Skilled, talented and dedicated employees are the backbone of a successful business. Without them, growth and getting ahead of the competition, even running the company’s day-to-day operations that require expert troubleshooting during hiccups, will not be possible.
Skilled employees are an invaluable asset to businesses, and retaining them in order to sustain a company’s growth and longevity must be one of the highest priorities that employers must commit to.
According to a study done by the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average length of time an employee stays in a job is 1.5 years. This proves that every generation especially during their prime years in the workforce, not just today’s young Millennials, have moved from one employer to another in search of better opportunities, driven by their desire to achieve growth, more knowledge and better benefits.
If you want to retain your employees, and your skilled ones in particular, you have to find ways to keep them loyal to your company. Here are just a few to start with.
1. Constant Training and Team Building Activities
Provide training and other skills-enhancing activities as well as team-building events that will facilitate learning and strengthen relationships within the team. Invest in online training modules that can be accessible even when your employees are mobile or working remotely. Send employees to conferences that will improve their skills or give them extra knowledge outside their set skills and expertise. These activities will keep your employees up-to-date on the latest trends in the industry, at ease with their work environment and committed not just to the team but to the entire company.
2. Attractive Benefits and Incentives?
Aside from providing great benefits such as health and life insurance, vision and retirement plans, you can also offer bonuses as rewards for significant accomplishments that contributed to the successes of the company. Give spot bonuses or incentives given on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis that will enable you and your employees to track their progress. This will encourage the team to always strive for excellence knowing they will be rewarded for their achievements over a certain period of time.
3. Promotions from Within
Giving your employees the opportunity to grow within the company by moving them up the corporate ranks as they gain more knowledge and experience in their jobs, versus hiring from outside, is guaranteed to earn your staff’s loyalty. It will give them a reason to stay knowing growth and career advancement is achievable within the company depending on how they perform in their specific jobs. Knowing that a promotion is possible will also motivate them to improve their skills further to serve the company.
4. Open Communication on Career Development
Keep your employees in the loop when it comes to their growth within the company. Schedule open discussions on the status of their performance in the job, how they can improve, the tools they need to perform better as an individual and as a team member, and how you can help them achieve their goals in line with their plans for advancement within the company. Listen to their insights and take notes so you can make sound comparisons as you progress from goal setting to performance evaluation.
5. Inclusion
Include your employees in creating and enforcing the company’s goals and make them feel that they’re part of the entire company’s journey towards achieving them. Hold regular team meetings to give updates on the company’s progress and other significant affairs that can be shared among your staff. Foster inclusion by making your employees feel that they are part of a bigger team and that their individual performances have a significant impact on the company’s success.
Using these steps, your business can aim towards a better path of increased employee loyalty and ultimately retain the invaluable assets you cannot afford to lose.