How to Retain Your Best Employees

As job-hopping has become more and more commonplace for the new generation of workers, retaining employees has become an important task for all types of companies, like marketing, e-commerce, HR, etc. Employers are looking for ways to retain the best employees against their competition. Not only does retaining employees create a great base of talent for growth and training new employees, but hiring new employees costs a great deal of time and money and a high churn can severely harm your startup. Employers take special care to hire the best workers for their company and once they have them they want to keep them. So the question remains, what is the best way for employers to ensure top talent stays at the company? In this blog we will look at a few tactics to increase job satisfaction and employee retention. 

Hire the Right People From the Start 

Before you think about retaining your top talent, you must begin with hiring the right people from the start. Just because a candidate meets all the requirements for a job does not necessarily mean they are the best fit. To ensure you are bringing on someone who can excel in your line of work and become a great member of your team, the hiring process should be comprehensive. Job postings should thoroughly outline the job to attract prospective employees who meet the job requirements and are excited about the responsibilities. Once you have a good pool of applicants the hiring process should be set up to assess the candidate’s relevant skills and personality to fit the company culture. Every new hire should align with your company’s mission, vision, and values. It is also important to run a background check on candidates as a final check to make sure you are making the right hiring decision and protect the organization from a number of risks. 

Offer Benefits 

One of the most competitive aspects across different companies to retain employees is benefit packages. Employers today are constantly offering new and unique benefits to their employees in an attempt to keep them happy working at the company. For many workers, benefits are just as important as salary. Healthcare and retirement plans are of the most important but offerings such as unlimited paid time off, flexible work hours, discount codes, and health stipends are becoming more common. You can also consider offering stipends for mental health care. Employers today are constantly offering new and unique benefits, and even starting employee-based referral programs to their employees in an attempt to keep them happy working at the company. Well-rounded benefits and perks offering help employees feel like they are appreciated and supported by their company making it less of a reason to leave.

Create a Healthy Work Environment 

Company culture is a buzzword that is often thrown around but that does not decrease its importance to employees. The value of an attractive workspace and core values is key to retaining top talent in your company. Having a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone feels supported by their peers can change the way an employee feels coming to work every day. Things like collaborative workspaces, fun amenities in the office, and frequent company-wide team building events all contribute to the allure of a company’s culture. 

Encourage Two Way Feedback 

An environment where employees feel like they can communicate with management is a large contributor to job satisfaction. It is easy to feel lost within your work if you are not receiving regular updates on the company’s direction and feedback on your performance. On the other hand, feedback from employees is not only important in making them feel heard but it is meaningful for the company to understand where weak points in processes may lie. A company that encourages employees to freely communicate with upper management has a better chance of creating an environment where people want to stay. 

Promote Healthy Work-Life Balance 

Acknowledging your employees to have a life outside of work is critical. If an employee is constantly having to come in early, stay late, and take on an unreasonable workload, chances are they will not stick around for long. Offering employees a flexible work schedule is a great way to promote a healthy work-life balance. The option to choose which hours in the day work best for someone’s specific schedule will make them feel like they are able to take charge of their work-life balance themselves. Encourage employees to take frequent breaks to get fresh air, grab a coffee with a friend, or attend their child’s school event. The flexibility not only decreases the chances of burnout but motivates employees to stick with the company and do great work. 

Be Open to Ideas and Innovation

A big part of keeping people engaged at work is keeping them interested in what they’re doing. No one enjoys the same monotonous tasks for years on end and stifling the ideas your employees have about your company can cause a higher turnover rate. For example, in the marketing profession, there is always new technology, ideas, and mediums in which agencies have to keep up or risk falling behind other innovative agencies. So if your employees have been talking about influencer and referral marketing, consider investing in a referral marketing system or working with influencers. This will show that you’re willing to invest in the ideas of your employees and help your employees stay invested in the projects they’re working on. No matter what field you’re in, your employees bring a variety of perspectives and ideas to the table, so ensure you give them careful thought.

Overall employers should be making it a priority to keep their employees happy with their jobs to reduce turnover. Ensuring the right people are hired and treating them well makes everyone’s life easier in the long run. Encourage employees to have open conversations about areas the company could improve. After all, they are the eyes and ears of the organization and likely have feedback regarding ways to improve their overall job satisfaction long term.