Last week I covered the first five of the top ten ways to retain employees and this week I will reveal the last five tips to assist clients in building a superior workforce.
6. Thank employees for their contributions
I think that Susan Heathfield, author of Human Resources articles on About.com, summed up this point well when she wrote, “Develop a reward and recognition system that tells people clearly what you want from them. It must also help people feel appreciated and recognized for their efforts.” When a company develops an employee recognition program, they are communicating to staff members what behaviors are desired and when employees exhibit these desired behaviors, the company then has a specific method for thanking workers.
7. Gather employee feedback on what they expect and what they want from their work
For many people, pay is not the most important aspect of their job. By gathering employee feedback on employment expectations and allowing workers to have channels in which they can communicate their opinions, organizations can dramatically increase employee retention. “For many employees what is most important at work is the satisfaction that comes from a job well done, being recognized and appreciated for one's efforts, and having the flexibility to balance work with personal obligations,” advises Michael J. Pires in his article on cost effective strategies for retaining employees. Pires continues, “Get a feel for what your employees want before implementing a new reward system. All that may be necessary are some simple changes, such as putting more effort into recognizing your employees or providing your workers with the autonomy that they desire.”
8. Communicate with employees
Communicating with employees on a consistent basis is essential for retaining employees. Many of my clients use different media to regularly communicate with employees including emails, newsletters, mailed statements, break room flyers and posters in common areas. Often the media is communicating the progress of the company compared to the industry, the evolvement of the employee recognition programgoals, specific employee achievements and overall organizational achievements. No one likes to be in the dark about the state of the business and often rumors result from an environment of closed door meetings and silence from executive management. Simple communication helps to prevent this and will help with employee retention efforts.
9. Offer state of the art reward programs
State of the art reward programs often include ways for employees to nominate and recognize peers for their contributions, offer high tech name brand merchandise recognition awards, allow employees access to the recognition program online and as a result engage employees like never before.
10. Engage employees
Employee engagement is not just a buzz word, over 51% of senior leaders and HR professionals firmly believe that engaging employees is the most important leadership practice and is essential to ensure organizational alignment and commitment. Employee engagement is derived from managers taking an interest in what individuals want from work and how employees want their efforts to be validated and recognized. Engaging employees translates to increased loyalty from workers and customers, higher productivity rates and better profitability overall.
By utilizing these top ten ways to retain employees, hopefully your organization can tune into employees, deliver a valuable and relevant recognition program and build a superior workforce. To stay up to date on employee retention efforts and issues I highly recommend joining the Employee Retention Group on LinkedIn.
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