Are you struggling to retain employees?
Over 70% of companies report that employee turnover negatively impacts them due to the expenses associated with recruiting, hiring, and training new talent. Research shows that a lost employee can cost your business 6 to 9 months of their salary, so it’s essential to create employee retention strategies. Staff retention and employee turnover are major issues for businesses of all sizes, and several factors, like workplace safety, economy, and exhaustion, trigger them.
Having top talent leave your company can cause strain on the remaining workers because they have to take on extra work to fill the roles. However, retaining your workers isn’t as difficult as it might seem; it only takes effort and dedication.
What is employee retention?
Employee retention is a company’s ability to keep its workers under contract to create a productive and more stable workforce. Organisations that want to boost employee retention create programs and policies to reduce employee turnover.
Suppose you manage to increase your employee retention rates; you gain the advantage of achieving your corporate goals and recruiting new talent. A well-crafted and executed retention plan is crucial in differentiating your brand from your competitors. You prove that you can hold on to your talent and operate without dealing with disruptions.
Employee retention strategies
The secret to retaining employees is to show them that you truly care about their health, well-being, and interests. No plan or strategy can overcome the appreciation and empathy you show to your team. Here are some recommendations to help you nail this.
Provide positive feedback
You’re constantly searching for feedback from your clients to understand if they’re happy with the quality of your services, so it’s easy to figure out why we listed providing positive feedback as something that could help you retain employees. Everyone is looking for feedback to improve their performance, so make sure you offer constructive and positive advice to help them overcome the obstacles that make them fail to complete tasks.
In what proportion should you provide positive feedback?
Harvard Study Review reveals that the ideal ratio between positive and negative feedback is 5.6 positive suggestions to 1 corrective suggestion. Positive feedback motivates your employees to strive to achieve their goals and gives them the determination to perform better. Corrective feedback is also vital, especially when an urgent problem requires improvement.
It’s crucial to become more aware of the number of corrective suggestions you’re saying to your workers concerning positive feedback. Try to move the ratio as close as possible to the one the above study promotes.
Encourage a healthy work-life balance
You probably have high expectations for your team. But for them, this can mean less time dedicated to resting, relaxing, and engaging in leisure activities. Studies show that more and more people work very long hours worldwide, which means they devote less and less time to leisure and personal care.
It’s crucial for your team members to be well-rested and have adequate time to relax and unwind and spend quality time with their families. Develop policies for working extra hours and on weekends, establish regular work hours, and create flexible working programs to accommodate your employees’ needs.
Ensuring that your employees are well-rested is crucial because an exhausted worker is more prone to work accidents. Employers are responsible for workplace accidents in the UK when they neglect to provide their workforce with safe work environments and fail to promote healthy work habits.
Identify the employees in your company that are overworked each week and give them extra time off. Regularly take your team out of the office for a walk or outdoors team building. Keep a close eye on the work scheduling and promote a healthy work-life balance through your programs.
Foster respect in the workplace
People these days want to feel respected at their work. Employees will start looking for an open position at a competitor if they feel unimportant or devalued within your company, which often comes from a lack of respect. Studies show that the five most important things people look for in a job are: stability, respect, compensation, work-life balance and health benefits.
As you can see, respect is one of the main things they want.
Do you show respect to your employees?
Do your best to foster a culture of respect by implementing practices and strategies that prove to your workers that you care about them and appreciate their work. Encourage their creativity, recognise their efforts, provide positive and constructive feedback, and encourage collaboration.
Empower them with the necessary resources and tools to complete their work as easily as possible, demonstrating thoughtfulness and kindness.
Earn your team’s trust
Your employees will perform better if they trust you and the management team. When someone believes in the person assigning their tasks, they’re more likely to achieve their goals and put in the effort to improve their skills.
Over 45% of employees state that they lack transparent communication at their workplace, which makes them seek new employment. On the other hand, around 80% of workers say that increased engagement and transparency make them trust their employers.
You might want to develop and implement an employee engagement program to boost your team’s trust. When trying to increase trust within your team, you must take some necessary steps:
– Emphasise transparency and honesty in the workplace
– Motivate your employees
– Build personal connections
– Avoid favouritism
– Shoulder blame
– Give credit
– Demonstrate competence
Connect with your employees
Connecting with your team enables you to boost engagement. A connected workforce has a purpose and feels motivated to contribute to big-picture goals. Specialists believe that the key to unlocking more energy for your company is developing and strengthening your employees’ bonds. People who respect and trust each other and the management team respond with enthusiasm and commitment.
Using the above strategies helps you bring out the best in your workforce and increase retention.
