It goes without saying that the quality and loyalty of employees determine the long-term success of any organisation.

As an employer, you need to ensure that your employees feel that they are part of your company’s goals and achievements.

This involves taking genuine care of your employees by investing time and resources to develop their talents as well as creating a conducive work environment.

That being said, in a fast-paced business environment where corporate growth and profitability are critical, new strategies play a crucial role in retaining the best employees.

Here are eight tips to help employers retain and develop loyal employees.

Fair pay or they walk away

Fair payment is essential towards retaining employees. If employees are promoted and receive new roles and responsibilities, they should be compensated accordingly.

Consider offering things such as incentive pay, retention bonuses and compensation for long-term projects. Non-monetary rewards such as benefit plans, flexible work schedules, childcare, retirement programmes, tuition and even discounts are equally significant.

Growth, learning and development

The best talents thrive on proper growth, learning and development, hence a lack of these opportunities will force good employees to resign.

Mentoring and coaching is a great way to help employees perform more effectively, especially when they are guided by experienced peers. In fact, such strategies also help new hires to acclimatise quickly into their roles.

This not only increases job satisfaction among employees and reduces turnover, but also boosts morale and productivity at work, as employees will be on their feet to learn and grow.

Give credit where it’s due

Exceptional employees stay loyal when they are recognised and respected for their contributions. What’s more, driven employees strive to prove themselves each day when they know their work is appreciated.

When employees are consistently recognised in such a manner, they in turn help to maintain or even raise the productivity levels of the company. To help ensure your employees feel valued, you can adopt these four types of engagement:

• Be intentional with your everyday conversations with them.
• Show them that other employees need their help too.
• Show your trust in them by assigning them with an important task.
• Recognise each employee for their role and contribution to the company.

Motivate and challenge them

Provide consistent motivation and feedback to your employees, especially on how you feel about their work performance. Giving praise is a great way to motivate employees to perform well.

With constructive criticism, you can also encourage employees to strive for improvements in areas that they need to prioritise. Praise and criticism should be addressed frequently, instead of waiting for the annual review.

Transparency is key

Holding back important information can sometimes have a demoralising effect on employees. When there is a problem or issue affecting the company, it should be made known to everyone.

In fact, the best solutions may even surface from employees instead of coming from the top. Moreover, trust is necessary to keep everyone informed when a problem or issue arises.

Their opinions matter

While it is a mammoth task to implement, as an employer, you should strive to listen to every person’s opinion in your company, regardless of their job designations.

Give employees the opportunity to voice their ideas for solving problems or improving workflow processes. Likewise, never discount their solutions when it comes to improving or creating new ways that help enhance the company’s business.

Healthy company culture

Employing people that do not mix in with the current or desired company culture can lead to poor work performance and reduced job satisfaction. These factors can devolve into a toxic work environment which leads to an increase in employee turnover.

Company culture is nurtured from the inception of the organisation or through a collective sum of the beliefs, experiences and behaviours of the company.

Once you are able to integrate the right employees who share the same cultural beliefs with relevant training and professional development, you will be able to see a positive outcome.

Clear objectives and directions

Most employees want to understand and succeed in their roles. Furthermore, they need to see how their daily work contributes to the bigger picture of the company’s success.

The factors that define this is known as effective goal setting or S.M.A.R.T which stands for:

• Specific: When distinct goals are set for employees, managers can track and measure progress to accomplish the objective.
• Measurable: Set milestones to monitor progress and drive employees toward success.
• Attainable: Success needs to be achievable with effort shown from everyone, and it should not be too complex or unfeasible.
• Relevant: Focus on the greatest impact that could influence the overall company strategy.
• Time-bound: Set adequate time to accomplish a goal, but not too time-consuming to affect their performance. Objectives without deadlines tend to be overtaken by day-to-day tasks.

This article first appeared in jobstore.com

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