Best Practices for Retaining Good Employees

Good employees are hard to come by, and keeping them in your company can be even more difficult, especially if they’re not inclined to stay under your management in the first place. The secret to keeping good employees is making sure you are good to them, but what exactly can you do to make them want to stay? Here are a few tips that you may want to abide by:

Employee retention

1. Maintain Good Communication

You know one of the best ways to tell good employees that you appreciate them? Constant communication. It may not seem like it, but one of the most common reasons why good employees leave is that they feel like the management doesn’t connect with them frequently enough.

By maintaining good communication with them, you’re showing them that your company cares about them. You don’t even have to hold meetings and pep talks every day; you can use an enterprise communication app to make sure everyone in your is always in the loop regarding company matters or even engage them in friendly conversation without disrupting their work processes.

2. Help Them Grow

Employee retention is directly proportional to how much your employees think you value them, and few things can show that better than helping them advance their career. We’re not talking straight up promotions left and right; we mean offering direct coaching sessions that can enhance their skills and make them more competent at their job.

Effective employee management takes more than just tracking their progress. Hear out their concerns, and acknowledge their opinions. Show genuine interest in your employees, and let them know that you you want them to strive for greater heights. Employees would be more likely to stay if they know they can get something great out of working with you.

3. Track Performances

This is tied to the previous point. In order to maximize employee growth, both employee and manager should know which areas need improvement and which areas they excel in. Commend them for doing good work, and think of a way to help your employees address their weak points.

If the employee is having trouble in certain areas, don’t just chastise them for underperforming; approach them by letting them know that conquering their shortcomings is beneficial to both you and them, and you’re willing to help them improve.

Employee award
photo credit: Flickr

4. Reward Good Work

Even the most enthusiastic workers will eventually feel burnout if they feel that their job isn’t that rewarding, especially considering the amount of effort they put in their work. To avoid this, you need to let workers know that hard work has its rewards.

It doesn’t even have to be a raise or cash bonus; for example, you can treat a good employee to dinner or have them dismissed earlier than usual before a holiday or weekend. Just throwing more money their way doesn’t always work and can even give them the idea that management doesn’t really care much.

5. Prioritize Them over New Hires

Don’t let good employees find better career opportunities outside. If a higher position is vacant, consider relaying the information through internal communication channels to see if any of your employees are willing to take the job.

Sometimes, you’ll have an employee who has some of the necessary skills and the passion for the job, but may require extra training to properly fill the position. Investing in a good employee thru training is one of the best ways to improve employee engagement.

Good employees are an important resource for any company. Strengthening your company’s relationship with them not only helps your company, but also the employees as they reach greater potential and more fruitful careers in the long run.