How to retain staff: 6 ways to keep your employees happy

Regardless of your organization or industry, attracting and retaining talent will always remain a priority. As the employment industry continues to rebuild itself after the 2008 financial crisis, employers are looking for ways to retain qualified talent. Finding a candidate that fits a role can be challenging. Ensuring that the talent you acquire stays engaged and committed is becoming another task that companies must dedicate resources towards.

According to a Gallup poll, less than one third of the U.S. workforce are engaged in their current jobs. For many growing companies, this proves to be a daunting statistic. Recruiting talent that is invested in the job, as well as your company, is crucial towards building a core team of internal employees. The more engaged your employees are, the more likely it is that they will represent your brand well, both inside and outside of office hours.

Here are six ways to retain talent and keep your employees happy:  

1. Offer professional development opportunities. Whether you’ve hired a recent graduate, or have an employee who has been with the company for 15+ years, professional development should be viewed as an ongoing task. To keep your employees engaged, offering them the ability to further their industry knowledge will help them feel invested in their current position. This will also keep the business attune towards trends or changes in the industry. Offering professional development opportunities is arguably a win-win for both employer and employee.

2. Be flexible with role requirements and duties. Another offering you can provide to employees is the ability to be flexible with the role requirements. When employers begin to build a role around the qualifications and strengths of an employee, the more likely it is that the employee will be engaged in the position. Capitalizing on an incoming candidates’ strengths is beneficial for both parties. It shows recognition on behalf of the employer that you are invested in what the employee does well. It also is a chance for an employee to put into practice what they excel at, making them feel suitable for the position.

3. Promote from within. Retaining talent can also come from recognizing and rewarding employees through promotion. Before pooling from candidates for a newly opened position, consider the option of promoting from internal talent first. If a current employee is demonstrating the ability to take on more responsibility, this saves the risk of bringing in an unqualified candidate who is not right for the job. This demonstrates to employees that you are attuned to their work performance and reward for impressive work. Showing commitment towards progressing the careers of your current talent will help keep them engaged in their work and increase the chances of retaining talent.

4. Provide employees with regular check-ins with management. Keeping the lines of communication open between management and employees is also important for retaining talent. Ensuring that all employees are receiving adequate communication with their respective managers will prove that you are invested in hearing their feedback. This could be a designated time to discuss the things they like, don’t like, or things that can be improved upon moving forward. Many times employees become disengaged because there are existing barriers that prevent them from communicating these suggestions with managers. Your employees are your most important brand ambassadors. The more you invest in your employees, the greater the chance that they will represent and speak highly of the company to others.

5. Consider offering a more competitive benefits package. Employee work-life balance is becoming an increasingly important part of keeping workers engaged. A way to compete with some of the larger, more established brands is to offer employee benefits that can help your workers improve their life outside of their job. Investing in benefits can relieve outside stress on employees. These incentives can keep your workers engaged by providing them with ways to maintain good health outside of work, so that they are able to perform their best while on the job.

6. Encourage team building activities. Another perk you can offer employees to help with talent retention is to offer outside activities that foster team building and group collaboration. Today, companies are building their teams on a strong cultural foundation, or companies like WorkAngel are offering businesses a tech solution for improving this culture. The teams that are excelling are the ones that are focused on promoting a strong company culture. Offering activities where teams can grow their professional connections and interact outside of work could help establish trust on the job. Focusing on culture, and having a core team that functions well together can make all the difference in the success of your company.

What is your company doing to retain talent? Tweet us at @Claritypr!

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