Although retaining employees is difficult for many companies across all sectors, it can be more difficult for smaller sized organizations due to time and budget constraints. Did you know it costs an organization almost 50% of a position's salary just to get through the entire hiring process? This includes the time spent on posting the job, screening and interviewing potential candidates, training the new hire and ramp up time, not to mention the loss of productivity due to the former employee departing.
Want to avoid these headaches and in some cases, unnecessary costs? Then make sure your organization is doing all it can to retain its best employees by following a few simple guidelines:
1. Performance Management - Performance reviews identify gaps in performance, set objectives and identify support required for an employee to be effective in their role. Two-way communication between an employee and management is critical. Many organizations only conduct appraisals once or twice a year but if you want to ensure your employees know where they stand, communicate this to them on a regular basis. Whether it's an informal chat over coffee or a documented discussion, let them know how things are progressing and whether there is room for improvement. Reviews should be conducted consistently in an open and honest environment, resulting in a positive, motivating and rewarding experience.
2. Involve Employees in the Hiring Process – When you are hiring new employees, allow your current staff the opportunity to assist with the hiring process by sitting in on the interview process in order to establish rapport with the potential new hire and determine if the individual would be a good fit personality wise with the rest of the team. Also, when in hiring mode, ask employees who they may be able to refer for the position – you never know with whom they may have connections. Many organizations also offer a financial incentive to current employees for their referrals if their candidate is hired and completes the probationary period successfully.
3. Create Your Company's Culture – Allow staff to get involved with sharing their ideals by way of values, beliefs, attitudes and expectations all in relation to the overall operation of the company. Give your employees some of the responsibility of creating a winning team atmosphere and healthy workplace environment.
4. Social Activities – There is nothing like a great opportunity to build your team by taking them out for an excursion such as a bowling night, lunch on a Friday afternoon, planning a family day at an amusement park or a picnic. Seasonal gatherings are great but try and arrange after hours or weekend get-togethers every couple of months to keep everyone fresh and connected. Perhaps not everyone will be able to attend but at least the opportunity is presented for the taking.
5. Employee Feedback – Encourage employees to provide their input and feedback on certain aspects of the company or in decision-making. This doesn't mean you have to act on everything employees suggest but the mere fact that you have expressed an interest in their ideas and input will go a long way with the employees. Hopefully some of the suggestions will be tremendous so you will act on them! Keep in mind though that when you receive these suggestions, if you don't at least try a couple of them out, employees may feel discouraged from coming forward again in the future.
6. Competitive Compensation Package – Regardless of the size of your organization, it needs to remain competitive in today's market so be sure you have done your homework and are aware of what other organizations are paying their staff in similar roles. Compensation goes beyond just an employee's salary though. Keep in mind the greater benefits such as Group Health Plans, gym memberships, tuition reimbursement, vacation time, employee expense accounts and so on. Determine what works best for your work environment by enlisting the input from employees.
7. Flexible Hours/Schedules – If your business allows for it, provide employees the flexibility to set their own hours, start later in the day or perhaps leave early every third Friday, as long as it doesn't negatively impact the business. This may help in accommodating their family lifestyle and shows you care about their personal work-life balance.
8. Training and Development – Offer employees the opportunity to attend workshops and seminars that are work related. This allows for higher achievement and growth for an employee as well as others around them when the knowledge gained by an individual can be shared with the rest of the group. Also, ask for employee input as to what topics are of interest to them and have professional speakers come into the office for a lunch and learn session – maybe it's as simple as having a nutritionist or a personal trainer from the local gym come in to speak for an hour. It's a win-win all around!
Your first priority today is retaining your best employees. It's a lot easier to continue your business' success if you have happy employees in the right jobs who ultimately enjoy what they do.Providing organizational direction and improving the management of people will engage employees and the end result will be higher commitment from them to the organization and savings to your bottom line.
