Recruiting staff can be hard, so it is vital that once they are with your business that you keep hold of them. A high level of employee turnover can be hugely damaging as it leads to increased costs, decreased productivity and staff morale, lower levels of client and customer satisfaction and a drain of knowledge.
Recent figures published by the CIPD show that on average across all business sectors the employee turnover rate in the UK is a worrying 34%. Drilling down into those figures makes for interesting reading with the retail (41.6%), agriculture (45.3%) and hospitality (52.2%) sectors having significant levels of turnover. Turning over staff at such a rate is not sustainable if your business is to be successful.
Whilst every employee will have their own individual reasons and motivations for staying with their employer or deciding to move on, our guide to retaining staff will help you to put measures in place which will have a positive impact overall and will address many of the factors that typically lead to retention problems.
Induction & Onboarding
It might be a cliché but first impressions really do count. If your induction and onboarding process doesn’t engage staff and the expectations they had of the role and the company aren’t met then you are likely to lose them quickly. Make sure that from the outset, even before their first actual day of employment, you build buy in from staff and make them feel valued and appreciated. Have everything ready on their first day of employment, have a plan that you share with them and get them embedded and into their new role as soon as is practical so that they get a sense of contributing and being part of the team.
Working Environment
This can relate to both the physical work environment and how working for the company actually feels. If the physical workspace is clean, comfortable and safe and employees have all the tools and equipment they need to carry out their role they should be happy. If it is dark, dirty and dangerous and employees’ equipment is sub-standard or totally missing then you’re likely to have a problem and employees won’t stay. The feeling of the work environment can be difficult to capture as it is something intangible but on the whole it relates to your workplace culture. If staff identify with the values and ethos of your company then they will engage with it. To help retain staff there should be open communication so that staff feel they have a voice and can give and receive feedback. A culture that recognises and celebrates accomplishments will also create engaged and motivated employees and if employers recognise the importance of work life balance and offer flexible working arrangements this will generate job satisfaction and the feeling among employees that there wellbeing is taken into account and their employer cares.
Employee Development
Investing in employee growth is a win-win for both staff and the business. By offering opportunities for professional and personal development, you can show your commitment to employees and their futures. Employee development can take various forms, it might be funding for professional qualifications or other paid for training such as courses, webinars and online learning to build skills. If employers have clear career pathways then employees are more likely to stay with a company if they see a future within it. Mentorship and coaching might also be beneficial and by pairing less experienced employees with longer serving colleague this can help employees to learn new skills, make connections with colleagues and grow within the company.
Pay and Benefits
Fair and competitive pay and benefits are a significant factor in employee retention. If staff feel that they are being fairly rewarded for their work, they are less likely to look elsewhere. If you promise an annual salary review then conduct one, salary benchmarking is also important so that you understand the market and employees don’t then feel underpaid. Employers should also consider the benefits they offer to staff as these additional extras can be valuable in retaining employees. Don’t just assume that you know what benefits staff want, ask them and then try and put a benefits offer together that gives them something they value and might not get at another employer.
Effective Management
Good management practices are crucial for employee retention. Managers play a key role in how employees perceive their employer and relationships with managers are essential for meeting an employee’s day to day needs. Employers can help to retain staff by ensuring that their managers are well trained, are able to motivate their teams, that they can deliver positive and constructive feedback and that they are comfortable in offering support and handling difficult conversations tactfully. Organisations in which this doesn’t happen will experience employee turnover issues and data published by People Management backs this up as it highlights that 43% of workers have left a job at some point in their career because of their manager.
Retaining staff requires strategic thinking that brings a range of measures and factors together to create a plan. Implementing that plan will then build a loyal, motivated, and high-performing team who will be ambassadors for your business and will drive its success.
Do you have any questions about today’s blog, need help in becoming legally compliant with contracts/policies or can we support you in taking away any people pains to give you peace of mind?
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Why not also check out our blog on a similar topic Retention Tension
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