Hiring the right employees is only half the battle when it comes to having a strong workforce. The other half is retaining them. With the average cost of turnover ranging from 16% to 213% of an employee’s salary, it’s important to do everything you can to keep your team members engaged and committed to your company. Here are four tips to help you improve employee engagement and retention rates.
Communicate openly and frequently.
One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to keep the lines of communication open with your team members. Encourage an environment where employees feel comfortable asking questions and voicing concerns. When team members feel like they are able to openly communicate with their managers, they are more likely to be engaged and invested in their work. Additionally, regular one-on-one meetings give employees the opportunity to provide feedback and receive individualized attention.
Offer opportunities for professional development.
Investing in your employees’ professional development shows that you are committed to their growth and advancement within the company. It also helps ensure that your team has the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the ever-changing demands of your industry. Offer opportunities for employees to attend relevant conferences, workshops, or training programs. You can also encourage professional development by providing mentorship programs or tuition reimbursement for continuing education courses.
Promote work/life balance.
Allowing employees to have a healthy work/life balance is crucial to preventing burnout and ensuring that they are able to maintain a high level of engagement in their work. When employees feel like they have a good work/life balance, they are less likely to experience symptoms of stress and anxiety, which can lead to improved productivity levels, better decision making, and increased creativity. Offer flexible working arrangements, such as telecommuting or flexible hours, whenever possible. You can also help promote work/life balance by offering paid time off for mental health days or other personal days as needed.
Provide recognition and rewards.
Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done—including your employees! Acknowledging your team members’ successes helps show them that their hard work is appreciated and valued. You can offer formal recognition, such as awards or bonuses, or more informal forms of recognition, such as verbal praise or thank you notes. You can also use rewards as a way to motivate employees; for example, you could offer gift cards or additional paid time off for meeting sales goals or other targets. Whatever form of recognition you choose, be sure that it is timely so that employees know that their efforts are being noticed and appreciated in real-time.
Employee engagement is essential for any business that wants to succeed in today’s competitive marketplaces. While there is no silver bullet solution for improving employee engagement, there are steps that every business can take to create a more engaging workplace. By communicating openly and frequently with employees, offering opportunities for professional development, promoting work/life balance, and providing recognition and rewards, you can increase engagement levels throughout your workforce. When employees are engaged in their work, they are more productive, creative, and committed to your company—all of which leads to improved business outcomes.
Job.com is a digital recruitment innovator with a unique perspective: Delivering technology and capabilities that shake up the market by bringing together a data-driven approach based in AI and machine learning with high-level, human-capital-delivered solutions, designed to efficiently attract and retain the right talent and provide consumer-level user experiences throughout the hiring process.
