Attracting and retaining employees requires hard, consistent work, both internally and externally. It’s also expensive for companies to lose employees. Apart from it being sad when an employee quits, it also costs a lot of money. In fact, it is estimated that it costs tens of thousands of dollars to hire a new employee, and it takes approximately 18 months for new employees to reach their full true potential.
With that said, every time an employee leaves your company, you lose competence that takes time to build up. It also becomes very obvious that employee retention strategies are not only important for keeping talent, but also for saving money and time.
At a time when information is shared more than ever before, employees also become important ambassadors for the business. As a company, you can either leverage this or be negatively affected by it if not used properly.
Today, it is difficult to attract the right skills, and retaining them is the next big challenge.
There are several reasons why it is difficult to attract and retain employees. One is that there is a great demand from companies to find good employees. Another is that we place higher demands on our employers than before. In other words, the employees have become pickier when choosing where to work.
Trends show that we are becoming increasingly concerned that the company’s values are in line with our own, that the employer can offer flexible work hours and that there is room for personal development in the workplace.
The power of employees to attract new skills
The company logo was back in the days the company’s only trademark. The fact of the matter is that real stories, authenticity, brand culture, and personality are becoming increasingly important.
We want to hear real stories that come from real people. In a world where social media is growing larger than ever before, and information is quickly spread, employees can become important potential ambassadors for companies.
People who feel included, engaged, and appreciated often talk a lot about the company. When the information spreads that a certain company and employer cares about their employees and keeps their promises, others will become curious about the company. In fact, employee word of mouth is one of the most powerful employee retention strategies to attract good talent to a company.
More satisfied employees increase retention
Companies that do not retain and take care of their staff risk an unnecessarily high staff turnover. As mentioned, this is something that is both costly and creates anxiety among employees. A common reason why many people change jobs during the first 12 months is that there is a discrepancy between what the company has promised and what the employee actually gets.
As a manager or someone who is responsible, it is therefore important to be open in your communication from the beginning. In the long run, it will be much more profitable, to be honest with what the company actually has to offer compared to promising things that the company then can not live up to.
In a stressful life, it is common for managers and business leaders to forget how important the work with the employees actually is.
Unfortunately, it is easy to forget the people who are actually “most important”. These are the independent individuals who are ambitious, self-motivated, and who always do a good job. A common thought is often that this employee is happy and satisfied. The problem is that these individuals quickly become sought after, regardless of whether the person in question is actively looking for a new job or not.
If the employee then feels forgotten and unseen, he or she will soon switch jobs, something that often comes out of the blue.
Here, there is a great importance of always working to make each employee feel included and appreciated. With an inclusive and transparent culture in the workplace comes even more satisfied employees with greater well-being that stay.
The salary is actually not as important as you may think when it comes to how satisfied a person is with their job. The good news is that there are several things you as a manager can work on, to retain important talent in the company.
How to get employees to thrive and stay
At its core, it’s about finding and focusing on the things that give your employees satisfaction and happiness. This increases the chance of greater well-being at work. This in turn leads to increased employee retention, higher productivity, and employees who want to stay longer in the workplace.
Balance in life
The research is obvious: increased quality of life results in higher productivity at work. Studies also confirm that balance between private life and work is what people rank highest on the list of organizational values. Work-life balance is something that people struggle with – and value greatly today.
Therefore, focus to create an attractive workplace. What balance in life looks like is completely individual and our best advice is: ask your employees what they think is important. Dare to encourage and listen to honest answers. There is a lot to gain from it.
Development
Getting to develop and learn new things at work is a great motivation for many. The time you invest in developing your employees’ talents, identifying their strengths and opportunities to grow, will give a lot back to you and your organization.
Creativity
Those who are allowed to participate and contribute their own ideas at work feel better and feel less stressed. In addition, both motivation and commitment increase. Both you as a leader and your employees can contribute to a climate that encourages creativity.
Free up time for creativity. At Google, employees can spend one working day a week on their own project that they want to develop, known as “20% project“. Other companies have started with bonus systems to reward good ideas and encourage their employees to find the way that suits you.
Take advantage of the ideas. As a matter of fact, your employees may have some really great ideas. Therefore, listen to the ideas that come up, implement those that are possible and evaluate any suggestions you receive. Your employees are certainly more wise and creative than you may think, and it is extremely valuable to take advantage of that.
Full capacity
Your goal as a company is to make each and every employee takes advantage of their full potential and capacity. If you have regular individual reconciliations, you can use this question battery as a basis for conversations next time:
- What do you like about your job?
- Describe a really good day at work. Like one you recently had?
- Do you feel that you are using your full potential here with us?
- What would you like to do more or less of in your service?
Independence
Include employees more! When everyone in the workplace can be involved and influence which tasks are to be performed and when good things happen with both results and well-being at work. When employees feel included and as if they have a wise, it increases satisfaction.
This is a great idea if you want to strengthen the staff’s ability to work independently.
Appreciation and feedback
Give feedback, attention and recognize others for their efforts or achievements. By doing this, you create a positive reinforcement of the behaviors you want to see more of, which in turn guarantees a good atmosphere at work. And remember, even partial victories are worth celebrating!
Relationships
Building strong relationships with your colleagues is an important part of enjoying your job. Plan social activities that are not only focused on jobs. Go bowling with your team, have breakfast together once a month, or organize a competition. Good relationships is very important for employee retention since we humans are social creatures.
