the chance to step away from work and find balance in their lives.
Prioritize Recognition, Rewards, and Appreciation
Monetary rewards, gifts and thank yous show your employees how much you value and appreciate them. Implement a recognition and reward system that fits your company as you prompt your employees to stay. For example, you can offer:
- Competitive salary
- Annual pay raise
- Tuition reimbursement
- Profit-sharing
- Free lunch and other perks
Conduct Exit Interviews
Ask every employee who leaves your company to participate in an exit interview and discerns why they’re moving on. This valuable information can give you insights that will help you retain your valuable employees and reduce further loss.
With these employee retention tips, your company keeps your valuable team members and gains numerous benefits. Implement a solid employee retention program today as you promote company healthy now and into the future.
