Employee retention is one of the biggest challenges in the business and professional world. It is more challenging in some industries than others, but finding qualified employees and keeping them is becoming more difficult every year.
In this article, we provide you with some tips on keeping your employees loyal and happy.
Understanding the risks of losing your staff and developing ways to lower the rates at which employees leave your organisation is important for human capital management, and for a good reason. Employee turnover is very expensive, as it affects revenue, operating costs, productivity, corporate culture, customer experience, and other factors.
Despite the negative impact of a high staff turnover on a company, many employers neglect the importance of retaining employees. Those who do invest in improving it, on the other hand, find great results in several key areas.
Continue reading to find out why you need to keep your employees loyal and how to do it.
Benefits of happy and loyal employees
Here are three solid reasons why you need happy and loyal employees in your organisation:
Experienced employees
One of the most significant consequences of a person’s departure is the loss of institutional knowledge, skills, and relationships within the firm and with customers and partners. There are devastating costs of excessive turnover. The organisation also loses the potential value the employee may have contributed.
Even in times of high unemployment, these personnel remain in danger of leaving, particularly high achievers or those with in-demand skills. Companies who place a premium on retaining more senior or experienced staff will experience huge rewards because these individuals are more likely to solve complicated problems on their own, which in turn benefits the company.
Efficiency in recruiting and training
Replacing an employee comes with a hefty price tag. When an organisation identifies competent personnel and successfully recruits and onboards them, they must be trained. All of that money goes down the drain if a new hire leaves.
Recruiting costs can be drastically reduced by focusing on staff retention. Another approach is to recruit from within the organisation. The cost of internally training and re-skilling an employee can save so much money per worker.
Productivity improvements
High turnover rates cause a plethora of challenges for employers. The most evident consequence is a drop in productivity. It takes a new hire one to two years to catch up to the productivity of an existing employee.
New employees also need time to get to know their coworkers and customers. Overtime and burnout among employees, lower job quality, and delays are all issues that may develop when a company is understaffed.
Effective employee retention may save a company from losing productivity. Employees at workplaces with a high retention rate are more engaged and, as a result, get more done. More engaged employees are more likely to form customer relationships and more productive teams with more time.
Ten ways to keep employees loyal and happy
Below are ten ways to improve employee retention:
Give priority to work-life balance
One of the things workers value most is the right work-life balance. This is especially true for younger generations. According to Forbes, eighty percent of millennials say that before accepting an offer, they consider how a position will affect their work-life balance. What they value is especially important because they now make up around 50 percent of the workforce.
Thus, one way to keep your employees happy is by practicing a culture that allows them a balance between their career and personal life.
Don’t encourage extra hours and work on the weekend. Instead, give them advice on how to increase productivity to accomplish tasks during regular working hours. Overall, an excellent work-life balance will make your employees feel more content with their job, and that will translate to more productivity.
Make them feel valued
Who doesn’t like to feel appreciated and valued? This can be applied to other aspects of life, not just work. In the business world, an option to keep your employees loyal is to make them feel like their efforts are valued. They want to feel like their job matters and that what they are doing every day makes a difference in the company.
Imagine a worker who arrives on time every day, is super responsible, and always delivers their tasks even before deadlines. But one day, they arrive late. You, as their manager, reprimand them in front of the whole team and practically humiliate them. That’s all it will take for an excellent employee to look for another job.
Instead, praise and congratulate your employees when they do something right. It’s a good idea to only correct them privately for minor faults like arriving late one time.
For example, if you are a tech company manager and one of your front-end developers came up with a new idea for a UI, telling the whole team about it and giving them credit is the right choice.
Encourage feedback
If you are the owner or a manager of your company, you are still human. As a human, you aren’t perfect and can make mistakes too. Encourage feedback from your employees so they can feel free to let you know where you can improve.
You need to maintain your authority as a leader, but knowing how to listen and understand your employee’s needs will improve your working relationship.
By doing this, you will also be teaching them by example. Show your employees how they can improve if they receive constructive criticism and take action to do better. In return, they will be more receptive to any feedback you give them.
Image: Pexels
Development opportunities
Development opportunities are one of the most attractive perks you can offer to improve employee retention and keep your employees loyal to you. Ninety-four percent of employees will stay in a company that invests in their learning. That is a big reward for your company, considering it doesn’t take much to create development opportunities.
Many employees like mentorship programs where you can pair the newest employees with more experienced ones. If you have employees with a reputation in the industry, many people will kill for an opportunity to work alongside them. Another thing you can offer is learning opportunities with an online platform.
Many companies have learning platforms that employees can access at any time. But you could also outsource with LinkedIn Learning, for example. Or you can offer to pay for their coding bootcamp or any other learning experience they want. The best coding bootcamps can help you launch your tech career in a matter of months.
Employee rewards
Another way to keep your workforce happy and motivated is to reward employees. According to their revenue, some companies would provide monetary compensation at the end of the year. In other companies, they give bonuses for employees with the best performances. But you don’t only need to give money as a reward.
You can also offer extra vacation days, free dinners, free weekends at a hotel, or anything that will motivate your employees. Employee rewards create a healthy competitive environment in the office, and everyone will try their best to win them. You can also offer loyalty rewards, such as a salary increase after the employee keeps working at the company every year.
Outstanding benefits
Benefits to encourage employee retention besides an excellent salary will help keep your employees happy. It can be anything from outstanding health benefits to extended paid time off. You can also offer benefits for each employee according to their personal needs.
Other outstanding benefits some companies offer are extended parental leave of more than six months, gym memberships, student debt reimbursement, and, as mentioned before, learning opportunities with courses or job training.
However, if you don’t have the budget for this, even little things like planning activities outside of work could go a long way into keeping your employees happy.
Keep them involved
Keeping your employees involved in company decisions, operations, and eventual success will keep them loyal. For example, when you encourage your employees to participate in the creative process of products, decision-making, or just by giving new ideas, they will feel like a real part of the company.
A key part of being a good leader is motivating your team to work for a common goal. When you include them in the whole process, they will take the company’s mission and values as their own.
Provide better equipment
To improve employee retention, take a peek at the screen on your laptop. Is it the same weight as a bowling ball? In many businesses, outdated gear and software are a major source of dissatisfaction.
Not only does outdated equipment make your staff inefficient, but it also communicates the idea that your organisation is uninterested in staying current with new tools and technologies.
For example, if you have web developers on your team, the fastest and newest technology is very important to remain efficient. Ensure you provide the best equipment for your team’s needs.
Communication
Much of employee dissatisfaction stems from a lack of communication. Make sure your company is establishing avenues for honest, specific feedback to and from its employees, as well as utilising real-time praise and constructive criticism.
Top-down communication can soon become clogged and ineffective. Instead, wherever possible, focus on direct, one-on-one meetings.
Also, provide digital venues such as employee communities to allow employees to collaborate and solve problems without going through management. What efforts is HR taking to ensure that managers receive adequate coaching and communication training? Check out our platform to see how you can help your team have more meaningful interactions.
Internal promotion
If you keep bringing in new management from outside the organisation, it might be discouraging to your best staff. Your top achievers want to know that they can advance in their careers. Make things easier for them by ensuring you have a strong internal advancement plan in place.
In Summary
You can do many things to retain your top employees. For example, you can build a culture that prioritises work-life balance, make them feel valued, and accept feedback to learn how to improve.
You can also encourage employee retention by offering outstanding benefits and perks like development opportunities, rewards, and gym memberships. The most important part is to keep them involved so they can feel like the company is their own.
About the Author
Ibrahim, from Karachi, Pakistan, started working with Career Karma in July 2020. He is currently enrolled at Iqra University as a BBA student. He has contributed content to some of the best software and IT companies in Pakistan.
