The times of a person staying with one company for their entire career is far gone.
People can have multiple careers and career paths in today’s job market which means employee loyalty is going to be tested. LinkedIn recruiters are constantly reaching out to those with valuable skills in order to help them further their careers. A low employee retention rate can hurt a business due to it taking thousands of dollars and resources to train a person as well as employ them until they become profitable in the long run.
Continually hiring high-quality applicants then retaining these people is the recipe for years of success in the future. People are attracted by different things in a company so different strategies need to be employed.
Below are a few of these strategies and how they can help convince employees to stay loyal to the company.
Invest in employee education
Paying for a portion or an entire education of an employee can yield incredible results. Putting it in a contract that the employee has to work with the company for a minimum of 5 years or they have to pay their portion of tuition back is imperative.
The last thing a company wants is to pay for a person’s degree only for them to leave for another opportunity nearly immediately. Not all employees should be able to qualify for this so only the most productive people or people at a certain level should be eligible.
This education could be in lieu of a salary increase and can make the employee that much more product as well as profitable.
Implement work from home programs
The absolute best perk in many people’s minds is that of getting the opportunity to work from their couch or anywhere with an internet connection. This allows them the freedom that many people desire without sacrificing production as meetings can be done via Skype and other similar platforms.
Setting numbers for eligibility should be done for this too so only top performers can earn this perk. This can be permanent for those employees who continue to hit production numbers without issue.
Many people would consider this program instead of a raise as they will not have to commute thus cutting transportation costs. That extra time available per day instead of commuting can be worth its weight in gold for a working parent.
Cover certain monthly costs like a phone or car allowance
Covering a phone plan can save people copious amounts of money per year while being a great perk. Most phone companies can help cut a deal for a larger company so the cost might not be as expected.
A company car is a much different type of perk as not everyone will want a new car. Insurance costs can be quite high on new cars for those people fresh out of college who are debt-ridden.
Salespeople who have to drive quite a bit would be great to give a company car to as otherwise, they would be losing out on the investment they made in their personal car.
Free lunch has gone a long way with younger staff
Providing free lunches does not have to be expensive but it can spark good corporate morale. This will also encourage those employees to interact as they will not have to go out for lunch.
Some people go to lunch together but often times this can lead to cliques forming among staff.
Healthy lunches are much more likely to improve productivity as well instead of people coming back from pizza half asleep a few hours after lunch. Things like energy drinks and coffee should also be provided as this is a minimal expense.
Company awards and parties
Companies that recognize their employees in special ways like having award shows allow a company to demonstrate how much they value their staff.
Sending out invitations can even be done in a way to make the employees feel special as you can do personalize envelopes.
A good company party once a quarter of a company-sponsored happy hour once a month allows employees to build rapport with each other. These can also allow employees to see other sides of managers that can help humanize people who might oftentimes communicate through email or a chat program.
Keep in mind that these should be done responsibly as the last thing anyone wants is people to have beers at the office then drive home potentially injuring or killing someone.
Retain top employees by treating them well and fostering a sense of family/friendship among staff. People want to feel valued as more than a profit margin or social security number.
The above strategies are a great place to start as investing in employee retention will cover itself financially by convincing employees to stay for a few years extra or until they retire!
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