In recent years, we’ve gone through some uncertain economic conditions, and the competition for jobs has become fierce. Yet, for various reasons, people may find that they no longer wish to work for a particular employer, and at that point, it’s usually too late to salvage the relationship. High speed of comings and goings is something you’d want from commercial garage doors, not in your workforce. Here are some practices to boost employee retention in your team.
Get the right fit
Job seekers may get tense when preparing for an application or interview, but the hiring manager’s task is even more difficult. With limited resources of time and information, they need to assess whether a candidate has all the skills necessary to cover the tasks related to a position. According to 2017 data, the average period to fill in a vacancy was 36 days; this sort of delay is clearly undesirable from an employer’s perspective, yet rushing the hiring process can lead to the same problems all over again.
The hiring stage represents the first and best chance to get the right fit. Be upfront with your needs and expectations; across companies, the same role can emphasize different tasks. Candidates shouldn’t only have the requisite skills, but they also need to be screened for culture fit. Personality and emotional intelligence tests can help indicate whether a person will work well with your existing team members.
Be more flexible
How often have you heard an employee cite being overworked as a reason for leaving their job? In truth, this issue can’t always be framed as a one-dimensional problem of the business placing too much work on one person’s shoulders. Many people might prove willing to take on extra work—but they require greater flexibility to do so.
Be open to alternative arrangements, such as telecommuting or working from home on a full-time basis, which can give employees the convenience of being productive in their comfort zone, avoiding the stress and related expenses of daily traffic. You can also concede some control over time; people may want to rearrange their work hours as they wish to better accommodate things like their children’s schedules (or their own, if pursuing higher education).
By demonstrating your willingness to be flexible, you can find that employees are, in turn, willing to step up and tackle greater responsibilities in return for control over how they work.
Invest in people
A lot of employees who quit may be dissatisfied with a perceived lack of support for their development. This can mean that there aren’t enough meaningful tasks being given to them, or that there’s no clear career path forward within the organization. But development isn’t only about the opportunities for advancement; people also need to feel empowered to do more, speak up, and be actively engaged at work. These things may not directly lead to a promotion, but they grow a person’s confidence, skillset, and sense of ownership over their work and career.
Don’t just invest in an individual’s development—invest in people. Collectively, you can build a culture that supports each person’s desire to make suggestions, innovate and fail, learn from mistakes, and grow—and in return, feel more invested in their work and the organization itself.
Anybody can feel like they have to shake up their lives and try something different. But if you take steps to craft a great workplace, you can reduce employee turnover by making it tougher for people to say goodbye to an environment where they truly fit.
