Employee Retention Rate: How to Keep Your Employees Happy
There are a lot of metrics you use to assess the health of a business. One impactful yet often overlooked metric is the employee retention rate, which tells you how many employees are still at the business over a set period. A bad employee retention rate can indicate a host of problems, as well as just have significant business implications. After all, having to find, hire, and train employees to replace departing staff is expensive, and can be extremely damaging to productivity.
You can’t always guarantee that your employees will stay with you, but you can make it more likely. In this post, we’ll run through some handy ways to make your employees happy and decrease the chances that they’ll find employment elsewhere.
One-to-One Check-Ins
By the time an employee has told you they’re leaving, it’s usually too late to salvage the situation. Their mind has been made up. You can help to prevent this from happening by scheduling regular one-to-one check-ins with your team of staff. This will give them the opportunity to present any grievances they may have with the current working set-up, which in turn will give you a chance to make some changes.
Work Flexibility
It’s 2024; people want to have the option to work from where they want, at least some of the time. In fact, having the right to work from home is one of the leading reasons why employees, especially younger employees, look for new work. While it’s not possible for all businesses, if it can happen at your brand, then give it a try. It usually requires a little trial and error before landing on the right balance. Plus, studies have repeatedly indicated that remote working boosts employee loyalty and productivity, both of which can be excellent news for your business.
Freedom to Work
Employees don’t just care about where they work; they also care about how they work. A business could put all the trimmings in place that’ll help to keep employees happy, but if they’re continually micromanaging the worker, then they’re unlikely to be all that pleased. No one wants to feel like someone is looking over their shoulder while working. If you’ve hired the right employees, then you’ll have professional, talented individuals who are more than capable of delivering great work. So, let them get on with it!
Invest in Safety
Employees want to see signs that their employer cares about them. And they’re especially attuned to signs that the employer doesn’t care about them. If they feel that the business is cutting corners when it comes to health and safety, then it’ll be inevitable that they look for work elsewhere. People care about employment, but they care about their well-being even more. How you invest in safety will depend on the type of business and workspace you operate. It might involve buying breathing apparatus, gas monitors, protective suits, or just ensuring that you have well-thought-out, comprehensive safety procedures in place. Also remember that how you respond to issues also indicates to your employees how much you care, so make sure you take any workplace safety incident seriously.
Wellness and Other Perks
The job market favours workers at the moment. As such, employers are looking at ways to attract top talent, including offering a range of benefits and perks that can make working at the business more appealing. If you don’t currently have perks in place, then you’ll run the risk of your employees having their heads turned by a business that does offer perks. You don’t need to go overboard when it comes to offering your team of employees extras; a little can go a long way! Take a look at this page if you’re not sure what type of perks to offer your employees.
Pay Increases
Offering employees perks and benefits is good, but what they really care about is how much money they’re taking home. Ideally, you’ll have put in place a good employee salary strategy that ensures you can attract top talent. However, keep in mind that just because a salary is considered good today, that doesn’t mean that it’ll be considered just as good tomorrow. Look at offering pay increases in line with market rates. Employees know that they can usually get a raise if they switch to working for a new company, so if you want to keep your team in place, then it’ll be best to take a proactive approach.
Professional Development
Employees, especially ambitious ones, do not want to be stuck doing the same thing over and over again. They want to feel like they’re getting somewhere. It’s not always possible for businesses to offer this development, and they usually suffer because of it. If you’re in a position to do so, look at giving your employees a professional development plan, which you should put together in conjunction with their input. It’ll help to give them a sense that they’re moving in the right direction, rather than just going around in circles.
A Team Atmosphere
Studies have repeatedly shown that employees are happier — and more productive — when they feel that they have friends in the office. And while that might happen all on its own, it’s best not to bank on it happening organically. Look at organising events and get-togethers where employees can get to know one another in a more relaxed environment. Employees who have a sense that the business is a family are much less likely to leave than ones who see it as a collection of individuals.
Understanding Nature
Finally, remember that businesses can undo a lot of good work if they’re understanding when the going gets tough. There’ll be times when an employee needs something from you, be it time off work or just space to deal with a personal issue. It’s at that point that the employer’s true nature comes to the fore. If you can be understanding and help them in any way you can, then they’ll remember — and will surely have no plans to leave.
