“If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers and your business will take care of itself.” _ JW Marriott
- Employee retention is a vital component for the survival and growth of a business. An organisation stands nowhere without its employees. It is not only important to attract the greatest talent but also to retain them in your organisation, as one loyal employee is capable of bringing the bounds of potential customers.
- In this cutthroat and fast-moving labour market, it is utmost important for every business to retain top talent in the organisation. Employee turnover has a direct repercussion on the success and performance of any organisation.
- Do know why your you top performers are resigning out of the blues? Some of the reason of the same are as follows:-
- Unsatisfactory payscale and employee benefits:-According to research nearly 25% of employees leave their jobs for a better pay scale. Thus you should offer decent salary packages. Which should include basic salaries, employee benefits, like pension, healthcare, dental etc. You should track the performance of your employees and should reward them with relevant pay raises and bonuses for their progress. Providing these benefits do cost a lot of money and time but think how much more it will cost if you lose a talented employee.
- Overburdened:-Employees will start looking for a better opportunity if they have too much work on their plate and feel overwhelmed at the sheer amount. If there is a burden only on the odd occasion they will take it but it would become too much if it becomes a routine. They have to spend long hours finishing the work, as a result, it would create an imbalance in their work-life.
- Lack of recognition in the organisation:-Every employee wants to be treated as apart of the organisation and not as a mere worker. A simple gesture thanking you, well done, perks etc can make them feel that you care for them. But if any organisation does not give credits to their employees for the achievement, no employee would like to plan their future with that organisation.
- ” People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards.”
- Dissatisfactory culture of the company:- Work culture will have a direct relationship with employee happiness. It is the backbone of the business. If you have a good company culture, that is liked by your employees they would be happy and even more productive. Whereas A poor company culture will result in high employee turnover.
- The top performers of the organization value merit-based rewards and handsome compensation. If your company does not provide these benefits to them you will lose them. As they know that they have the potential and skills to fulfil their needs in other organizations.
- Monotony is one of the biggest enemies. If you are thinking that your top performers are engaged because they are productive or hardworking then you are surely barking up the wrong tree. But as a matter of fact, they may be less engaged than you think.
- If you will not make any efforts to increase employee engagement then this would be one of your biggest mistakes. Employees may feel bored after doing repetitive tasks or what can be worse than being surrounded by a stagnant work environment. In such a situation they find themselves impassed and start looking for better opportunities.
- Limited career development:- If you are capable of getting more but getting very little even after working at your peak, will it not be frustrating for you. If the top employees put all their sweat and blood into outsized contributions to the company but don’t geta promotion and have to work in the same role for too long they start shifting to other companies. Star employees will quit the job if they don’t see a bright and successful career in the organisation.
- Did you know that your top performer can be up to 400 per cent more productive than an average employee? Isn’t it amazing?- But a lot of companies stay in the catbird seat by using this productivity in the short-term but have to suffer in the long run. If the reward for star employees is to just heap more and more work on their plate, then this is a recipe definitely for vexation and burnout.
- Don’tyou like to be valued and appreciated for the work you do? We all do. It is abasic human need. But instead of cherishing them, we take them for granted and result, they feel demotivated. This is one of the biggest reasons behind good employees quitting their job.
- All employees like to work under a manager who motivates them, is organised, skilled and above all should be cooperative. But if you came by and noticed that your employees are jumping the ship while working under a specific manager then this could be due to the manager’s ability.
- As per a survey, about 30% of respondents had left their job because of the lack of workplace flexibility. If You don’t offer workplace flexibility, your employees may start looking for a job in your competitor’s company. And in this scenario of COVID-19 flexible working is no longer a perk, but a key factor in people’s job search.
- When roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined it can lead to a lack of efficiency, conflicts, and as a cherry on top, you can miss the targets. At an individual level, when employees start taking on tasks that are outside of their role they start feeling that they are not applying their strengths. The morale of the employees can have a real hit. If this goes on for a long period, they would even feel that they are being misused leading to employee high turnover rates.
- ” Today’s marketplace is incredibly competent in every industry around the globe. The difference between success and failure is talent, period.”_ Indra Nooyi, CEO Pepsico
Importance of employee retention:-
- Employee turnover is worth a king’s ransom. Recruiting and onboarding new blood is not only time consuming but also costly. Moreover, inexperienced employees can disturb the smooth flow of work thereby causing a drain of revenue. If you want to save your time and money do adopt a solid retention strategy.
- A sound retention strategy can surely boost the morale of the employees. The workplace would become more positive when employees are highly motivated. Positivity rubs off on the employees, making them feel that their company is the best place to work in.
- There would be high productivity and engagement among the employees. When you focus on engagement and retention, you will notice that your employees are performing better.
- Employee retention makes employees happy which leads to better customer service.
- Employees that have been serving the company for a long time will be able to solve perplexing problems. So do your best to retain your top employees.
- It can save the time that has to be spent on interviewing and onboarding new talents. You can use this time by spending more on strategic initiatives that will enhance the employee experience as a result will avert turnover.
- The ROI of the company sharply dips due to the high turnover. As high amounts have to be spent on hiring and training. Sales and productivity are also reduced.
- It takes time for new hires to adapt to the company.
- More value is added by an employee that stays for a long time.
“Retention is the single most important thing for growth.”_ Alex Schulz
You cannot stop your employees from leaving you unless you have a plan to make them stay. Here are some of the ways of employee retention
Studies have shown that the majority of employees want workplace flexibility. And in this situation of surging Coronavirus and its variants, if your company doesn’t allow a flexible work policy, then do start one before it’s too late. It will help you not only to retain the top talent but also it will improve the image of the company consequently will help to find incredible talent.
If you don’t do so you will lose your best performers to your competitors that do offer this facility.
If you have observed that your employees are resigning frequently then you must not waste even a single second to find out the root cause of their abdication. Do listen to them. And if these resignations are from a particular. Try to fix it by speaking with your employees to find out what is the current climate at your company.
You may even find out that oneof your managers is not flexible or unfriendly. Then take appropriate steps sothat you can keep your staff happy and motivated.
Show your employees that you trust them by giving them responsibilities that will help them to grow. Embolden them to gain new skills and techniques. Provide continuous training and development opportunities. Try to fill vacancies from within the organisation when possible, do generous promotions and most importantly at appropriate times.
Everyone wants to be respected and appreciated. Appreciation is the greatest dose of motivation. It helps an employee to uplift his productivity and achieve the next mile. If the managers make it a priority to show outward respect for their employees daily, it will result in a strong and enduring workplace culture. A positive atmosphere will be created.
You can fix a part of your employees’ wages according to the performance of the company. By this, the personal interest of the employees would align with the goals of the company. It would further serve as an incentive to stay with the company as it will grow.
Be big-hearted with time off. Do provide enough time for sick days, family vacations etc. You should expect high performance from your employees but it is unreasonable to expect a continual level of pressure athundred percent. Give them some break to catch their breath.
Lack of communication is one of the root causes of employee frustrations. Create proper channels which promote communication, take feedback from them. Top to down communication would surely become messy. Direct or one-on-one conversation is the best possible solution to avoid such problems. The company should ensure that managers should receive proper training on communication techniques.
When your employees have rested well and also have adequate time to care for themselves and their families then they will perform much better at work. By establishing regular work hours, policies for working on weekends, or even working at your comfort from their home can offer your employees the flexibility they want they will feel valued.
Take time to connect with your employees as employee engagement has a striking impact on the success of your company. When your employees feel connected, it will give them purpose. They will feel that they are a part of the organisation and will never think of leaving you.
Be vigilant and adopt retention strategies to cut down turnover rates.
“Start the retention process when the person is still open to staying and not after they’ve already told you they’re leaving.”_ Jeff Weiner