We all know that it’s incredibly important to have high staff retention rates. Training up new employees is not only time consuming, it can be a real drain on your resources. It’s also good to know that someone fits in well with your company culture - there’s no guarantee that this will happen with a new member of staff.
So the question is, how do you convince your employees to continue working for you? These days, it’s fairly common to move jobs every few years, rather than have a job for life. If you’re struggling to retain your current staff, or are looking for ways to entice new talent into the business, why not try the five strategies below:
1. Show Trust and Respect
We all want to be respected and valued, at work and otherwise. So if you want to retain your staff, you need to show that you care about them, and recognise their achievements. Whether this is something big, like winning an award, or an everyday accomplishment, like completing a project to a high standard, you need to celebrate the wins.
In terms of trust, a big part of this is letting your employees work autonomously. This will demonstrate that you have faith in their abilities and that your staff have been placed in their roles for a reason.
2. Conduct Frequent Pay Reviews
One of the main reasons people move jobs is to obtain a higher salary. And with the cost of living on the rise at the moment, money can be a bigger concern than ever before. If you value the work your employees are doing, you need to compensate them for their endeavours.
Many people won’t be offered a pay rise unless they specifically request one, or if they tell their boss that they’re considering another job that pays better. This shouldn't be the case - as an employer, you should always pay your staff the amount they deserve. You shouldn’t have to be forced into bumping up employees’ wages just because they’re threatening to leave the business or have explicitly asked for a raise.
3. Start a Mentorship Programme
Another method of showing how much you appreciate your employees, and retaining your staff, is investing in their success. A mentorship programme is a great way to do this. And while you may assume that a mentor would only be helpful for younger employees, just starting out in their career, this is not necessarily true. Even individuals who have worked for the business for years can benefit from this type of support.
Mentorship is essentially a win-win strategy. Everyone involved in the process will gain some form of knowledge or perspective, even if it’s simply how to better explain concepts to someone less experienced than you. A mentorship programme also helps to build stronger teams and improve engagement levels.
4. Improve Your Employee Benefits
As with wages, one of the best ways to show an employee that you value them is to compensate them for their time and efforts. This encompasses benefits as well as flexibility in terms of time and location for work. For instance, if you allow flexible working hours, this can allow parents to work their schedule around the school run, and may mean that these employees are able to work full rather than part time.
When it comes to benefits, this could be anything from subsidised parking or gym membership to free work lunches. You can also run incentive schemes, which come with appealing prizes. Overall, if your compensation structure isn’t enough to entice current employees and new hires, you should start reworking it.
5. Explore Training and Development Options
Your best employees are bound to have drive, so they’ll want to keep their careers moving forward. Part of your role as a leader is to help them flourish, without needing to find development opportunities elsewhere. You should therefore think about ways in which you can facilitate this, through things like training programmes and courses. If you can’t do this in-house, you could pay for all or part of a course elsewhere.
By allowing people to progress, you’re opening up future opportunities on their career ladder, and helping staff to feel motivated. Without the chance of progression, it’s easy to feel like you’re stuck in a dead-end job, and might think about jumping ship. Allow employees to keep the momentum going by offering plenty of training and development opportunities.
Retaining Employees
Keeping your staff isn’t that complicated. If they feel that they are trusted, well compensated, and that there are opportunities for growth, employees are much less likely to leave the business. You need to ensure that they are engaged with the organisation and its culture too, by listening to them and respecting their views.
As a leader, a high retention rate means a more productive, as well as stable, team. It also results in less time and money spent on recruitment and onboarding. There really is no downside, so it’s worth investing in a proper retention strategy!