Retaining your workforce in the new year
As we reported on last month, a recent study by HC Online found that 56% of Australian workers plan to leave their job in 2013, raising to light what seems to be the New Year’s resolution for a vast majority of employees – finding a new job. Now that it appears that the extreme highs and lows of the economy are behind us, it is causing employees to evaluate if now is the time to see if the grass may be greener with another employer. Below are some of Employment Office’s tips to help you in retaining your workforce in the new year.
Hold regular meetings to engage with your employees: Meetings allow you to get to know your staff’s motivations and aspirations and get a sense of how they feel in their current position. Making sure people are doing jobs they’re interested in is pivotal. Employees who are engaged feel a close attachment to the values, ethics and actions embodied by the organisation and quarterly evaluations help tremendously. Call a one-on-one meeting with each team member. Ask them what you can improve to make their work-life better.
Offer flexibility: One key thing, that doesn’t cost anything, is offering flexible work hours to your best employees. Maybe that means working later hours, earlier hours – or working from home sometimes. Most employees seek to balance work and life, and employees stick on with companies that allow flexibility to attain such balance.
Recognition: A little compliment goes a long way. Be sure employees know they are appreciated and recognised for their achievements. Knowing that what they do every day matters and has meaning and significance is critical to employee engagement and retention. So, tell your employees that they and their efforts matter and why. When you express to them your genuine impression they in turn respect you, appreciate you and want to impress you even more.
Incentives as motivation: Creating incentives such as the ‘Team Member of the Month’ award will help boost morale and increase employee engagement. Incentives can drive your team to greatness. This can also include creating a bonus structure where employees can earn a monthly or annual bonus if they meet predetermined performance goals.
Career growth and development: None of us want to stagnate in our careers. Give employees a vision for how their career can develop in your organisation so they’re not tempted to jump ship to accomplish that goal. Foster employee development through things such as training to learn a new job skill or tuition reimbursement to help further your employee’s education. Without the opportunity to try new opportunities and experience growth, a career-oriented, valued employee will look elsewhere.
Open communication between employees and management: Hold regular meetings in which employees can offer ideas and ask questions. Have an open-door policy that encourages employees to speak frankly with their managers without fear of repercussion. Organisations with an open culture that allow employees to speak their mind without fear of reprisals, and organisations that value fairness and equity see fewer employees quitting.
Ensure cultural fit: Very often employees feel reluctant to leave a company that they align or associate with in values. The best approach to ensure such a fit is at the recruitment stage, to ensure that the employee’s personal values fit with the organisational values and culture.
Social workforce: Another good way of managing employee retention is social bonding among the workforce. A friendly and thriving workforce, with plenty of opportunities for fun non-work interactions such as regular parties and break hour competitions can aid in discouraging employees to leave. The workplace is increasingly taking over the societal needs of employees, and companies that recognize this fact and provide adequate avenues to fulfill such needs can see fewer employees leaving.
It is now more important than ever for companies to engage with employees to find out what will keep them satisfied and strategise new ways to attract and retain their workforce, or face an impending growth in their turnover rate.
