In today’s fast-paced landscape we wanted to share our secrets for employee retention to support business owners to keep hold of their top talent and ultimately grow their business.
Be clear on the business strategy and communicate this with your team
It comes as no surprise that a clear business strategy is critical for any organisation’s success, so why wouldn’t this be shared with your team? Openly communicating your business strategy to your people empowers and drives them to understand how their work contributes to meeting the companies’ objectives and overall businesses success. It also cultivates an open and honest culture which drives a positive working environment.
A transparent approach in communicating your strategy provides your team with clarity and helps them to visualise their role in the future of your business. Additionally, it aligns their focus on contributing and delivering your business goals.
Professional Development and growth initiatives
One aspect to focus on is what development opportunities you offer. Personal growth is a multifaceted topic and of course comes down to the individual themselves. Enhancing the skills of your existing team isn’t just about keeping them happy; it’s about aligning their growth with your business objectives.
When you invest in their development, you show that you value their contributions. Offering continuous training, mentorship programs, clear career paths, and networking opportunities all contribute to a more satisfied workforce. If you’re not sure where to start in terms of which development opportunities to implement, ask your team what options they would value and go from there. We like to remind ourselves that in theory:
Employee Satisfaction + Empowerment = Employee Loyalty
Engaging with employees and reminding them of their value!
Sometimes a simple thank you can go a long way. Making sure your employees feel valued and that you recognise the value they bring to your organisation will not only support employee engagement but it’s crucial for your long-term employer branding. Feeling empowered and recognised as a key member of the team helps ensure your current workforce look to stay with you in the long run.
Gain employee feedback….and take action!
When it comes to retaining your top talent, it’s important for employees to have a space to be able to voice their opinions or ideas for improvement. Gaining employee feedback is invaluable whether that be through more frequent one-to-ones, focus groups, anonymous engagement surveys or 360-degree feedback. To keep your talented team engaged, it’s important to not only listen, but to provide feedback to the team on which of their suggestions you are going to action.
Review your company benefits
It’s important to consider what benefits you offer your employees and how this will empower them mentally, emotionally, physically and in terms of their professional development. A great way to understand and invest in benefits that are considered of value is to arrange a focus group with your team.
Examples of low-cost benefits that are highly appreciated by employees include:
⛱️ Time off over an above the statutory holiday entitlement.
🎂 An additional annual leave day on their birthday.
🗓️ Opportunities for hybrid working throughout the week.
✅ Business health insurance supports the health and well-being of your people.
🚗 Free parking is a huge cost-saving benefit to employees and can often be overlooked.
🖥️ The technology you have availability can be of real interest, especially for technical roles.
📚 Mentoring schemes to provide vital on the job training.
💡 A paid volunteering day is a great way to encourage your employees to get involved in the community, especially if your business supports a local charity.
🚲 Cycle to work schemes are a great incentive.
☕️ Coffee and pastry Mondays… need we say more?
Set clear expectations
Setting clear expectations for each team member is paramount to drive employee satisfaction and productivity. A clear and transparent job description which is readily available to each employee drives them to understand their day-to-day role and responsibilities and areas they can work on to result in progression opportunities.
Clear expectations can also be set by line managers through regular 1-1 catch ups with each team member to discuss their performance, any areas of their role they are enjoying or feeling challenged in and how the business can support them. This approach supports retention as it creates an open environment for two-way feedback which harnesses motivation and engagement. This is especially important for businesses who work either completely remotely or with a hybrid approach.
And there we have the secrets of employee retention!
If you are looking to retain and develop your existing team, get in touch with the Norton Loxley team to take the first step to better outsourced HR.