For any business, retaining employees is extremely beneficial to the organisation. The cost of having to rehire and train up a new employee can put businesses at a disadvantage.
It can often delay the progress that a company is making when it comes to garnering more success. Not only that but it hinders other employees’ workloads, with them having to take on more as a result.
With that being said, it’s important to improve the processes in place that keep employees happy and satisfied with their roles. As a business, if employee retention is a problem, then this guide will help uncover new ways of improving an employee’s experience in the workplace.
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How difficult is it to retain employees?
What seems to be a common problem with employees leaving their current job, is a lack of appreciation. In fact, studies show that 79% who quit their jobs, cite this as being the main reason for leaving.
Of course, a business can’t hold onto all staff members for the remainder of their working life. Some may have a different career path in mind to what’s offered in the current company and others may fall out of love with their job altogether. For some organisations, offering a career ladder for some staff may not be possible.
However, there are simple changes that can help improve the working environment and give staff members more reasons to stay, than to go. At least for the most part, if an employer can get one or two more years out of the employee, then it’s worthwhile to make the effort.
Seven tips for improving employee retention
What are these changes? In order to improve employee retention within the workplace, here are several tips that can help improve that.
- Offer a great onboarding experience, to begin with
Think about the onboarding experience that’s currently being offered to the employees. When it comes to an employee journey, you want it to be as seamless and insightful for all those involved.
Onboarding and inductions can often be where businesses fall at the first hurdle but if enough attention is spent here, it can ensure the employee is happy and confident within their role.
It’s not just their role that onboarding helps with but the rest of the understanding that comes with knowing the business and its processes.
2. Create a positive working atmosphere
As a company, it’s important to create a workplace that’s inviting and positive in its atmosphere. It’s one of those improvements that can make a noticeable difference to the employee in question and everyone else for that matter.
With a positive working environment, employees don’t need to come to work with a sense of dread or anxiety. Whether that’s due to a tense atmosphere or workplace bullying, stamping out any negativity can massively help with improving the satisfaction of employees.
3. Provide flexibility with the role where needed
Flexibility is key when it comes to offering any job role to an employee. Many will need some degree of flexibility within their role when their personal life is thrown into disarray.
Whether that’s offering a hybrid working environment where staff has the option of working from home as and when they need it to give paid leave from work when they require it.
Showing this flexibility is only going to help instill trust and loyalty in the employees who desperately need it. They’re less likely to leave a business if they know they’re being looked after and will be whenever anything goes wrong.
4. Don’t stop the learning process
When it comes to the employee and the amount of time they’ve spent in the business, that shouldn’t influence how little training they get. As an employee, there is always an opportunity to learn. Whether it’s building on the experience that the employee has already, to learning more skills that they can add to their bow, it’s all helpful.
Don’t just stop the learning process once they’ve been onboarded. Make sure this continues throughout their time with the company so that both the employee and business benefit from the development of their role and experience within the company.
Ask the employees what they would benefit from when it comes to training and education. There may be aspects of their role that they feel could benefit from training, that wasn’t known beforehand by management.
5. Offer bonuses and rewards for hard work
Consider offering bonuses and rewards for hard work. Recognition is important as a business and it should be something that is offered extensively across the company. Of course, not all businesses can offer everything and more to their employees but the bare minimum is a tap on the back well done or recognition in the company newsletter.
A rewards platform is a good way to introduce perks to the job and it can also be useful in helping to keep track of all staff who are signed up to the platform.
6. Deliver feedback and communicate regularly
Feedback is important to give to employees as it can help them improve their work quality and productivity within the workplace.
If the employee doesn’t receive much in the way of communication on a day-to-day business, it can often lead to complacency in the workplace.
Not only that but if no one cares to check up on them, they’re more likely to look elsewhere to find that value and appreciation that they’re not getting in the company now.
7. Listen to disgruntled or upset employees
An employee is not always happy with their role in the workplace. Yes, some employees have bad days but it’s when it turns into bad weeks that it should be cause for concern.
Listen to those disgruntled or upset employees with care and attention. Find resolutions that will help them get more from their role and ultimately gain more happiness as a result.
8. Improve employee retention for a satisfied workforce
Improving employee retention is something that should be focused on, especially if it’s a current problem within the workplace.
