Employee retention efforts don't have to be elaborate or laden with perks. You just have to do a good job on the fundamentals. Take a look at the following ideas and add at least a few to your employee retention strategy. (You do have a retention strategy, don't you?)
Accountability — Make managers and supervisors accountable for employee turnover and watch retention improve.
Benefits — Try to stay at least even with the competition, especially on medical and retirement.
Communication — Too often management only sends messages to employees. Good people will stay longer when there are simple and systematic ways for employees to talk to management as well.
Dignity — Consideration, kindness and respect are the hallmarks of all great business leaders, and great leaders inspire great loyalty.
Employee selection — The best way to improve employee retention is to hire right in the first place. Test for the attitudes it takes to be successful on the job (dependability, honesty, initiative, etc.) and don't hire anyone who doesn't meet your standards.
Fun — Ever see anyone decide to quit having fun? When you make your workplace fun, your great folks won't leave and you'll have applicants lined up around the block.
Growth — Some people are happy doing the exact same job year after year, but some aren't. Make sure your high achievers have something to shoot for.
Hire tough — The best people want to work for organizations that take hiring seriously and make their jobs hard to get.
Interview — Ask about the applicants' first job, what they learned there and how they learned it. Then go forward through their entire work history to learn whether the person is learning and growing or just job-hopping.
Jobs — Continuously cross-train employees. Employees gain new skills and an appreciation for their co-workers' responsibilities.
Knowledge — Share it freely. No one likes operating in the dark. If you're not keeping your people in the know, they're spending your time and money speculating about what's going on and why.
Lighten up — Like the Dalai Lama says: "If there's a solution, there's nothing to worry about. If there's not a solution, there's nothing to worry about." You set the tone for the corporate culture. Would you want to work for you?
Manage — Manage people the way they want to be managed, not the way that's easiest for you. Some people want lots of support and encouragement and some want free reign.
Never — Never take anyone for granted. Most people don't stick around long where they're not appreciated.
Orientation — First impressions are lasting. No employee is ever more enthusiastic or motivated than during the first few days in a new job. Use this time to make new hires feel welcome and valued.
Praise — Loudly and often. Catch them doing something right and talk it up. (Then watch everyone else try to live up to the standard set by the person being praised.)
Quality — Never settle for any less than their best. The really good ones will appreciate it, and the turkeys will look for a less demanding work environment.
Referrals — New employees referred by existing employees stay on the job three-to-five times longer than employees from any other source.
Set expectations — People will live up to them, so set them early and set them high.
Training — Employees don't quit companies, they quit managers. Give your managers a fighting chance by training and retraining them in team-building skills.
Understanding — Everyone's clamoring for more work/life balance. Be understanding of the need to accommodate family or personal matters. It goes a long way toward building loyalty.
Values — Make sure it's employees first, customers second. Your people should always be your top priority, then they'll take care of your customers.
Watch what happens — Whatever we pay attention to increases. Pay positive attention to retention and watch it improve.
X out the unsuitable — The No. 1 reason you lose good folks is because they get fed up with working for or with less-than-satisfactory people.
Yield — To the wisdom of your employees. Ask questions and listen to their answers. They know your customers best.
Zero in — On every way possible to improve employee retention. There is a direct correlation between employee retention, customer loyalty and company profits.
