If your business is on the uptake, it might be time to take on new employees, but you also want to retain the employees that are aiding in the progress of your company.
Employee retention remains a big obstacle for many companies. Small companies will feel the pinch a lot more than a large multinational, but no matter the size of your company, losing a valuable employee will cost you.
Your business will lose out in terms of hiring and training costs associated with new employees and the experience and impact on the company culture and morale of employees who leave.
As a business owner, you must develop the right team for your business and retain the employees that are the most valuable to your business.
There are several steps that you can follow which will help you find the right employees for any new role you have.
There are also several methods to help you retain your employees, ensuring you have a winning team long into the future.
Firstly, let us look at how to find the right employees and then how to retain these employees long into the future.
Hiring the right team members:
Building a successful team will take some trial and error, but once you have built that team you can delegate more, focus on different aspects of your business and allow it to become self-sufficient to a degree. So how do we do this?
- Simplify the hiring process:
The job market can be very competitive, so you want to make the application process simple and informative for your potential applicants.
Work through the application process and note any issues you encounter. Do your utmost to remove these obstacles and provide a clear path for applicants to follow.
In this way, you will have an abundance of applicants which you can vet for the position.
- Learn more about your employees:
During the interview process, find out what drives your applicant.
- Why have they applied for this role?
- What skills can they provide?
- How do they operate individually and as part of a team?
You can use pre-interview screening questions and several other methods to find out how they will fit into their role and the community at your business.
Its important applicants bring something more than technical skills to your open positions.
You want employees who gel into your company culture.
Though you may not be working with each new employee, it’s important to know if they see a future at your business or if they are simply using it as a springboard.
- Use effective communication:
Communicate with applicants in the same way you would like to be communicated with. Knowing they are dealing with a human and not an autoresponder lets applicant know they are valued.
You can learn more through effective communication so it’s important to start employees on the right path.
Find out what channels work best for them, and talk to them as humans and not just other applicants. Positive experiences from the outset help both parties determine if they are the right fit for the role.
- Hold onto valuable information:
You may have found a valuable employee that is just not the right fit at the moment.
They may be highly skilled and useful for the future so it’s important to make a note of these applicants and their potential.
You can refer back to their information if a position opens up for which they are more suitable.
This will save you time in the future and provide you with additional options when looking to expand.
Inform applicants of your intentions so they are receptive to you reaching out.
- Ask for Referrals:
Who better understands your company and its needs than the employees you already have?
Ask employees for referrals should positions open up. They will be able to provide you with potential recruits that you could miss using traditional channels.
Finding employees, you already know will fit into your company can be of great benefit and you will again save time throughout the recruitment process.
Be open to suggestions from your existing employees. Perhaps they notice an area of improvement that you do not.
How to Retain Your Employee Dream Team:
Competitive salaries and packages are only one part of retaining valuable employees. Should you have a strong team that you are happy with, it’s important to retain these employees.
There are many options for skilled employees. They can be found on job boards, through recruiters and with rivals who may wish to poach your employees.
As a business owner, it is up to you to set up enticing systems that make the option of leaving your company harder to make.
By retaining employees, you save on training costs, maintain your business systems and highlight to others the value of working at your company.
- Play to your strengths:
It is easy to find out what your employees can provide to your business, but it is equally important to provide added benefits to your employees.
Many employees do not simply stay for their salary. If you can offer incentives that drive and inspire employees, you are bound to hold onto them for much longer.
A case in point is the famous working environment developed by Google.
Although you may not be at the level of Google just yet, perhaps you can provide discounts and other rewards that show your employees that they are valued.
- Use effective communication:
Just as with the application phase. Using effective communication among your employees will prove vital in employee retention.
If your employees can come to you with suggestions and advice and you can respond effectively it creates a better working atmosphere. Communication is key throughout every facet of our life and even more so in business.
Learnt the skill of effective communication and you will hold onto employees.
- Prioritise onboarding:
A new career and role can be stressful for new employees, it’s important to have a tried and tested onboarding system. Your employees need to get all the information so they can be effective within your business.
Knowing their role and position is important for employees to feel valuable and useful to your business. Having a positive start will only solidify their commitment.
Inform them of KPIs and what is expected of them. But also highlight rewards and incentives and their value to the company.
An employee who feels overwhelmed or underutilised will not stay in a position for long.
- Provide a path for career advancement
With employee turnover reaching record highs, all businesses need to have clear paths of progression within their business.
Employees who do not see a future will be inclined to look elsewhere.
Having a path of advancement and goals to achieve within your company will give employees something else to work for.
Offering a variety of benefits is vital to employee retention.
- Listen to feedback:
Employee feedback is vital for a business to succeed.
There may be issues and pain points that you have overlooked.
This can be within the business process, employee issues, supply chain failures etc.
As a business owner, it’s almost impossible to notice every issue within your business.
Feedback whether good or bad, allows you to address these issues, helping your business and employees at the same time.
If you listen to and address feedback, you can do a lot towards employees’ trust and value within your business.
Consulting and how it can help your business:
Whether you are striving for a large expansion or are simply looking for one additional employee using the strategies here will make your search much easier.
Building a business solo can be difficult, there are many new things to learn.
This may not just be practical, you need to understand communication, where to look for resources and have accountability to reach your goals.
Consulting and coaching provide business leaders with many benefits.
From organisation to idea generation it’s important to have a springboard to work off.
Battling ideas within yourself can be stressful and if you make mistakes such as hiring the wrong employee or losing valuable employee assets can seem unwinnable.
Consultants help you through these difficult situations.
If you are looking to develop hiring and retention skills and ideas, get in touch with 4growth today.
