The past few years have presented various challenges for business owners; particularly when it comes to employee retention. This is due to the fact that the pandemic has caused many employees to reconsider their professional goals and workplace happiness - which in turn has led to what has been dubbed the great resignation.
As discussed by entrepreneur Dee Agarwal - during the great resignation thousands upon thousands of employees have quit their jobs in search of greener pastures. As a result, this has caused a nightmare for HR departments, who must then scramble to find replacements as soon as possible. However, Agarwal predicts that the biggest challenge that results from this is actually finding a way to hold onto employees, keeping them happy in the workplace.
Photo by Clayton Cardinalli on Unsplash
With that in mind, here are some great ways in which you can improve your employee retention rates in spite of the great resignation.
Identify the reasons for workplace unhappiness. While employees may cite various different reasons as to why they wish to leave their job, it will often come down to unhappiness. However, it's important that you are able to get to the root of employee unhappiness so that you are able to put plans in place to eradicate this issue in the future. For example, if your employees are experiencing burnout then you can resolve this by lightening the workload, or encouraging them to take a break when they need one.
Create a friendly workplace environment. Poor workplace culture, such as competition amongst colleagues is another reason why employees may begin to look elsewhere for work. As a result, you should ensure that you find a way to create a workplace culture that is as relaxed and friendly as possible - as this will help your employees reach the peak of their productivity and happiness. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by ensuring that you encourage collaboration between employees as opposed to getting them to compete against each other.
Improve your onboarding process. The onboarding process or probationary period is not only a time for you to figure out whether or not an employee is right for you - as they are also figuring out whether you are right for them. As a result, it's important that you put a lot of effort in to curating the perfect onboarding process, where employees are given the appropriate training and support they need to succeed. This is particularly important if you are transitioning from operating solo to hiring employees for the first time.
Give your employees an opportunity for growth. Whenever a new member joins your team, it's important that you understand that they will not want to be in that position forever. For example, they may dream of climbing the ladder and taking on a managerial role or may even want to open their own company in the future - and it's important that you try to facilitate this by giving them plenty of opportunities to grow. For example, you could provide them with ongoing training that will help them develop skills that will benefit both of you. They'll get to grow and develop and in turn, will be able to complete their job to a higher standard.
Reward good work. When we are rewarded or praised for good work, it can make it seem as though all of the hard work is worth it - and as such, if you want to keep your employees happy and focused at work you need to start showing your appreciation. While this does not mean that you should shower them with gifts every day - do not underestimate how much a simple ‘good job’ or ‘well done’ can impact an employee.
Ensure you’re paying employees fairly. During the great resignation, many employees left their current position to search for a higher salary, which is unsurprising given that the cost of living is also rising. However, this means that you must ensure that employees are compensated fairly for their time, efforts and contributions to your business. One way in which you can figure out if your salaries are fair is by doing market research and finding out what the industry standard pay is for this position.
Ask for feedback. While you may feel as though you have a strong indication of how your employees are feeling - you are not a mind reader. Therefore, if you want to improve workplace happiness (and retention rates) then you must ask them for feedback. Give them the chance to give this feedback anonymously, and make it clear that there will be no repercussions for negative feedback, and that instead, you will strive to make change.