Employee retention is becoming a problem for every small business. This is because many younger generations tend to switch jobs often in their careers, costing US businesses about $30 billion every year. This is a prohibitive cost that many small businesses can’t afford. However, there are various ways you can keep your employees working for you for many years to come. Here are some ways you can increase employee retention while decreasing employee turnover in your company.
Consider the Costs
First of all, you must consider the cost of keeping an employee versus letting them go. It’s estimated that the average cost for replacing an employee is about $4,000. This can vary depending on employee skills and how many days you have to train them. It’s an expensive cost, especially if you lose employees quite often in your company. However, it can also be much cheaper to replace an employee once they are performing below standards. This can be for varying reasons. So consider your costs and pick which is better for your company.
The very first thing employees want today is skills. They want to learn new skills to help facilitate their career and daily life. By giving them the ability to learn various skills through coaching, you can ensure that your employees will work for your company for years to come.
Coaching
Coaching is a much newer phenomenon happening in many companies in the US. At its core, coaching is quite similar to mentoring, but where it differs is in content—both coaching and mentoring looks into the performance of an employee and tweaking it to their needs. However, coaching mainly relies on improving and teaching life skills, whereas mentoring aims to teach work-based skills or skills to help employees work much efficiently in their jobs. They can use the things they learn from coaching not just in their job or in your company but also their lives. Coaching can differ depending on the level you are applying it to.
If you apply coaching to entry-level jobs in your company, the program will concentrate mainly on orienting your employees about essential work habits such as teamwork, focus, and job appreciation. For those who are in a more crucial role in your company, you can give them access to executive leadership coaching. This kind of coaching will improve their management skills while also further polishing their already existing interpersonal skills. Such a program will ensure that your management will stay true to your company and work efficiently to use the things they have learned from the program.
Clear Path to Career Advancements
Before recruiting anyone, it’s important that you lay down the groundwork for how they can advance in your company. Tell them about executive positions, promotions, and pay raises. Tell them what it means to work for your company and what you do to reward employees for a job well done. By telling your potential employees these things, they’ll find something that will allure them into your company and a goal they want to strive for the moment they start working for you.
Bonuses and Other Benefits
Bonuses and benefits play a big role in every company. For some employees, this is the main reason why they work for the company. These bonuses and benefits come in many forms. Some companies may offer a share in the company’s stock for those who have reached a company’s managerial position. In contrast, other companies might rely on yearly bonuses based on employee performance. There is a huge list of creative bonuses and benefits for your employee, making sure you pick one appropriate to your company.
Work Satisfaction
Work satisfaction is one of the reasons why employees keep working for their company. When your employees seize to learn something new in their jobs, there is a likely a chance they’ll quit. It’s important that you keep their tasks and jobs on rotation and don’t do the same monotone tasks every day. Creativity is key to work satisfaction, and creativity can be stimulated by giving your workers new tasks every day.
Ultimately, these essentials to employee retention don’t mean anything if your employees don’t like you. According to Inc, 76% of employees looking for a job attribute it to a ‘toxic’ boss. It’s time to consider yourself as part of the company instead of playing it from the sidelines. You can be a coach to many of your employees and become a good example to many more. Consider where you can fit in your company and work with your employees whenever you can. By doing this, you can ensure that your employees will work for your company for many years to come.
