Most business owners spend a significant amount of time trying to figure out how they can improve their company. Are my clients happy? How can I increase the quantity and quality of my clientele? Do I have the right employees for the job? These are all important considerations but there is another question that may be overlooked by employers and small business owners: are my employees sticking around?
High employee turnover can cost your company a lot of money in recruitment and training costs. Not to mention the loss of talent and any particular knowledge your employees may bring to (or take away from) your company. So what should you do to make sure that you keep your best and brightest employees from jumping ship?
Track Your Retention Rates
The first step is to track your retention rates. If you don’t know what your turnover rate is to begin with it can be hard to improve it. By tracking it you can also determine if there are certain areas or positions where turnover rates are higher than others. Once you realize exactly where any problems areas are you can begin to improve your employee retention rates.
Hire the Right Person for the Job
Hiring the right person for each job is a crucial aspect of employee retention. If you hire someone who is very overqualified you may end up with someone who is bored and ready to bale at the first opportunity. On the flip side if you hire someone who will be in over their head, the pressure may be too much and they’ll end up leaving as well. Try to find someone whose job skills fit the position as accurately as possible and also someone who is up-beat and willing to learn and grow within the company.
Offer Opportunities for Growth and Recognition
No one wants to do the same exact job with the same exact pay for the rest of their life. If an employee realizes that even though they may be gaining skills, their pay or their recognition is not increasing they’ll start to look elsewhere. Offer incentives for improving skills and gaining knowledge in their field. This doesn’t always mean an increase in pay but that should absolutely be a part of it.
Increase Flexibility for Your Employees
There’s nothing worse than working for a company with rigid and immovable workplace rules. While it’s necessary to have some rules of conduct it’s also important to look for ways where certain rules can be relaxed and employees can feel as if they’re being treated like adults. Nothing pushes good employees away faster than feeling suffocated by a job.
Employee retention is a crucial aspect to running a successful business. Whether you have 10 employees or 1000 employees it’s important to make sure that they stick around. This will ensure that your company will continue to thrive and succeed and not be wasting precious resources on constantly hiring and training new recruits.
