Blog Topic | June 21
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
– Warren Buffet
Employees are your organisation most valuable asset. But if you aren’t doing your part to make them feel valued, don’t be surprised if they decide to call it quits.
Recognising hard work, keeping an open line of communication and staying transparent about where the company is headed are just a few ways to keep your employees happy and your turnover rate low. How do you win the employee retention battle? How do you keep from losing your employees in this kind of job market?
There are many reasons but these are the most common reasons why employees leave a business.
Fair benefits and pay are the cornerstones of a successful company that recruits and retains committed workers. If you provide a living wage for your employees, you can then work on additional motivation issues.
Without the fair, living wage, however, you risk losing your best people to a better-paying employer. In fact, research from Watson Wyatt Worldwide in “The Human Capital Edge: 21 People Management Practices Your Company Must Implement (or Avoid) to Maximise Shareholder Value” recommends that to attract the best employees, you need to pay more than your average-paying counterparts in the marketplace. Money provides basic motivation.
Are you honest about what you expect of the new hire? Are you hiding or sugar-coating aspects of the job just to get a person to bite? Someone who is hired envisioning or expecting a job or team that doesn’t exist will quickly become disillusioned. Don’t give people the wrong titles, for example: if someone is at the level of a Marketing Coordinator, don’t call them a Marketing Manager because next year, they’ll do a comparison with marketing managers and will argue that they’re not getting paid enough. And that’s the employer’s fault, let the title match the experience.
People want recognition for their performance with pay tied to their performance.
Employees want people who don’t perform dismissed, in fact, failure to discipline and dismiss non-performers is one of the most de-motivating actions an organisation can take – or fail to take. It ranks at the top of the list next to paying performers the same wage as non-performers in decreasing motivation.
Additionally, a disconnect continues to exist between what employers think people want at work and what people say they want as motivation. Employers underrate the importance to employees of things such as flexible work schedules or opportunities for advancement in their decision to join or leave a company. That means that many companies are working very hard (and using scarce resources) on the wrong actions.
Approximately 40% of all workers today feel overworked, pressured and squeezed to the point of anxiety, depression and disease, and 63% report they are not coping effectively with stress.
When workers feel there is no balance between work and home they will likely quit regardless of financial compensation.
Business owners who overly rely on employees should consider hiring another employee even on a part-time basis so they don’t cause employee burnout. Companies can also provide and insist that employees take vacation time to refresh and recuperate, protect employees personal time by not calling or asking them to work on their days off, and sticking to the work schedule and responsibilities originally defined in the job interview.
Whether it’s job advancement, promotion, or some form of professional development, people who feel like there is a goal they can work towards instead of a dead end are more motivated. Good employees, ones who are dedicated to your company and the ones you really want to keep, want the opportunity to advance, not coast.
Employees want to be set-up for success. They recognise that new positions require them to demonstrate the willingness to be a self-starter, go-getter and quick learner. Improperly or untrained employees express frustration that their employers overly rely on them being a quick-learner and don’t provide them with enough training, mentoring or guidance and direction to be successful on the job. A lack of training often results in unnecessary errors, reprimands and low employee morale.
When an employee regularly feels defeated, they are prime for voluntarily exiting the company to find an employer who will take the time to train them to do their job well. Businesses must set-aside time to properly train their employees, partner them up with senior employees who can walk them through the ins and outs of the job and give the employee continuous guidance and feedback to improve their performance, hence ensuring their success and the company’s success.
Employees who are highly engaged in learning are also more engaged at work. You should be helping your employees to grow and expand, not simply get better at what they already do. If your training completely relies on increasing performance in a current role, you’re missing the boat.
Maybe try cross-training programs so employees have a broad skill set, not just limiting them to their specific job or a mentoring program that encourages them to train to become a mentor or create a leadership ladder, so employees know what they need to do to move up.
Few people want to be leaders, but everyone wants to be the boss. Remember, though, that people follow leaders, while they abandon bosses. Be available for your employees.
This is about actively creating an open rapport with employees. You don’t have to become best friends but taking the time to be friendly and engaged with your employees will pay off.
Have clear direction, ability to handle challenges and believe in the importance of people and inspire confidence.
Good leaders make employees feel confident and build them up.
An employee value proposition (EVP) should be constructed with the same care as a customer value proposition as it can also have a significant impact on the organisation’s performance.
The EVP refers to the balance of the rewards and benefits that are received by employees in return for their performance in the workplace. It is the sum of everything that people in an
organisation experience and receive, from the intrinsic satisfaction of the work, to the environment, leadership, colleagues and remuneration. An EVP answers the question ‘What’s in it for me?’ and formalises an employer’s pre-employment promises to employees, both explicit and implicit.
There are no quick fixes for increasing employee retention. Employee retention is heavily dependent on meaningful work, inspiring leadership and the overall health of the organisation. Long term retention can only be addressed in a meaningful way by ensuring that employees have fulfilling and stimulating roles within a sound organisational context.
Why not call us to discuss ways you can improve your employee retention.