If you look at some of the most common business costs that managers don’t pay enough attention to, you’ll
usually find that high employee turnover rates is one of them. Indeed, estimates show that it costs many thousands of dollars every time a staff member quits. This is because organizations have to spend time and money recruiting someone new, productivity is lost, and staff morale can be damaged if members of the team keep walking out.
If you’re keen to reduce the employee turnover rate in your business, you must look at ways to increase employee satisfaction. Happily, there are many things you can do to work on this. Read on for some top tips for making your team happier at work today.
Acknowledge and Reward Staff Members
One of the easiest things you can do to keep your top employees happy is acknowledge and reward their contributions to the business. Although many managers and company owners don’t bother to make the effort to congratulate employees on a job well done, or for their continued hard work, it is something that is actually of extreme importance to workers.
Although everyone likes to be rewarded with things like bonuses, awards, vouchers, trips, bottles of wine, gift cards and the like, really anything that shows staff members that their efforts have been noticed and appreciated will make a big difference.
Keep in mind that even just verbally recognizing a staff member for their contribution, or sending them a thank-you note or email, can make them feel valued and appreciated. Better yet, consider setting up a monthly ceremony whereby you acknowledge top workers in front of their peers.
Have Open Lines of Communication
Next, be aware that employees are always more likely to be satisfied at work if they feel that their managers and other team members are communicating honestly and openly with them on a regular basis. If you want to retain your staff, you must make sure that the leaders within the business know how to listen well to their team and any concerns, suggestions or issues they may bring up.
If employees get the feeling that they are being kept in the dark about upcoming changes to their role, an organization’s direction, or other items that affect them, they will tend to be on the lookout for a new role very quickly. It is therefore very important to keep all staff members apprised of any important developments as soon as you can, and to foster clear communication lines throughout the business.
Create a Positive Culture
Another key to increasing employee satisfaction is creating a positive company culture. After all, people always want to work in an environment where they feel happy, supported, part of a team, and trusted. Conversely, it is very common for team members to quit their jobs because they don’t like the person they have to report to or because they feel that the workplace is too negative.
To retain workers, you must ensure that managers lead by example. They should promote, and also work to, the firm’s mission and values, and help to make all employees feel like they’re valued members of a team, rather than just workers there to be bossed about.
People want to feel that they are treated with respect every day at work. They want to feel like they are trusted to do their job, rather than having to be micromanaged at all stages. They want to have the opportunity to provide input about tasks. And, above all, it should feel like all staff members are treated equally.
It pays to foster a good company culture through things such as group outings, special lunches where teams can eat together, inspiring presentations and so on. In addition, you should ensure that negative things, like personal criticisms, pettiness, gossip and regular, unnecessarily long work hours are avoided at all costs.
Encourage Input from Employees
Top employees will also be encouraged to stay in their roles if they can see that their opinions, feedback and ideas are valued and have an effect on business decisions. Wherever you can, encourage workers to give input into how tasks are completed, which projects are taken on, what new products or services are implemented, and the like.
Getting staff members involved in the decision-making process with the leaders of the firm will certainly help to keep them more committed to their roles and engaged in the business, as it builds a sense of ownership and pride in the venture.
Furthermore, remember that your staff members will also often be the ones to contribute the best ideas. This is because they can often come at things from a fresher perspective than managers, and because they’re the ones at the front lines of the business day in and day out who see how things really do (or don’t) work.
