Great employees are hard to find. When you’ve got them on board and working in your company, the last thing you want to do is lose them. Employee turnover can be extremely expensive: some studies say that replacing an employee can cost up to 6-9 months’ salary on average. What can you do to retain your best employees and create a win/win situation for them and your company? Here are five strategies to keep great employees happily working for you:
1. Offer a competitive salary and benefits package.
Great employees are highly desirable in any company. To keep them with yours, make sure you are compensating them at an above-standard or at least competitive salary. In addition, augment their salary with a strong benefits package. This includes health benefits, life insurance, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation and holidays, and a great retirement plan. Consider lowering the eligibility for your retirement plan from one year to six months, and if you can afford to, match their contributions with a company match. This shows them that you are committed to their financial future.
2. Implement practical perks
Lots of employee perks like free beverages and healthy snacks, gym membership, and dry-cleaning pickup – anything that helps employees do a better job and make them feel valuable is worth the investment. Other great perks include catered team lunches, company outings and events, flexible vacation time, and recognition of certain milestones for an employee, such as a birthday, new baby, anniversary date, etc. Work/life balance is important, so flexible work hours to help with family responsibilities, as well as family events, can go a long way to promote the overall well-being of your employees.
3. Recognize a job well done.
There are a number of ways you can recognize stellar performance of an employee: some are monetary and some are not. Be generous with performance-based raises and consider bonuses where appropriate. You can also offer stock options for those who meet performance-related goals. Public recognition for a job well done means a lot to employees. You can employ other rewards, gifts and initiate contests to encourage employees to reach for their best.
4. Provide excellent training and mentoring.
Invest in a solid training program for new employees so that they can excel at their job. In addition, provide ongoing mentoring and leadership not only through their boss, but senior employees as well. Be clear about your expectations for the job, so there is no misunderstanding between you. Great employees want to grow and be challenged, so be sure you give them new opportunities and increased responsibilities and promotions, coupled with the training needed so that they can be successful as they move up in the company.
5. Have an open door policy.
Be sure your employees feel like they can bring up any issues or share ideas with their boss. This can be done formally with periodic questionnaires, or more informally on an as-needed basis. The more open the communication, the more satisfied employees are. Allow employees to give input to problem solving and then let them know that you value their input and use their ideas where appropriate. Include them in decision-making processes. Also, give junior employees time with the CEO over a lunch, for example. Communicate your company’s mission and values with all employees, so they know what is expected of them in their career.
These are the top best practice techniques for employee retention. If you treat your employees like the valuable asset they are to your company, you will have much more satisfied, happier work force and reduce the monetary and non-monetary costs of employee turnover.
