From Harish Jagtani’s Desk 

 

We all love recognition and praise for what we do. All of us have an inherent desire to be recognized. We may find recognition in different spheres of our lives, but many seek appreciation at the workplace. So, if your company wants to retain talent, you must focus on employee appreciation…

Employee retention can impact your business and the cost of staff turnover is growing by the day. According to research, for businesses in the US, this has become a $1-trillion concern. With a strong economy and record-low unemployment rates, risk-taking workers are quitting jobs in hordes. But the report also reveals that more than 50% of workers who left their jobs said their employers could have prevented their exit. So, the need of the hour is to focus on employee retention strategies. Here are a few steps organizations can adopt to retain their best talent…

Retention Begins at Top Level

According to experts, everyone is an employee within the company from a frontline worker to the CEO. So, you must be concerned about engagement at all levels.

The first step in getting leaders to engage with their teams is to show them the influence they have. So, businesses should track leadership engagement metrics. For instance, tracking turnover rate by leader in order to understand how many people leave a leader’s team is vital data every human resource team should monitor.

Listen to Employee Feedback

Engaged leaders communicate and listen effectively and build trust among their employees because trust is one of the most important aspects of employee retention. You should have one-on-one meetings with your staff regularly and hold anonymous employee surveys at least twice a year. The surveys will help you understand employee satisfaction with their leaders. The results can be shared with the whole company so that proper strategies can be chalked out. You must remember it is the follow-up action that you take on the survey that is of the utmost significance.

To get honest feedback from employee engagement surveys, you must communicate your intentions with your team beforehand. It will prepare the staff and help reassure those skepticals who fear that honest feedback—even anonymous surveys—may land them in trouble.

Staff Growth Opportunities

Employee training is very important for engaging with, and maintaining, your workforce. No one wants to be assigned a job without the resources they require to perform it. If employees feel that you are setting them up for failure, they will grab the first chance to move out.

Remember that training increases employee retention. They can focus more and get a job done with better understanding along with the resources they need to do it.

Ensure that each of your managers knows about training resources available for each role in their team. When an employee expresses the need for additional tools or resources to do their job, managers should try to find the right training programs immediately.

Invest in Mentorship Programs

A company can make the biggest mistake by not investing in learning and development. Employees need to see that you are willing to invest resources into their potential. A mentorship program is the best way to develop employees and keep the entire workforce engaged.

Research has found that 13% of employees look for mobility opportunities within their current company. Providing resources for prioritizing career development conversations is a crucial aspect of a healthy employee engagement strategy. You must build an environment where everyone can succeed, irrespective of their background if you wish to retain top talent.

Prioritize Culture & Connection

Company culture is vital for your retention strategy. When employees feel welcome and integrated into the company’s culture, your retention rate will increase. However, if they feel your culture is toxic, more likely than not they will leave. A positive company culture will allow you to attract, and retain, the best talents. Employees can identify when the real culture does not match the one you promote outside and this can damage employee trust. You can ask your staff for their inputs while assessing and designing your company’s culture. Connection is an extremely important component of culture, and it is something you have to consciously cultivate, especially in hybrid environments. When employees feel connected to their leaders, to one another, and to the business, their engagement level and loyalty will grow.

Hold Employee Appreciation Day

If you set aside a day for certain activities, it shows that you give some importance to them. When it comes to employee appreciation, every company should have a day to prioritize it. It keeps employees motivated and adds to a thriving work culture. There can be many gestures to facilitate employee recognition. You can make employees write gratitude notes to each other for helping them in a project or have an awards function to appreciate employees for behaviors that you want to promote among your workforce. There are many ways to make good an ‘Employee Appreciation Day’.