Whether you are a small business owner or a large corporation, top-performing employees are an asset to your business. Their absence can negatively impact your company’s growth.
As an entrepreneur, you have to work hard to retain employees to avoid unplanned business downtime. But this feat will be increasingly hard for your best performers because they might have many lucrative opportunities for job-hopping.
Before we dive into how to retain employees, let us see what are the reasons why employees tend to leave their jobs.
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Mismatch in job responsibility and expectations
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Fewer opportunities for growth
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Lack of appreciation
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Professional and personal life imbalance
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Poor compensation
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Work environment stress
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Lack of stability
Hiring talented individuals is the first step to business growth and success. However, it is not just important to find the right people but also to ensure they stick around for the long run. Employee retention will let you create a strong workforce and pave the way for your success.
Here's looking at the steps you can take to retain your existing employees.
1. Successful employee Onboarding
Welcoming a new employee to your organization is an exciting time for you and the new hire. This onboarding process sets the tone for the rest of your employee's tenure.
First impressions really do matter in this scenario. If the new employee feels not welcomed or finds it hard to integrate into your work culture, there is a high chance that they will jump ship the moment they get a chance.
Hence, it is imperative for you as an employer to make sure the onboarding process is as seamless as possible. You can do this by giving them a new joinee hamper for new employees.
The hamper could contain things like office accessories, desk decor, and branded swag that help employees instantly warm up to a new work environment.
2. Provide opportunities for growth
No one would find the motivation to work in a stagnant place. Employees are looking for growth opportunities. So it is important for you to structure your business in a way that will allow employees to grow professionally.
If there is no clear path for career development, the employees will get understandably frustrated. Hence, it is important for you as an employer to propel the professional growth of your employees.
Provide adequate training when necessary and encourage them to pursue bigger and better career opportunities within the company.
Also Read:- When to Consider Dedicated Teams Model for Your Business
3. Effective communication
Proper and efficient communication with your employees is a sure-shot way for you to retain your best employees. Create open channels of communication between management and employees.
Listen closely to their ideas, feedback, and grievances. Not just listening, you should actively engage with your employees to make necessary changes.
This open communication without fear of intimidation will allow them to avoid communication gaps and hence help in employee retention.
4. Employee rewards
Rewarding your top-performing employees is an important aspect of retaining your employees. You can reward top performers of the month, employees who volunteer to overtime, perfect attendance, and more.
Employees feel appreciated when they are rewarded for their efforts. It will also foster healthy competition among colleagues and increase healthy competition.
5. Offer strategic compensation
For employees, an attractive compensation is not just monetary gains. The right mix of monetary compensation and other benefits is what will engage the employees.
Especially if an employee is leaving a more secure company to join a more volatile startup of sorts, they should be compensated adequately for the risk they are taking. After all, startups hardly offer the stability and security of a job as multinationals do
You should consider investing in health insurance, overtime compensation, food and recreation reimbursements, and such to help with employee retention.
Make sure you provide a designation fitting your employee's qualifications and skills - perhaps a more senior-level, lucrative role if they bring considerable experience from their previous job.
Also Read:- How Do You Measure Remote Employees’ Performance?
6. Work culture
The work culture refers to how an employee feels about a company or the vibe they get while working there.
The work culture should be inviting and warm in order to engage employees and retain them in the long run.
You should make sure to foster a work culture in your company that encourages teamwork but at the same time provides space for individual growth. As a team and as individuals, a company should have an inviting presence for employees to want to stay for long.
7. Corporate gifting
Corporate gifting is a practice implemented by businesses for various reasons. Employee retention is an important aspect of corporate gifting.
Presenting employees gifts on different occasions is a way of telling your employees they are appreciated and cared for at your organization. These are values employees regard as worthy of sticking to a job.
A company can opt for corporate gifting on occasions like employee anniversary, new year, Christmas, retirement, and such. Shower them with gifts on appropriate occasions, and watch yourself excel at retaining employees and earning their loyalty.
You can opt for various gift options or hampers depending on the occasion and budget. These include gourmet snacks, handmade goods, branded swag, wellness gifts, and so on.
8. Ensure a good work-life balance
Now more than ever, people are giving a lot of importance to a good work-life balance. This includes from having a comfortable work from home furniture setup to healthy diet. Gone are the days when people are giving up their personal lives to be workaholics. Hence it is imperative for companies to accommodate this changing work culture to retain employees.
Also Read:- How to Enhance Your Business Productivity by Outsourcing Live Chat Support Service
Final words
Employers should give way for proper work-life balance for employees. Proper leaves, vacation time, and other recreational activities should be given importance. From hosting seminars and workshops to endorsing wellness days, bring-your-child-to-work days, and so on, there are a lot of companies that can do to promote a healthy work-life balance.
We hope the above-mentioned tips and tricks have helped you as an entrepreneur to retain employees. You should create a safe space that allows your employees to grow and thrive in their fields. Do that, and you will find yourself with a group of loyal employees in your tow.
