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What's the best way to retain employees?
I'm curious to know others' strategies to keep employees happy and productive at their jobs.
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9 Answers
There are a number of strategies that companies can use to retain employees. Here are few I've observed that are effective:
*Monetary Recognition: Face it, people respond well to money. If you give high-performing employees a raise, or even an unexpected bonus, they'll be sure to appreciate it.
*Building a sense of community: Employees that are comfortable and happy at their jobs are obviously going to stick around longer. Plan events and foster a community within your company to boost friendships among employees.
*Flexibility: Employees undeniably appreciate being able to adjust their schedules if they need to schedule doctors' appointments, pick up the kids early, etc. Just be clear that completing their work is still important.
*Day to day perks: Of course, everyone likes perks. These don't have to be extravagant expenses though. You can buy your team pizza for lunch one day, or bring in cookies after a long week. A little bit goes a long way.
Hope that helps!
Keep them happy. Ensure you have enough power to make sure they are valued, their work is seen and appreciated, they are challenged and their needs (financial and developmental) are met.
I can only speak to tech professionals. Listen to them, let them know you are listening to them. Remember what they say! If they have to repeat things to you week over week, you are not doing a good job. Stimulate their brains. Engineers are learners (if they are good).
Remember that money is not always the answer, of course it is a good starting point, but it will never solve a management problem.
Dan,
Employees who are challenged, held accountable, kept informed, dealt with honestly and fairly are typically happy employees who give much more than is expected of themselves.
First, hire only driven and highly motivated people. Then, make sure their core values line up with the company's. Then, Lea Hartog's good points above should be put into practice.
Communications is important - all too frequently there are circumstances that are outside you control as a manager, and I've found that honest communications go a long way to keeping employees even through less than optimal situations. Listen to them and value their opinions and always provide feedback when you are unable to act on their suggestions.
We all have to deal with the realities of budgets and politics and can't always provide the money or perks we would like to and can't always act immediately on good ideas we get from our teams. Sincere discussions of the bigger picture not only helps the team feel less in the dark and foster less animosity towards 'management' but is also an important part of professional development and succession planning.
I completely agree with Mr. Finnegan. Communication is critical in any relationship, but particularly between manager to employee. Obviously it facilitates understanding on both sides, but it also helps clear the air-- which can be polluted with animosity, negativity, or even things like misinterpretations or rumors from co-workers. Part of this is talking to the team as a whole, but never underestimate the power of a one on one. Every employee should feel as though lines of communication are open, accessible, productive, AND candid.
Part of this is anticipating the diversity of your employees. Whether talking about gender, ethnicity, role in the company, or even low long they've been part of the team, part of keeping people happy is making them feel, if not special, then certainly equal. If employees feel they are provided the same level of information, advice, opportunities, rewards, respect, and compensation, they are more likely to contentedly work harder and produce more.
redefine the word job.
"this organization exists to pay you and supply health insurance so you can keep doing whatever you were interested in and did w/o pay"
Nancy:
My advice is develop and implement an engagement strategy. I define engagement as an organization where people willingly provide discretionary effort.
Quite honestly it begins in the hiring and selection process. Figure out who you are as an organization and hire beyond the usual KSA's to find people whose values and goals are congruent with your own.
Make sure your business strategies and "people practices" are consistent with your stated values.
Manage for commitment not compliance. My elements for that are ; respect, responsibility, information, rewards, and mutual loyalty. I have a white paper on my website that explains my model in much greater detail.
Lastly, I don't do happy or "satisfied" I do engaged. Happiness is a personal state of mind. My job can make me "happy" because I work with my friends, etc, but I don't give you 100%. Same way with "satisfied". Satisfied kind of seems like "good" which is the frenemy of excellence.
I want engagement which is focus and 110% commitment....
Engaged organizations outperform their competitors in every key performance metric; productivity, sustainability, and profitability. BTW their retention scores are double to triple that of non engaged or marginally engaged organizations....
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