Retaining: What to Do
Retaining employees comes down to four simple actions: listening, making room, evaluating and rewarding. Do these four things well, and you will keep good employees.
Listening
Listen to your staff. Communication is the most powerful tool you have in your company, if you choose to use it. Ask questions about how employees feel about their jobs. If they complain about things, ask the employees what they want to do to fix the problem.
Making Room
Give your employees and supervisors the room to do their jobs. Once their training is complete, you should let them make competent decisions that benefit your company. Doing so elevates the employee to the status of a real team member instead of just another face on an assembly line. This increases employee satisfaction and encourages employees to build a career with your company.
Evaluating
Evaluating is the fine art of asking the right questions. The right questions promote growth and valuable change. Does an employee’s suggestion work? How well does this employee perform under pressure? Am I giving my supervisors the room to demonstrate their skills?
Rewarding
Reward the behavior you want to encourage. The method of reward doesn’t matter as much as its sincerity. A few words of thanks that are heartfelt and honest can be as effective as a gift certificate, provided the sincerity of the gesture is without question. Did the employee do something so well that it left you speechless? When you recover, tell him or her about it. Employees leave when honest praise is in short supply.
Hiring and Retaining: The Final Word
In the end, your company’s success at hiring good employees and retaining them is directly dependant on your ability to create an environment conducive to career-growth. As long as an employee sees your company as a fertile place for their abilities to grow, they will set down roots.
