by: Michelle Fish | CEO
It’s New Year’s resolution time again and one of the top resolutions people often make is to “find a new job” in the upcoming year. For HR professionals and recruiters this is both an opportunity and a challenge. It means that there will be a larger pool of interested, highly skilled professionals available to choose from, but it also means that your top talent could be one of them. Therefore, it’s important to take the time now to re-examine your employee retention strategy.
In addition to keeping recruiting and training costs down, employee retention has a direct correlation with heightened productivity. As customer service often suffers when a company experiences turnover, employee tenure will have a direct effect on your company’s profitability. So how do you retain your superstars in 2008? Here are my top tips:
1. Create a Culture of Open Communication
Employees are more apt to stay with a company if they feel like they play a critical role in the firm’s success. Share your company’s annual business plan with staff and get them excited about your goals for the upcoming year. Hold regular team meetings to provide a forum where staff can share their accomplishments, learn from each other, and stay aligned. Give managers access to financial information so that they feel accountable and can take ownership over projects. At Integra we have an open door policy so that employees know that they can come to anyone at anytime with anything; including me as CEO.
2. Recognize and Celebrate Employee Success
It sounds rather simple, but make sure that your top performers know that you appreciate them. It’s easy for managers to get caught up in the urgent tasks of the day and let recognition opportunities pass them by. A popular reason employees start job hunting is because they don’t feel like their contributions are important or valued. Take the time to acknowledge a job well done whether it’s through a simple “great job” or a more formal employee award program.
3. Provide Opportunities for Growth and Development
Top talent will not stand still for long; encourage this ambition by providing out-of-office opportunities for growth. Support employees to go back to school for continuing education or to attend industry specific conferences and workshops for further training. Employees value these types of programs as it shows that you have a genuine interest in their personal and professional development.]
Keep these tips in mind and you’re sure to create a workplace environment where top performers want to stay and thrive!
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