A side effect of our increasingly digital world is that employment issues are more transparent and more widely known. Employees are able to discuss previously taboo topics, such as salary and benefits information, with ease, and a free to comment on their work environment to a worldwide audience.
The high level of information has assured top performers that they do not have to stay in a position that they are unhappy with, as it is easy to see the alternatives that exist in the marketplace, and can even secure a new job from the smartphone.
If it feels like your best employees are leaving faster than you can replace them, it may be a sign that your organization needs to examine how its current practices are influencing top performers. If you aren’t sure where to begin, take a look at the tips below.
Create a Retention Plan
If your business does not have a retention plan, it needs to get one. Retention plans are the partners of recruitment plans. Instead of aiming at acquiring new talent, a retention plan focuses on the steps necessary to keep top talent in-house once they have signed on.
So, how do you create a plan if you don’t have one? You talk to your employees. Take the time to find out their most frustrating workplace issues and concerns, and devise a way to begin addressing them. For example, if constant overtime is wearing employees down, consider creating a plan to reallocate personnel, or hire additional employees, to take some of the burden off of the table. If a lack of training or advancement opportunities is noted, consider instituting internal education or mentorship programs.
The key to a retention plan is to find out what is driving employees to the brink, and focusing on those areas first. Consider starting with anonymous employee surveys and exit interviews to begin identifying the highest areas of concern, and creating a plan from there.
Encourage Communication
Aside from formal surveys, encouraging employees to voice their concerns can help spot issues as they arise, allowing management to act upon them before they drive quality employees away. Additionally, communicating your expectations regarding employee tasks and performance is key to removing any sense of ambiguity.
Failure to establish a regular back-and-forth can lead to missed opportunities to address problems at their earliest stages.
Promote from Within
While promoting from within may not always be an option, it is the direction that should be used whenever it is appropriate. This helps create an environment where employees can see how their careers can develop with the organization over time. In contrast, only hiring from outside the organization implies that they only way to make any forward progress is to seek opportunities elsewhere.
That being said, it is better to hire a qualified external candidate than an incapable internal candidate. Not every promotional opportunity has to be filled from within in order to foster an environment where career development seems plausible, but regular internal advancement helps employees feel that their career goals are supported.
Contact TempStaff today if you are sick of losing top employees. We have the trained recruiting experts on staff to help you find stellar long-term or temporary candidates for your workplace.