Have you ever lost an employee without fully understanding the reason? Like that one instance when everything seems to be all right and all of them seems to be working their heart out but last thing you know, their resignation is already at hand. You may not notice but once they leave, other employees also start to think. Soon enough the number of those who stepped down will become significant leaving you wondering what went wrong.
But the only point of this is that Employee retention as well as their job satisfaction should be one of company’s top priorities. Your management should also be focusing on creating effective retention strategies to decrease turnover. This is useful to improve the employer-employee relationship in your organization. Here are some key strategies for you to learn how you can improve your organization’s employee retention and boost employee satisfaction:
Establish Good Communication starting from their On-boarding and Orientation
Effective and constant communication is an essential element for employee retention. This allows your employees to be more confident to share with you their ideas, questions and concerns, and likewise, they will also be open and expectant that you will be honest with them about the things they need to do to improve their performance. Make sure you connect with each of your worker from time to time and don’t allow issues to wait and build up for the annual review. This habit of constant communication and interaction should be practiced from the first day of work to the first week and beyond. The job orientation is crucial in helping your employees get on on-board. However, this can last for weeks or months, depending on your organization. So, aim to make new staff members learn not only about the job but also the company culture and how they can contribute and thrive, with on-going discussions, goals and opportunities to address questions and issues while still on the process.
Give Room for Training and development through Mentorship programs
First, you have to ask each of your employees about their short- and long-term goals to determine how you can help achieve them. You can also make them attend conferences or industry events each year, or provide tuition reimbursement or continuing education training if you are willing to pay the price. Another strategy that you can use is to pair a new employee with someone who will serve as his/her mentor. Ideally, new team members can learn a lot from a veteran due to his/her rich knowledge and skills while the new hire offers a fresh viewpoint to experienced staff. This way, both professionals can have a shot for their own advancement. If you are a smart manager, you would know that it would be beneficial to invest on your workers’ professional development because your business would also improve as they grow.
Manage Employee Compensation, Recognition and Rewards systems
Offering attractive compensation packages is essential not only to attract applicants but also to retain current employees. This should include salaries, bonuses, paid time off, health benefits, retirement plans and all the other perks that can distinguish one workplace from another. Every employee should also be informed fully about all the benefits they receive from your organization. Also make it a habit to thank them when they go the extra mile, whether through a sincere email, a gift card or an extra day off. Know that showing your employees your appreciation and sharing the story of their hard work to the whole department or organization greatly boosts everyone’s morale.
Consider their Work-life balance
One serious issue with employee retention is when employees become burnout. Every business owner must understand that a healthy work-life balance is important. Retention can be achieved by encouraging your staff to take vacation leave, or try to offer late arrivals or an extra day off to compensate and increase job satisfaction if late night overtime is needed to wrap up a project.
Check on your employee retention strategies at least once a year to keep up on current market salary rates and benefits, and best practices in developing workplace culture and manager-employee relations. This will be the key for you to boost your employees’ morale which would help for the success of your business.
