In today’s competitive world, staff retention is one of the key challenges faced by small businesses. Finding talented and competent employees is one thing; making them stick around over long periods of time is another matter. Moreover, in the long run, high employee turnover will cost you in time and productivity. In this article we’ll tell you how to retain employees by applying some very effective staff retention strategies.
10 Strategies for Retention of Employees
1) Offer Lucrative Fringe Benefits Packages
Perhaps the most important strategy for staff retention is offering lucrative fringe benefits packages to your employees. These may include life insurance, health insurance, retirement plan, new office furniture, use of company car, extra vacation time, etc.
2) Offer Other Small Perks
Certain other perks like flexible working hours, the ability to work from home or the car, longer lunch breaks, etc., may further aid in keeping your staff happy and motivated. Perks like these may appear small, but they can work wonders when it comes to retention of employees.
3) Implement an Open Door Policy
Implementing an open door policy can go a long way in practically showing your employees that what they have to say is indeed important. Be they workplace complaints and concerns or constructive suggestions for the improvement of the company, your employees should feel free to share them with the management of your company.
4) Make Use of Employee Contests and Competitions
You can use various sorts of employee contests and competitions to motivate your employees. For instance, you can hold an “Employee of the Month Contest” every month. Such contests and competitions are not only a cost-effective strategy for keeping your employees focused and excited about their jobs, but they also play a significant role in employee retention by making your employees feel that their services are being recognized.
5) Provide Growth Opportunities With Internal Promotions
Internal promotions are a great way of giving your employees an opportunity to move ahead in their careers. One of the most common reasons for employees leaving jobs they have had for long periods of time is dissatisfaction with their current jobs regarding growth opportunities. That’s because not having a clear path of advancement frustrates employees as they do not see a clear future for themselves. So you can retain employees by promoting from within whenever possible.
6) Provide Professional Development Opportunities
Providing professional development opportunities to your employees not only enhances their productivity and competency, but also helps in retention of employees by developing feelings of loyalty and profound gratitude toward your company. A good example of such opportunities is financial assistance by the employer in furthering an employee’s education.
7) Offer Occasional Monetary Rewards
Try to offer occasional monetary rewards to your employees. Nothing boosts the morale of your employees more than a nice fat bonus. It’s not necessary that such bonuses be very frequent, but try to be as accommodating as possible, as such rewards are an investment in the future of your business. In addition to bonuses for all employees like Christmas Bonus, try to give special bonuses to top performers, that is, if your business can afford such extra bonuses. You can regulate such special bonuses by creating a bonus structure where employees receive an annual bonus for meeting certain performance goals.
8) Get Your Supervisors and Managers Involved
Try to get the supervisors and managers in your firm or company actively involved in the coaching of your employees. Doing so will not only increase the productivity of your employees, but also help them get trained in order to move to higher positions. All this plays a pivotal role in the staff retention process.
9) Give Employees as Much Autonomy as Possible
Giving your employees sufficient autonomy can be a great source of motivation for them. Once your employees are adequately trained, give them the freedom to perform on their own. Sometimes, some of them will fail, but trial and error is an inevitable part of any learning process. Employees learn as much from failure as from training. The more you leave your employees to perform on their own, the greater will be your staff retention.
10) Hire an HR Professional
If possible, and if your business can afford, hire an HR Professional to manage employee benefits, perks, reviews and other employee related tasks. HR Professionals handle all employee related matters in an absolutely professional way, ensuring that all employees are treated fairly. This prevents feelings of injustice and unfair treatment from developing amongst your employees. On the other hand, HR Professionals can also come up with new and innovative ideas for your company’s employee retention program. In a few words, a good HR professional is a great investment in the staff retention process of your business.
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