Employee retention is very important for the long term health and success of any company. Managers agree that retaining the best employees will definitely improve the product sales, ensure customer satisfaction and benefit the company. But sometimes it is unfortunate that employees leave the company and the company suffers a loss for letting go of the company’s asset.
Employee retention matters a lot. Insecure workers, insufficient pay and other organizational issues fail at retaining a key employee of your company. The following are 5 ways in which you can improve your employee retention.
- Offer Training
Though usually training is offered to the temporary or newly hired employees, you must offer skills enhancement to all your workers. When you offer training to your temporary workers you will be able to retain them and you have to pay him high and when you pay high the employee will definitely work for you instead of finding employment in your rival company. For your permanent employees you have to keep them abreast of the changes. Offer them training in new technology, change in employment laws, new sale strategies etc, all these will keep them in their position. You can offer training in the form of DVDs, books articles, etc give them access to your local library for useful resources. You can offer computerized training in your company or elsewhere. You can also send them to classes and seminar. Offer your employees in the form of an elected benefit instead of a vacation time.
- Pay good salary with attractive benefits
One of the biggest reasons an employee works for a company is the salary. So if you want to retain your key employees offer them attractive salary and pay rates. What you pay your employee depends on the factors such as his experience and skills , work seniority and the supply and demand. Your pay should depend on the skill of the worker, for example IT or professional sectors workers are receiving top dollar for their services. Pay also has to depend on the location of the office, the higher the cost of living, the higher the employee’s salary has to be. Workers in cities have to receive more than those working in small towns. Last but not the least a good employee who has been working for you since long time should receive better pay than someone you have recently hired. Apart from the monthly salary you must also provide attractive benefits for retaining workers. Benefits can be in the form of life insurance, health insurance, paid vacations or tuition reimbursement.
- Comfortable work environment
An employee can work to their fullest capacity only when the place they are working is comfortable. As an employee has to work every day for 8 hours or more than that, the employee has to be comfortable. Employees like to feel safe and comfortable at work, so the work place has to be properly ventilated, well lit and other comforts must be provided. Designing a comfortable office is more than just the aesthetics, careful attention must be provided to the design to boost happiness to employees and increase their productivity and to definitely retain them. Employ a culture which matches your industry and engage your employees constantly motivating them. This can be done by making the culture authentic and personal and then finding a way of communicating your vision.
- Employee accomplishments recognition
You must recognize the accomplishment of your employees, this is one of the most important ways to retain your key employee. When you recognize their accomplishments they stay motivated to work better. You can recognize their hard work by a simple thank you or a hand written note congratulating them for job well done. You can even introduce them to new clients, award a prize or sponsor them at a conference or event. Whatever way you decide to reward your employees, praising them on completing the goals is one of the most effective ways of keeping them working for you for a long time.
- Listen to your employee
A good employee and employer relationship forms when communications goes both the ways. Listen to your employee and you will learn a lot when you listen to them. May be your employee has a good business plan and if you implement them, then they feel they are a part of the total business process. Spend a little time to know what is going on with your employee. May be you can send get well soon flowers to their sick family member or congratulations card for their latest addition to the family. When you provide some time caring for the employee’s personal or professional lives it keeps them happy and stay put.