January 2021 will go down in history as the Great Resignation. Although triggered by the pandemic, there is a common theme of resignation that recurs every January. What staff retention strategies are implemented in your business? If the answer is none, or if an improvement is required, read our helpful staff retention guide below.
Why is staff retention important?
Having a stable and dedicated workforce is important to any business. Long-term employees have a deeper understanding of the business from the operations to the values and culture. High staff turnover rates can be costly and disruptive, especially when you consider the time and resources required to train and integrate new members of staff into the company. Avoid losing dedicated members by following our helpful staff retention methods:
- Create a positive working environment
Ensuring your staff are coming into a safe, comfortable, and positive working space is crucial to retain staff. Materially, the space should be clean, well-maintained, and ergonomic. But more importantly, the atmosphere of the space should be filled with mutual respect, trust, and open communication.
Managers should be approachable and set an example that all staff should follow. Effective managers should not only be good at their general role but also be approachable mentors to their team. Managers should be good at listening, solving problems and motivating staff.
- Offer Competitive Structures
Another important way to retain staff is by being a desirable place to work. This method consists of many factors and includes competitive salaries, bonus structures and comparable benefits to the industry and competitors. For example, employees at NORI HR and Employment Law receive the following:
- Competitive salaries
- Unlimited annual leave
- An exciting social calendar
- Hybrid working
- Personal and Career development opportunities
Keep your staff in-house and inspired by ensuring they are always striving to be better within your company. Inspire your staff by reminding them of your core values, mission and plans to grow / ‘change the world’. Successful companies offer multiple development opportunities such as:
- Further education
- Promotions
- Personal development
Retain by creating a culture of learning and development.
- Encourage a work/life balance
Encouraging staff to take a healthy break from work and allowing them to keep their personal life separate is imperative for staff happiness and productivity. This can make staff have a better attitude towards work and feel respected by their employers. Managers should set a good example of this and not promote overworking, which can lead to burnout.
- Recognise and reward your staff
Recognising achievements made by your team sounds simple, but can be overlooked. Recognition could be the reason staff stay in their roles, but also why they resign. Practices like
- Performance reviews
- Honest 1-2-1’s
- Accomplishment bonuses
- Targets with rewards
are all extremely beneficial for staff morale. Employees who are appreciated and recognised for hard work are more likely to stay than those who feel under-appreciated.
Staff retention is crucial and important to any business, in any industry. By creating positive changes and implementing productive processes, like the advice above, will benefit your staff retention rates. If you need help creating processes like this, then get in touch with the experts at NORI HR and Employment Law.
