Investing in your staff is one thing but ensuring that the investment you’ve made doesn’t wind up being to the benefit of another rival company is often not as carefully considered. Recruitment is a time-consuming and costly element of a business, but some companies have to deal with a high turnover of staff because they don’t place enough care into retaining their employees. Here are some tips on how to ensure your skilled and experienced staff stay with your company.
Stay Future-Driven
It’s important that businesses look to the past for experience but it’s also just as important to focus on an employee’s progress in a workplace and examine areas where they can develop in the future. Scheduling regular reviews using HR software and looking at management techniques such as PPP – Progress, Plans and Problems – during these meetings will help staff realise their potential and work towards goals.
Help them Progress and Develop
One of the main reasons why talented people leave their current role is because their job has become stagnant and they don’t feel like there’s any way they can progress. If you want to hold on to your skilled staff, you need to help them build on their roles and also continue to learn. Not only will it benefit your business by adding new and up-to-date skills to the team, but it also shows your employees that you’re willing to invest in their development. In staff reviews, work with your staff to discover what they hope to achieve in their careers and how you can bring those ambitions to reality through training, progression or added responsibility in their current role.
Take Advice on Board
More often than not in business, decisions are made without seeking input from others. But this can be to the detriment of the company, so it doesn’t always guarantee success. Instead, businesses should ask for input from people around the company and take ideas from teams. Not only will this help the business form better strategies, but it also helps staff to feel valued as they will know their opinions and ideas are appreciated.
Measure Success
Success is often overlooked within teams while failures are held up as examples. Constructive feedback is necessary in the workplace, even if it is negative. But giving positive feedback to employees will help staff feel more appreciated and also encourages them to work towards projects with more enthusiasm. Continuous criticism can become overwhelming, especially if it’s not balanced with praise where it’s due.
Keep Communication Open
No-one wants to work for a company where plans are kept hidden and everyone is scared of voicing their opinions. Keeping the lines of communication open plays an important role in the success of a team and also encourages a more open atmosphere, which makes for a nicer working environment overall. A positive and open company culture will encourage staff to stay and makes for a nicer business to work for, which ultimately will keep employees in the business for longer.
Image credit: Most Talented Employees via Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock