Employee retention can be difficult in today's job market. There is no such thing as a "company man or woman" any longer, and employees tend to switch jobs for one reason or another more frequently than we have seen in the past. Making employee retention a priority for your organization helps maintain continuity in the workforce, which makes the whole organization more productive, happier, and more motivated to succeed within the organization, not outside of it. Check out 3 common mistakes that can drive top talent out, and how you can make employee retention a priority in your organization.
- Reward Bad Management: Employees want a leader, someone to look up to and who they can learn from. Someone who can bring them from where they are now to the next major milestone in their career. When organizational management rewards bad managers employees begin to look somewhere else for a leader. Employee retention is dependent on employee happiness and motivation in their positions. Nothing is more motivating, and can bring more job satisfaction than a great leader to teach and manage their subordinates. Employees will endure as long as they continue to learn and grow under a professional role model.
- Ignore Good Performance: All employees want to be recognized. Failing to recognize an employees job well done is a missed opportunity. When an employee works towards a goal or does an exceptional job on a particularly large or important project attention should be paid. Employees want to work in an environment where their work is appreciated. Retaining employees occasionally means investing in them. Spot rewards are a great way to show appreciation and take notice of employees' good performance. Whether it is an extra afternoon off, or a small denomination gift card to a retailer of the employee's choice such as Burlington Coat Factory, Boston Market, or Crutchfield, rewards can go a long way in employee retention by simply showing you care.
- Be Boring: An always predictable, boring workplace is not going to keep employees engaged for long. Retaining employees means keeping things interesting, keeping feedback lines constantly open, and engaging employees at work by changing things up ever once in a while. Take an internal meeting outside on a nice day, add an extra casual day for a few weeks, find out what your employees are looking for and provide. Retaining employees is easier when employees are engaged with the community at an organization and find their workplace interesting.
