Negosentro.com | In a historically tight labor market, retaining top talent is foremost on the minds of business owners and executives. Turnover rates are particularly high in technology subsectors, according to human resources expert Michael Booz, but no industry is immune from the trend.
What can your organization do to ensure that it retains its best and brightest employees — and keeps them from going to work for its closest competitors? Consider these six straightforward strategies, for starters.
- Keep Compensation At or Above Industry Standards
As Booz’s analysis makes clear, employees who feel that they’re not paid wages and benefits commensurate with their experience and expertise are more likely to consider attractive job offers made by their current employers’ competitors. While this trend is particularly pronounced in the tech industry and highly paid professional services niches, most industries are impacted.
For corporate decision-makers, this underscores the need to keep employee compensation at or above industry benchmarks for comparable roles and seniority levels. Your goal is to create and sustain a workforce that feels truly valued.
- Create a Strong, Cohesive Internal Culture
Just as important is the imperative to foster a cohesive internal culture. When employees feel as if they’re working toward the same high-level goals and objectives, they’re more likely to cooperate, share information, and sublimate their own personal motives to the organization’s greater good. According to Miami entrepreneur George Otte, internal cohesion improves productivity and establishes the organization as an attractive place to work.
- Hire Team Players And Weed Out Potentially Toxic Employees
When hiring to fill a newly created or vacated role, seek out candidates likely to have a positive influence on your organization. Look for employees who’ve established themselves as team players in previous roles, and avoid those whose past colleagues can find little good to say about them.
- Create Opportunities for Organic Advancement
According to a white paper by the Consumer Technology Association, opportunities for further education and career advancement are top priorities for today’s employees. Create these opportunities by establishing scholarships for company employees, offering tuition matches or credits, and allowing modified or flexible work arrangements to accommodate class schedules and coursework.
- Periodically Poll Your Workforce
Use anonymized surveys to periodically poll your workforce on key measures of employee satisfaction, such as pay, benefits, workplace culture, and management support. While it’s important not to overreact to the results of such surveys, you can and should incorporate gathered data as you deploy or adjust employee incentives and policies.
- Allow Flexible Scheduling and Time-Off Policies Where Possible
After taking the time to familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of an unlimited vacation policy, consider deploying a modified version of such a policy. Modern employees increasingly value the ability to work on their own terms and schedules, and may balk at overly rigid scheduling or time-off requirements.
Reduce Turnover, Increase Performance
Although some workplace turnover is healthy, a relatively high retention rate may foster internal cohesion and improve team performance. That, in turn, benefits all employees — from the organization’s shareholders and executives to its front-line, non-managerial workforce.
If you’re committed to reducing your company’s turnover rate and boosting key performance metrics, you’d do well to start with the strategies described above.
