Foundational Best Practices for Employee Retention ~ By Christina

A recent study shows that 49% of Canadians are considering leaving their jobs. The number one reason is that they feel overlooked. If you want to keep your employees that you’ve worked so hard to find and train you need to put effort in to keeping them.

So, let’s get back to basics.

1: Pay Fairly. Employees don’t work for you simply because they love you and believe in your service or product. Like it or not they work for money (unavoidably, we live in a capitalist society and money is a fundamental.) As a recruitment firm we simply wont work with employers who don’t pay enough. We turned down a large multi-recruitment contract because the employer wanted to pay the supervisors 25 cents more than minimum wage (which is what the front-line staff were making) and the managers only 25 cents more than the supervisors. I’m still scratching my head on that one! This is an extreme example, but it does demonstrate how essential it is to do your research and figure out what the role is worth. Yes, you must look at your own budget but you also need to look at the value the employee provides to you in terms of their skills, experience, knowledge, time and energy that they give to you in return for a pay cheque. Paying fairly in exchange for all they give you is table stakes and the foundation on which you build a reputation as a great employer. 

2: Care about Your Employees. Employees need validation. When they are validated by their leader they become loyal and are five times more likely to stay at their current organization. Whereas employees who don’t feel recognized are two times more likely to be job hunting. (And PS: Turnover costs, at minimum, 33% of an employee’s salary.)  So how do you care and validate? That depends on the employee. Some employees just need you to say “great job” to them directly, others like to hear it in front of the team, others like to see it in writing, any many want it to be acknowledged in performance reviews. If you don’t know – ask your employee. They’ll be sure to tell you how they like to be acknowledged. This also goes beyond a pat on the back when the work is good; it’s also acknowledging them as people in everyday situations. Ask about their families, be curious about what hey are up to over the weekend and then follow up on Monday morning. Caring about your employees starts by actually considering them and their full lives. 

3: Provide Purpose over Profit. Gallup research shows that employees who are engaged and thriving are 59% less likely to look for a job elsewhere. And the number one way to engage employees is to give them something to work toward that serves a greater purpose than simply making money for the organization. Working with a team toward a specific mission and vision is an experience that employees can attach themselves to. All companies with high employee morale and job satisfaction show their values through a core mission statement. That mission statement isn’t just sitting on the website – it’s embedded in the work they do and they way they treat their customers and their employees.

These are straightforward ideas to set yourself up as an employer that people want to work for.  I’m not saying it’s simple or easy – but these are definitely foundational requirements if you want to keep those team members that you value.