- Learn the secrets that are helping Hiring Managers keep their best employees.
- Figure out why your best employees are leaving in the first place.
- Make the right hiring decisions and provide a great onboarding experience.
- Learn what will really keep your employees in it for the long run.
Various studies suggest that losing a manager could cost an organisation up to 100 percent of their salary.
Why should you care so much about employee retention? Because it’s essential for long-term success for your business. Why? Because keeping your best employees ensures customer satisfaction, increased sales and happy colleagues!
The loss of a senior executive is even more costly. But it’s not just about the money. An employee leaving can shake up business morale and mentality, affecting productivity.
Why you’re best employees might be moving on
Salary and Benefits Package: If you’re not offering a competitive salary you’re seriously missing a trick.
Lack of Development Opportunities: Progression allows the employee to grow with the business and pick up new skills. The last thing you want is your best employees stagnating.
Dissatisfaction with Management: Treat your employees with respect and equality and you’ll receive it back.
Work/Life Balance: 73% of employees said flexible work arrangements increased their satisfaction at work. Who doesn’t want happy employees?
Hire right, first time
The long game:
When recruiting for most of our customers, we advise hiring a candidate with the potential to perform in a role 2 levels above. This maximises long term hires by being able to offer progression and development. This prevents your employee from feeling they are not progressing and getting frustrated: which could result in a premature exit.
Cultural Fit:
In order to measure fit, you need to audit your business, the people who are successful and the type of company. Ask what is important to you? Why do employees love working at your business?
Competency:
An employee isn’t going to stay in a role long if they cant do the job. Put in place a competency framework that allows you to find out the strengths and weaknesses in more detail. Can you offer training in any gaps found?
On-boarding
On-Boarding is extremely important to staff retention. The first few months at work can make or break a new hire. You need to remember that they have just made a huge life changing decision. Here are some great steps you can take to ensure a smooth start.
- Let reception/other colleagues know that there is a new starter to ensure a warm welcome.
- Personally escort the new hire to their new desk – there is nothing more daunting than walking through into an office full of strangers for the first time.
- Arrange regular (first day, first week, first month etc) short catch-ups to see how they are getting on – they will really appreciate the opportunity to chat through things.
- It seems basic but doesn’t forget what they need to actually do the job. We’ve heard of laptops, new logins and software access all being forgotten about!
Good questions to ask
- Is the role what they expected?
- How well do they understand the business and their roles?
- Do they have any questions that have not been answered?
- What future development opportunities would they like to see?
- What do they need from you?
Learning & development
Okay, having a pool table, comfy sofa’s and free food and drink is all well and good. And yes, this might entice people to join your company and they’re nice to have, but they aren’t career building incentives. What makes people want to build a career within your business are clear goals and a development plan to help them reach where they want to go.
Why would your employee want to stay if you aren’t offering a development plan? And why would you want an employee who’s just sat there, bored and uninterested? It’s been proven that training and development contribute to:
- Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees.
- Increased employee motivation.
- Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain.
- Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods.
- Increased innovation in strategies and products.
Leadership & management
- Clarify your expectations of them.
- Clarify their earning potential.
- Give sincere feedback, outlining strengths and areas for improvement.
- Stick to your planned meeting times.
- Provide a framework for the employee so they understand their route to success.
- Ask what you can do to help them.
Create a regular review scheme – this allows you to set goals based on performance and define how you want these goals to be achieved. You need to make sure you ask what they need from you to reach these goals, support is key to success. You’re there to support, make sure they know that!
Feedback
Does your business provide an environment in which people are comfortable providing feedback? Having something like this allows employees to offer ideas, be critical, and commit to continuous improvement—all factors contribute to a happy team and motivated employees.
Creating regular internal communications can help generate a sense of community and a shared purpose. Regular meetings in which employees can offer ideas and ask questions, paired with an “open-door policy” that encourages employees to speak frankly with their managers; Let employees know they are valued and that their input will be heard.
Appreciation
You MUST ensure that your employee’s feel appreciated for the work that they do. How difficult is it to say well done? Small gifts, monetary rewards and bonuses, backed up with a thank you ensures sustained motivation and happiness. With recognition, your employees will feel like an appreciated part of the puzzle. Other colleagues will see it too and it will spur them on, creating a satisfied, engaged and driven environment to be in.
Nominate them for an industry award without them knowing, introduce them to your new clients, provide a share scheme within the business. These can all make a real difference.
However you decide to reward your employees, praising employees for completing performance goals is one of the most effective ways to make them feel appreciated, which will make them want to stay with you for the long run.
Understand
Get to know your employees. What really makes them tick? What are their key motivations and drivers? Are they money motivated? Are they just looking for some appreciation? Understand their interests, desires, hobbies and needs. This will go a long way in staff retention because this will allow you to tailor your approach to their personal situation.
Listen to them, care about them and make them feel like they are part of the team. They’re not just a number!
An example of this is staff birthdays. Make it an event. Get them something you know they will love, treasure and be really grateful for. For example, tickets to go see their favourite musician or football team. It’s the little things like this that they will really remember.
Don’t Let Your Best Employee’s Slip!
