After putting in the time, effort and investment to hiring the best employees for your business it’s important that you retain your talent. Exit interviews have been conducted as employers try to investigate the secret of keeping their employees satisfied within the workplace.
Salary, retirement plans and vacation benefits are high on the list of why those employees took the job in the first place. However, they are not reason enough to keep them working for your organisation for the long haul. Job satisfaction will increase your employee retention rate. Here are a few strategies you can use to retain your talent:
1.Make your employees feel like an asset to your company:
Allow your employees to feel secure in their job. Try and avoid making your employees feel like overhead. Greet them by name, letting them know that you know who they are and what their contributions are to the company. Get them involved and engaged in what is happening with the organisation. If there are rules or changes that may need to be implemented get their input and get your employees involved. Encourage goal-setting and let them make their own choices as often as possible.
2. Make company goals clear:
Ensure that you have job descriptions clearly outlined so that your employees know exactly what is required of them. If there are changes that need to be made make sure that this is communicated efficiently and effectively to your employee and that you don’t just expect them to figure this out on their own. The chances are that your employees are not capable of reading minds. Good employees want to do their best in delivering their work to the highest standard possible, but they need to know what it is they need to do to make it happen.
3.Create an open and honest work space:
Give feedback on the level of work being performed and be willing to listen to the concerns of your employees. Take what they say on board. Open up channels of communications between directors and employees. Be open and listen to new ideas. Accept suggestions for problem-solving. Make yourself available and open when your employees ask you for assistants or guidance. Keep your top talent informed and up to date about what is happening with the company – don’t allow rumors to be primary transmission of information around the workplace. If there are any problems arising or set-backs, communicate this with employees sooner rather than later.
4.Provide opportunities for growth in the company:
Find out what motivates your employees. Tap into their passion and enable them to focus their time and energy on projects that they can enjoy working on. Allocate them challenging and stimulating work. Let them know what career development plans you may have set in place for them and what opportunities are available for them to grow with the organisation.
5.Recognize and reward good work.
Let’s face it, monetary bonuses are always nice. However, recognition of a job well done goes a long way to creating good will and loyalty. Recognition needs to be specific. “Good Job” is fine, but “Good job on the X project” sounds so much better. In order to retain current staff, it’s important to make them feel a sense of appreciation, respect and feel as if they are worthwhile. Recent studies show that when employees feel unappreciated or that they are not valued enough then they begin to seek employment else where. They need to feel that their contributions to the business are important. The praise and feedback coming from more senior members of staff should be sincere. Good talent is clever enough to know the difference between genuine appreciation and platitudes.