Why and How Should You Retain Your Employees - Tips and Tricks

Employee retention is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Why? Well, because the longer a person stays in your employ, the more loyal they are and the more you can come to depend and rely on them. Second, over time, they grow as professionals, which means that, once they become proficient enough, they become an invaluable asset.

This means that, by having them leave you, your company will be at a substantial loss. Moreover, they transfer all the training, knowledge and company secrets that they’ve acquired in your employ and just outright deliver them to your competitors. Sure, employee retention is a priority of the highest order and here are several ways you can achieve this.

1.  Invest in your HR

The first thing that you need to consider is investing in your HR department. Why? Well, because they’re the ones who keep track of your employees. We’re not just talking about their performance but also their sentiment towards your company, their concerns, mobbing accusations and all the different factors that affect their desire to stay or leave. In a case where you’re not certain about your ability to create an in-house HR team capable of dealing with these crucial issues, what you need to do is invest in your HR.

2.  Let go some of the loose ends

The truth is that there are some people who are a nightmare to be around in the workplace. You see, there are some who are incredibly competitive, even to the level of undermining other employees or backstabbing them in order to look better themselves. Then, there are the slackers and emotional vampires. The first group displays a lack of interest in work, which demoralizes others by making them feel like they’re pushing themselves too hard for no reason whatsoever. Some of these people need to be let go.

3.  Show appreciation through gifts

The next thing you need to keep in mind is the importance of showing your employees just how much they mean to you via gifts. Giving them a gift and giving them a bonus are not one and the same thing. When it comes to bonuses, they feel like they’ve earned it. Sure, not giving them a bonus might give them one more reason to leave but receiving one won’t make them stay. Also, if you can get them something personal, something that they really care about, you can show them that you care about them as a human being, not just as an employee. For instance, if you know that an employee is planning to quit smoking, you can give them a gift of vapour starter kits.

4.  Ask about their long-term goals

Before we even start, you need to keep in mind that no one is going to stay with you forever (unless you’re running a family business). Both millennials and members of Gen Z are quite active job hoppers, which means that they might leave sooner or later. So, what’s the point of your efforts to keep them? Your two main objectives are to A) keep them in your employ for longer than they would normally stay and B) make them invest extra effort. If you ask them what their long-term goals are and give them a reason to be honest about it (even if it means admitting that they want to go someplace else), you can efficiently set a mutually-beneficial collaboration.

5.  A culture of ownership

One of the things that may drive away your employees the faster is if they start feeling that their own interests and those of the company don’t actually align. What this means is that you need to make an active effort in order to help them to feel that when the company is doing better, so are they. For instance, you can give each of your employees a tiny piece of equity within your company, thus giving them one more reason to put in the extra effort. Sharing the same values of your employees can achieve a similar effect.

6.  Help them make a difference

One of the biggest fears that millennials have in the workplace is the fear that they’re not making a difference. This is quite problematic, due to the fact that they often have incredibly unrealistic expectations. They want their presence to be felt from day one and if they fail to achieve this, they might start feeling small and insecure. Nonetheless, there’s nothing that you can really do here. Giving them more responsibility while they’re still inexperienced and undertrained is incredibly irresponsible and may cause a world of problems within your enterprise. So, try telling them exactly what they need to do in order to get on this track.

7.  Put them first

No, the customer is not always right. By assuming this stance, you’re just keeping a person that’s probably not worth keeping and losing trust, respect and loyalty of your staff members. In order to avoid this, don’t be afraid to stand up for your employees and protect them from belittling of all sorts. This way, they’ll see you as their safety net, rather than observing you like a whip above their head.

In conclusion

Keep in mind that, no matter what, some of your employees will still abandon you. This, nonetheless, doesn’t mean that it’s not worth investing the extra effort and that it’s not worth trying. The benefits are numerous and you should never underestimate them.