Employee retention is one of the biggest challenges faced by companies today. The new-age workforce has needs that are different from the workforce of yesteryears. Gone are the days, when an employee stayed with an organization throughout his career, for the sake of stability alone. With lucrative employment options available at their fingertips, employees these days do not hesitate to switch jobs if they feel that their professional (or personal) aspirations are not being met at their workplace.
Managements and HR teams, across the globe, are constantly trying to brainstorm mechanisms to ensure maximum employee retention. At Saransh, our human resources experts have some great tips on how to make this happen, as follows:
Create an exciting work-culture
If Monday blues is a thing, it is because many people feel unmotivated about going in to work. The culture in their workplace has a lot to do with this. If a workplace has a lively and exciting culture, even the stormiest Mondays don’t stand a chance against it. If it doesn’t, even a Friday eve can defeat an employee.
To ensure that employees remain excited about work, they need to be challenged and given opportunities to showcase their skills and capabilities. Management can introduce team-tasks, provide incentives, acknowledge individual accomplishments and encourage employees to contribute to the company’s growth in different ways. Fun elements like game rooms, weekend getaways for the team that allow co-workers to bond outside work, team luncheons and festive celebrations can all boost the morale of employees and help them look forward to coming to work every day. A good work culture helps take the edge off work pressure and constantly revitalizes the employees’ interest in being part of the workplace.
Prevent stagnation
Some employees may not find their work challenging enough. Few others may feel nervous due to lack of sufficient training or mentoring. Both situations eventually lead to a sense of stagnation amongst the overall workforce. When employees don’t see growth, they leave.
To ensure this doesn’t happen, managements should give employees due attention and supply them either with sufficiently complex work or, wherever required, training and upskilling opportunities so that these employees aren’t forced to look for greener pastures.
Be considerate
Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. The essence of this quote has a great lesson for modern management – don’t be rigid in your approach towards employees. Each employee comes with their own strengths, weaknesses and needs. This must be accepted and a nurturing environment must be provided where each employee can operate with comfort. For some employees, this may mean having the option to work remotely, so that they can simultaneously take care of their parents or children. For others, it may mean being able to take some time off, even on workdays, to run personal errands. Health issues, commuting problems, communication gaps and personal/professional balance are few things that management need to be considerate about. The management’s focus should be the quality of output of the employee and as long as that is met, reasonable flexibility can be provided to employees, so that work doesn’t get in the way of their life but becomes a valuable part of it.
Communicate effectively
Organizations that do well usually have managements and employees that are on the same page. Without the management and employees being in sync with each other, functioning of an organization is affected adversely. If employees feel valued, they reward the organization with loyalty. If they feel neglected, they quit.
Being on the same page with employees involves talking to them about their goals, seeking feedback about how things can be improved in the workplace, appreciating their efforts and celebrating their wins.
To explore best industry practices for high employee retention and to hire the most compatible employees for your team, connect with our hiring experts at info@saranshinc.com