Three Ways Companies Can Master Employee Retention
Through years of vast experience, GCE's CHRO often has worked with employers who are overly focused on how they can quickly fill open positions and master the chess game of retention.
One common theme associated with most clients who need help in their Human Resources department is a primary motivational human need. Human need ties into Maslow's theory of the Hierarchy of Needs: Employees need to "belong ."Many qualified candidates want to work for an employer who will treat them well and provide an atmosphere where they can feel part of or belong. With most employees spending more time at work than home, making the workplace feel safe, inviting, and an overall positive experience is important.
How to Hire and Keep Good Employees
Good HR practices believe companies should prepare to meet employees where they are and provide them with a sense of belonging. Providing this positive atmosphere will ultimately contribute to retention and successful recruitment efforts.
Three Action Items That Will Retain Employees
It can seem like there is a science you will never master to keep your employees. Retention in this culture can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be unattainable. By mastering these three categories, employees will stick around and feel proud to work for your company:
Develop Onboarding Plans
Organizations need to focus their time on developing robust, concise onboarding plans. In these onboarding plans, ensure you focus on and provide information on additional benefits like compensation plans, company culture, job-specific training, and any relevant information for growth and development. As soon as new employees start working for your company, you want them to understand who you are as a business, how you plan to set them up for success in their role, and how you will continue to evolve. Developing firm onboarding plans involves working with managers and subject matter experts. Plans are often broken down by topics and the time needed to learn the role—for example, two weeks, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc. The central concept is to spend time with new employees to develop them.
Allowing your new team member to see a positive future will motivate them to work hard and continue long after their start date.
Company Culture Matters
Today is all about company culture and how you can provide a positive atmosphere for your employees. Because of this, it's essential to create a culture where employees are encouraged to voice their opinions freely and feel heard. Allow your staff to come to you with new ideas and execute them where possible to remind others on the team they are listened to and valued. Building an environment where employees can share ideas; vet their ideas out with others; work on fine-tuning the development of the atmosphere, use their autonomy to carry their plan out, and evaluate the overall effectiveness of those ideas will boost productivity and morale.
Show a Strong Understanding
Looking for opportunities to increase employees' emotional well-being will always be beneficial. This one consideration alone is imperative to retaining top talent. Employees who feel their company cares about them are likelier to stay. A key component to this that needs to be addressed is ensuring your leadership teams understand the basics of FMLA. Leaders who can appropriately refer employees to HR are more prepared to help employees who may be struggling. For example, under FMLA, if an employee has a medical need to be out of the office, they can do so without losing their job. Some states even offer employee paid leave which can offer employees financial support wages while they are absent from work and maybe guaranteed reinstated once they return to work. Having this resource to provide to your employees when appropriate can help them feel supported should an emergency arise.
Retention is Attainable
By mastering the three significant areas above, an organization can hire and retain top talent in its industry. In addition, by creating a welcoming atmosphere where your team feels a sense of belonging and being heard and valued, you are ensuring loyalty and building a positive workplace reputation. When your employees are loyal to your brand and enjoy working for you, they will attract more dedicated, hard-working talent.
GCE consulting provides Fractional HR services that can help you in all areas of human resources. So whether you need an audit done to make sure your policies are up to date and meet your state's requirements, are looking for suggestions on appropriate corporate culture, or want to make sure your business and employees are protected correctly, we can help. Check out more here.