How to Retain Good Employees – The Best Strategy

You put in a lot of work to find and hire the best employees for your company and you also have to work hard to retain them. Many times, the reasons why an employee took the job in the first place aren’t the same reasons why they stay. A good salary, nice pension plan, and bonuses may attract top talent, but factors like communication, growth opportunities, and clearly defined goals will keep employees happy.

How can you make sure that each of your valued employees gets enough satisfaction from their job that they stay with your company? There 5 specific ways that experienced managers use to retain their best employees.

Top Ways to Retain Good Employees

It doesn’t matter if your workforce is in the same building or office as you are in or if you manage staff in a “virtual” setting, there are 5 crucial ways to retain employees and keep them happy.

1 Communicate

Communication is the lifeblood for any relationship and it is important to foster a strong bond between you and your employees. However, communication is more than just what you say verbally or in emails. What is sometimes more important is how you say it.

Some studies suggest that about 90% of what we get from communication is down to non-verbal signals. So, factors like eye contact, your tone of voice, body language, and giving someone an appropriate “pat on the back” goes a long way to communicating to your employees their value to the company.

If you manage employees in a “virtual” environment, try to meet with them on a regular basis. This can keep the lines of communication open and build trust.

It’s also important to clearly communicate the goals of the company and what is expected from each member of staff. Also, be generous with commendation and praise.

2 Empower your employees

Another way to retain good employees is to empower them by assigning more responsibility. There can be nothing better to boost self-confidence and keep staff happy than giving them responsibility for what they do.

To give your employees more responsibility, it’s important to give them the tools they need and a measure of flexibility to get the job done. In order to do this successfully, you need to take on the role of team coach, not team manager. So, make yourself available to help them in their job assignments and assist them where necessary.

3 Establish clear goals

Only by establishing clearly defined goals are you able to measure and evaluate an employee’s contribution. This can help identify ways that employees can grow and help them feel satisfaction when goals are met.

Good employees always want to please their boss, but they need to know what’s expected of them first of all.

4 Create opportunities for growth

Before hiring new employees, have a look at your existing workforce. Are there good employees who can take on extra responsibility or a new position? This can be a motivating factor for many employees to stay with your company if they know that there are chances to move up in the organisation.

Another way to create opportunities for growth is by organising training sessions, educational classes, or extra tuition.

5 Have a reward system

Of course, bonuses and salary increases are a way of rewarding employees for their loyalty and good work. However, there are many more effective ways to retain employees with rewards. For example, you could organise a corporate event with a guest speaker. This can have 2 benefits for your staff:

• They see that your company values them by providing a great night out.
• You can also use the keynote speaker at the event to motivate your staff.

Other ways to reward employees is to recognise start-date anniversaries, close the office early the day before a holiday, or have a dress-down day if appropriate.

Retaining good employees is critical to the success of your business. Having a team of satisfied employees and managers will help drive your business and even give you an edge over your competitors. In the long run, you will also save money and resources because you won’t have to frequently train new members of staff.