How to keep valued employees

We previously covered a topic on the reasons why good employees leave, but how do you ensure they’re happy to stay with you? According to a research from the 2018 Global Recruiting Trends about 33% of new employees quit their new job in six months, while another 33% of employees also knew whether they would stay with their company long-term after their first week. It is also said that 35% of employees will start looking for a job if they do not receive a pay raise in the next 12 months. These statistics are concerning, more so because staff turnover has a huge impact on company’s productivity, negatively affect employee morale and increase costs.

Employers need to find innovative ways to keep valuable employees. Here are the strategies for retaining valuable employees.

Promote from within

Elevating employees from within your ranks shows that you value their work and you are committed to their future at the company. If all you do is, recruit from outside because your current employees aren’t quite ready for the role, it is always best to communicate the reasons. This kind of transparency is essential, or you’re going to give them the impression that they need to leave the company if they ever want to progress in their careers.

Investing in training

Learning and development is the number one choice for many companies when it comes to retention strategies. Any opportunity to learn a new skill and to grow, both personally and professionally, is enough to drive up employees’ levels of job satisfaction and engagement. This intervention need not be expensive, it can be as simple as on the job training, mentoring and free online training.

Employee recognition

A pat on the back, for a job well done, works wonders!

We all like to be recognised for our contribution, but all too often organisations fail to take time to acknowledge the employees’ contribution. Recognition programs don’t need to be complex, a simple thank you, a day off, meal vouchers and a framed certificate of appreciation does the trick.

Recognition reinforces the behaviours and provides motivation for employees to excel.

Share the vision

When employees don’t know the vision of the company, all their efforts focus solely on personal fulfillment, i.e. the achievement of their own ideals; working towards their own benefit and living day to day, probably because their efforts are rooted only in economic rewards and not as part of the benefit that the company can get.

Sharing your company’s overall vision and objectives give the opportunity for them to align themselves with the company’s vision and to see exactly where they fit in.

Shares in the business's financial success

Since top-performing employees contribute to the business's overall success, it probably makes sense for employees to share in the financial rewards as well?

There is a range of reward mechanism that the employer can consider i.e. annual increases, 13th cheque or gain sharing and commission. This approach can encourage employee commitment to your revenue and profit objectives, as well as a financial incentive to "stick around" as the business grows.

No company likes to see their valuable employees leave for another company, in many cases this is preventable, and therefore companies have the responsibility to do what it takes to keep your top people engaged in your company’s mission.