How to Manage Staff Retention
People are generally your biggest resource in business. Getting the right dynamics in a team, the right level of discipline and friendliness is a difficult task for any company. Staff retention means not just employing the right people, but keeping them. If you can keep your staff and they hold you in high regard, then your business is more likely to flourish.
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Instructions
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Provide induction training, or orientation, to all new employees. Point out health and safety rules and fire exits and show new employees any regular forms they have to complete. Offer a mentor or guide for the first few weeks as this helps the new person to settle in. This helps to make a new employee feel welcome. The guide will introduce her to other members of staff and show her around different departments. The new employee should also be given her contract as part of the induction.
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Give appraisals and reviews on a regular basis. This helps both the employee and you. The employee needs to know she is doing a good job and where improvements or changes need to be made. You should be encouraging and motivating staff but also catching mistakes or problems early so they do not escalate. Appraisals can be linked to pay raises.
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Pay the right salaries. Keep up to date with salary levels in your industry and maintain your employees' pay at the right level. Salaries can become a source of dissatisfaction among employees. You need to ensure that salaries are kept confidential.
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Offer training to all your employees to help them develop and progress through the company. This helps them with progression and career plans, and it helps you to retain your staff and promote them through the company.
Training employees for multitasking is vital in small companies, because everyone needs to be able to take on other jobs when there is sickness or vacations. This helps the staff learn new skills and you to keep costs down.
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Settle any disputes among staff early. If you know there are certain employees that do not get along and it is causing problems within a department, then a meeting needs to be held to resolve the issue. If this does not work, then you need to move one of them to another department if possible.
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Offer bonus payments and staff incentives if you can. Bonuses are always welcome. Incentives spur staff on and add to the competitive edge. Also, a "thank you" is often worth its weight in gold. Praise and compliments go a long way in business and in life.
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References
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