As an employer, you can spend all the time and money you want pursuing the demands of a full recruitment life cycle to ensure you hire the best employees. But, unless you are just as devoted to retaining those top candidates, the odds of keeping them onboard are slim-to-none.
With today’s economics and the unemployment rate, recruiting and hiring the right employee is essential- especially if you don’t want to find yourself right back at square one due to high turnovers. Every business owner hopes to hire the top talent in their field and keep those employees onboardfor thelong-haul.
The last thing a business owner wants is to invest time and money in training a key employee only to lose that employee to a competitor willing to offer more. Keep in mind; thereare a lot of businesses searching the market for the “rockstars” of their industry. Do you have what it takes to retain your top employees?
How Costly Are Turnovers?
Each year companies invest millions of dollars in recruiting and hiring replacements of key employees that either retire or leave for greater opportunities. The biggest mistake many companies make is assuming that turnovers are unavoidable and that little can be done to prevent continuous replacement of quality personnel.
The cost of recruiting and hiring key employees can be staggering if there are consecutive turnovers within a business. Not only are the cost of replacing an employee astonishing but the strain placed on other staff members to fill the void can be damaging as well.
The best method to keep your employees onboard is keeping them satisfied, so they feel appreciated, respected, and valued as part of the success of your company. The following are anexample of measures you should take to hang onto your staff to avoid costly turnovers that impact more than just your profit.
Establish Personal Relationships
With technology as advanced as it is today, more and more jobs are operating from remote offices around the world. Although this is ideal for both the employer and the employee, it cuts into personal connection and communication between co-workers and management.
There is no break room conversations or gatherings around the water cooler to establish contact that creates bonds and friendships. While getting to know other employees on different levels help develop team work, it also assists in developing company trust and loyalty.
It is important that you create a relationship between yourself and your employees that are a great asset to the success of your business. Whether you are right across the hall from them or thousands of miles away, creating a connection establishes more than just a “business attitude” that can occur at any job.
By getting to know your employee’s likes and dislikes you are telling that person that they are more than just a person filling a role that helps your company succeed. Try getting to know things that are important to your employees that make them open up more and feel as though their life matters as well. Such as:
- Spouses and/or partners
- Discuss their children and their accomplishments
- Hobbies
- Interest in World Affairs
- Sports and Music interest
- Important days such as birthdays and anniversaries
Acknowledge Employee Strengths and Contributions
Everyone needs a little pat on the back from time to time to remind them that they are a valued asset in all areas of their life, especially at their job. The thrill of accomplishing something in an individual’s career can boost morale and confidence.
If employees only hear “thanks for a great job” when they do something extraordinary, they become stagnant and seek employment elsewhere where they can feel the rush from new appreciation and compliments.
Share Priorities and Responsibilities
When employees feel part of a team and not as one singled out individual, they tend to want to communicate and work with one another. When teamwork happens, this leads to better decisions and a much better working environment.
No one likes to feel in competition with a co-worker. Showing that you encourage shared responsibilities allow the employees to work together and build trust and commitment as a team.
Offer Competitive Salaries and Benefit Packages
Employers must realize in the competitive market of hiring and retaining competent employees; you must recognize and award your employees when they stand out from the crowd.
Keep in mind; there are many other companies out there that will gladly hire your rockstar employee and make them feel they are just what their business needs to be successful.Here are substantial perks employees seek that let them know you appreciate them.
- Competitive Salaries
- Health Insurance
- Flex Schedules
- Life and Disability Insurance
- Adequate sick and Family leave
- Bonuses
- Increase in Pay with Evaluations
Provide Tools Needed To Perform
Let’s face it; work wouldn’t be called work if it were a walk in the park, right? Put yourself in your employee’s shoes and think of how difficult your job would be if you didn’t have the proper tools needed to do your job.
If you provide your employees powerful software, hardware, apps, and the latest in technology equipment that makes the annoying part of their work easier, you will have yourself a happier employee.
If you continue to use old computers and techniques, this creates stressful work environments as well as adding more to a workload than necessary. Stay up to date with the latest techniques that will enable your employees to do their job adequately and efficiently.
Offer A Reason To Commit
A strategy used by businesses today is asking their employees to commit to at least two years while providing and receiving input on what could make their job better and be willing to make adjustments.
If you as the employer make the same commitment that you are willing to listen and adhere to suggestions from a key employee for the given time-frame, you are telling that employee you care enough to make changes if they will commit to staying onboard.
Every employer starts off with good intentions when they hire key personnel tohelp drive the success of their business. Starting off and remaining a good employer is tough. There are pressures that employees face everyday where they need to hear positive reinforcement from their employer.
Taking the time to say “way to go” or “job well done” is often overlooked and sent to the bottom of the to-do list. Keep in mind, you won’t please everyone nor will you keep employees from leaving for better opportunities, but you can make a big difference with staff that is there to focus on growth instead of never having enough staff to contribute to growth.
