Companies place a high priority on employee retention since replacing employees, especially effective ones, takes time and money. Having brilliant workers leave your firm might put pressure on current employees who must take on more work until those jobs can be filled. Given this, it is critical to prioritize the retention of your top staff. Here are eight suggestions for retaining your best employees.
Pay above-average salaries
Offering above-average pay and benefits is one of the most obvious methods to keep your best employees. This might bind employees and encourage them to stay solely for the compensation and benefits. You may also offer a special retention bonus to encourage employees to stay with the company.
“A well-compensated and engaging culture will increase the likelihood that employees will stay in their positions long term,” author and digital consultant John Boitnott says in Inc. “This implies you will see less disruption as a result of new hires learning new duties.” You’ll also save time and money searching for and interviewing new employees. The recruitment procedure can be expensive, thus avoiding it as much as possible can be beneficial.”
Allow employees to speak their minds
While it may appear insignificant, building a culture in which employees can openly speak up – within reason – may keep staff engaged and wanting to stay. Many employees may be afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation, so it’s critical that staff feel safe bringing up issues they’d like to see changed.
“We’ve discovered in a number of studies that when employees can freely express their concerns, firms see better retention and stronger performance,” write James R. Detert and Ethan Burris in the Harvard Business Review.
Show appreciation and respect
Aside from money, make sure you show your best staff how much you appreciate them on a frequent basis. This includes publicly honoring employees’ accomplishments, celebrating birthdays, awarding incentives, and offering positive reinforcement.
“Staff appreciation can sometimes be overlooked, but it’s a crucial aspect of any company’s employee retention strategy,” says Kristen Wessel, Vice President of PR & Digital Marketing at ChicExecs, in Forbes. “Whether it’s as simple as a handwritten letter or as grand as a large bonus, show your staff you care.” Employees need to know you have their back.”
Encourage input and feedback
Employees want to know that you’re paying attention and taking their input seriously. Use engagement tools like TINYpulse, Culture Amp, and Officevibe to poll how employees are doing and feeling in general. Then, in a timely manner, respond to your employees’ input.
“In our industry, most of our clients are striving to keep their top personnel by whatever means possible,” Clarity Wave co-founder and director of client delight Robert Moutal told Project Manager. “One of the reasons they use our service is that they have discovered that cultivating a culture of constant feedback via micro-surveys encourages individuals to feel heard and understood.” This, in turn, develops a sense of camaraderie within the business. “
Don’t micromanage
You may have heard that micromanaging people is bad for productivity, but it can also turn off high-performing employees who want to stay. Micromanagement degrades morale and robs employees of the opportunity to produce better results for themselves.
“Focus on facts and results rather than the process, “career and workplace expert Heather R. Huhman says in Entrepreneur. “For example, if a target of winning 10 new accounts is set, have the feedback revolve around whether or not those expectations were accomplished. ” Employees might examine their outcomes and consider whether or not their method performed as well as they had intended.” They can see what they’re doing well and what’s contributing to their success, as well as where they need to improve. “
Identify and invest in high performers
Track employee productivity and outcomes over time to see which ones stand out as they enhance their talents. Then, work to provide fresh opportunities to those employees.
In an interview with Glassdoor, Lynne Doughtie, Chairman and CEO of KPMG in the United States, said “We make sure our teams are continually recognizing high achievers and high potentials.” “Top talent wants to know that we are assisting them in their professional growth and development.” We make certain that our business executives develop stretch assignments and new positions, that they have mentors and sponsors, and that they are continually recommended opportunities to advance their careers.
Offer the ability to grow
It may be tempting to maintain your top staff in the same job with the same responsibilities. Why change what they’re doing if they’re outperforming expectations? Employees who perform the same jobs on a regular basis, on the other hand, may become complacent. If they request more or a modification, seriously consider the request.
“When your employees (and possibly even you, as their boss) aren’t allowed to grow, they start to feel like they don’t matter,” executive coach and speaker Whitney Johnson writes in the Harvard Business Review. “They feel like cogs in a wheel that can be simply swapped out.” If you don’t invest in them, they won’t invest in you, and even if they don’t physically leave, they will emotionally check out.”
Provide flexibility
Employees desired flexible work schedules even before coronavirus and remote work was the top-of-mind theme for many firms. Flexibility can be a key motivator for your top employees to stay.
“With collaboration, messaging, and all of these different technologies, work can be done from anywhere, at any time,” Kate Donovan, senior vice president of ManpowerGroup Solutions, told CIO. “While it began with the younger generation, it now helps everyone.” Organizations must recognize that this is now a need if they are to win the war for the top talent. Because people who have experienced work flexibility are reluctant to return to the status quo.”