In the age of “job hopping,” it’s important to have some strong retention strategies. When businesses think about the costs of high turnover, they mostly think about the cost of recruiting, training and getting employees up to speed, but those aren’t the only areas that are affected. The success of your company relies on positive, motivated staff, and high turnover can bring your team down by negatively affecting morale.
For these reasons, your company needs a retention strategy. Here are some unique and cost-effective ways you can increase your retention and keep your employees excited to come to work:
Get creative in how your employees advance
Many employees are eager to move up quickly, but if job ranks in your company are very linear, literally like “climbing the ladder” it creates some barriers to your promotion process. Many employees will be going after the same position, and there may not be very many openings. If promotions only happen when one person leaves or moves up, your ambitious employees will become restless.
You can counter this by creating a web-like, or horizontal career growth in your company. This approach takes the focus off just learning how to master other people, and puts it on developing, or mastering ourselves. When you think of how well-rounded employees are expected to be in today’s jobs, this is a great approach that will teach them the skills they’ll need once there is a place to move up.
Offer unique benefits
Employees know when they’ve found something good, so if you offer unique benefits that will be hard finding elsewhere, they’ll never want to let them go. Aside from the standard benefits that most employees desire, like paid time off or insurance, you can think outside the box for additional perks:
- Flex time
- Bring your dogs to work days
- Public transit passes or parking discounts
- The ability to work from home part time
- Paid birthdays off
But there are other benefits too, like keeping a stocked coffee station in the breakroom, with a fancy coffee/espresso/cappuccino maker. Free quality coffee every day = a big perk.
Create an inspiring workspace
Your office design is a big asset in the arena of attracting and maintaining great talent. Does your workspace reflect your company culture and values? Is it bright, open, with plenty of natural light? When a job candidate walks into your workspace for the first time, they’ll be sizing the place up. You want the people you hire to look at the space as a place they can see themselves happy far into the future, not just as a placeholder until a better opportunity comes up.
While there’s a lot that goes into creating exceptional workspace design, here are some basics that employees will definitely appreciate:
- Comfortable working conditions – furniture and temperature
- A quality breakroom with plenty of seats and tables, storage, and kitchen essentials
- Natural lighting and views to the outdoors. Introduce living plants if there’s a shortage of windows
- The best technology and equiptment you can afford
Increase Morale
Creating a positive work environment is an essential retention strategy that will strengthen an employee’s commitment to your organization. Employees that enjoy what they do and the atmosphere they work in are less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere. Some ways you can build morale and target employee engagement:
- Focus on the relationships between managers and workers
- Employee recognition
- Team building
- Community involvement
Good employees are a company’s greatest asset, so make sure you’re offering a great work atmosphere and solid incentives for your employees to stay. With these retention strategies, you can develop a strong, close-knit team that stays engaged and excited to come to work.
