Recruiting key staff has always been a difficult task. Once you have managed to employ staff, how do you keep them? It appears that retaining staff is just as tricky as recruiting them. Employers need to put in place measures to retain all their staff. And when we say all, we mean all. This includes key staff, full-time, part-time, permanent, and temporary staff.
Remind Staff of Their Value
In order to ensure staff retention, it makes good business sense that businesses feed back to their staff how essential they are to the business and its growth. Businesses should be mindful not to exaggerate too much how important staff are so that an employee does not think that the business cannot function without them. Businesses should always ensure that their business can function should a key member of staff leave and thus not leaving themselves unable to operate and vulnerable. These kinds of issues plague different sectors in different ways, but you need to consider them. This is also slightly different for temporary and seasonal workers, who may be demotivated / motivated by their status.
Employers should aspire to ensure that their HR function is in good working order to encourage staff retention. Companies like Wurkplace help businesses with this all the time. This includes ensuring that the business is legally compliant with robust contracts of employment in place, up to date handbooks and family friendly policies to entice the employee into seeing that the business is professional and is willing to go over and above for their employee to encourage them to want to stay at the business.
Staff Benefits Increase Retention
Staff benefits are also a key feature for employers to consider when retaining staff. This includes:
- Additional holidays over and above the statutory minimum
- Enhanced sickness pay
- Long term service rewards
- Death in service
- Bonus schemes
- Enhanced pension contributions,
- Flexible working
- Childcare vouchers
- Cycle to work scheme
- Free parking
- Subsidised gym membership
- Training and development
- Promotions and salary increases
- Profit sharing
- Staff nights out
- and more…
Simply by improving the workplace culture or experience for employees can aid your retention.
Understanding the Job
Employers should provide their employees with full and accurate job descriptions. These job descriptions should detail what tasks an employee is expected to perform within their role so that there is absolutely no confusion. Going through the job description with the employees and amending it where applicable and ensuring it is up to date is key to staff retention. This ensures that staff are aware of their rights and responsibilities. It also ensures that they are aware of your responsibilities as a manager or business owner. This builds trust and enforces a sense of accountability. This is especially important in high-stress environments, such as the care sector.
Understanding the Company
It is a continual process for employers to work at retaining their staff. You can ensure a greater staff retention by improving employees’ understanding of not just their role, but of the company itself. Continuously sell the business to existing staff and highlight what is unique and special about the business. This will improve your employer value proposition and internal branding of the company, and will improve the likelihood of staff remaining. Win win.
This can also start at the recruitment phase. If you recruit young workers or apprentices, you can mould them based on your company values and methodology. Apprenticeships are a great way to improve an employee’s fundamental understanding of the company, as they necessitate much more manager support.
Review Performance
Performance reviews are a key component to staff retention for any business. These could involve speaking to employees about their existing and future aspirations and goals. Using staff input to ascertain how they are feeling and how they can benefit both their own development and enhance their skills to benefit the business.
Learning & Development of Staff
Developmental training is a key component to encourage staff retention. Employers may want to offer the opportunity for employees to train as a way to help staff develop new skills and stay motivated and interested in their work. Employees may value opportunities to gain exposure to roles and projects not necessarily in their job descriptions or current competency areas. You may also find that staff who are performing in one role may display talent in other areas – Allowing for change and growth opportunities.
Representative Salaries
Salary increases are a big way for employers to increase their chances of retaining staff. Ensuring that employees are paid the correct amount for their skills basis, service, and for the area in which they work will ensure that employees think twice about jumping ship to move to another employer.
Improve Motivation
Motivating your staff and providing a happy and friendly environment in which to work and flourish is always a good way to encourage staff retention. As is having managers who are trained to both undertake their work and manage staff effectively and fairly. Many businesses place people in management positions without providing them with appropriate training to manage their staff. If staff aren’t managed properly by their managers then this can also be a key factor in employees wishing to leave the business.
Employers should train managers and provide them with the tools to manage day to day employee issues; train managers how to motivate staff and engage staff; and provide managers with the skills to undertake the role they are employed to do. If employers do this in addition to the suggestions made within this blog, then it is probable that employees including key staff, junior staff and employees at all levels will to want to continue to stay working for the business.
This is something Wurkplace does weekly. Head over to this page to see how we can develop your managers in a concise and flexible way. Wurkplace can assist employers to provide managers with the tools to be able to effectively manage their staff. For more info, or for direct guidance, contact us. Or, give us a call on: 0330 400 5490.
As a Managing Director at Wurkplace since May 2010, Karen has extensive HR, employment law and health and Safety experience from working within the private sector.
She also boasts experience of working in the public sector including local authority, fire service, police, schools, colleges, charities, NHS.