Employee Retention How Do We Find and Keep the Good Ones?
It has been discussed many times: today’s generation consists of what some might call ‘nomadic’ employees. The average employee today will change careers or jobs between five to seven times over the course of their working life. Considering the investment that is put into finding, hiring, and training each new employee, it might be a sound idea for organizations to establish a well-structured plan for retaining their human resources! Here are a few tips on how to maximize your financial investments, help create an engaged community, and preserve corporate knowledge via employee retention.
First off, it is important to understand why exactly employees have been increasingly eager to change jobs throughout their working life. Our generation’s parents and grandparents were much more loyal to their employers; workers would find a job tailored to their abilities and would often stick to it for most of their adult life, sometimes shifting within the company as time went on. Today, professionals continuously question their satisfaction, their worth, and their interests. For one, there is a far wider range of career options that are available due to the venue of technology and other such advancements. We live in a culture that promotes mindfulness and conscientiousness: live in the moment, be happy, make the most of life, follow your dreams and engage your passions… It should not come as a surprise to employers that employees need to feel this sense of fulfillment and belonging within their workplace in order to be truly happy with and invested in the organization for which they work.
So, why do employees decide that it is time to move on? Some become frustrated or feel that their job does not quite live up to their original expectations. Others simply fear the routine of doing the same thing day after day, after day… Another group might choose to pursue more personal objectives; maybe they have reevaluated where their life is going and feel the need for change. Perhaps their financial situation is more what motivates them; the need for ‘more’. In other instances, organizational culture might be the culprit!
As you can see, there are a number of factors that are at play with respect to this topic. Here are a few ideas on how you can help employees flourish within your organization.
Choose wisely. EPSI understands how important it is to find the right fit for any given job or organization; after all, this really is our thing! Before working on retaining an employee, it is more so important to find the right one for our needs. Various tests can offer insight into a candidate’s competencies and abilities whereas interviews and reference checks give us a true look into their potential and experience. Take the time to select the right candidate in the first place, and you will already be one step ahead of the game.
Listen. As humans, we all have that lingering socioemotional ‘need’. We need to feel that we have a voice, that we play an important role in the bigger picture. Employees are in touch with the front-line business on a daily basis and thus do have some very insightful information to be shared. Listen also to your employees’ aspirations, interests; these are areas upon which an employer can draw to help boost training plans and help guide growth from within the organization.
Be competitive. If you are not treating a good employee right, someone else is likely to! Benefits, pay, flextime, telecommuting are all factors that weigh highly upon career decisions and should be thoughtfully considered by employers. Again, listen to what it is that your employees want; their wants and needs should help guide organizational decisions.
Make them feel at home. Organizational culture and engagement are not just hot topics or power words; today’s employee needs to feel a link with their employer in order to fully invest themselves in any given business. Take the time to get to know your employees. Make them feel like part of the whole organization; not just a simple piece of the puzzle. Corporate activities are a great way of fostering meaningful relationships between colleagues outside of the working environment: paintball, go karting, ziplining… Think outside the box and have a little fun together!
Be thankful. Recognize the contributions of your employee to the business, big and small. Appreciate the small things such as timeliness, professionalism, communication, and such. Make note of bigger accomplish in a more formal setting: over the course of a meeting, a luncheon; even emails are a very easy and costeffective way of recognizing different successes, although sometimes less personal (which frankly might suit some employees better!). Needless to say, don’t take your employees for granted; a small compliment goes a long way.
It’s time to give some thought to how your organization has been treating its employees; will yours be the one everyone wants to work for or will it be a simple stepping stone towards the rest of someone’s career?
By Ashley Bourque
