Three Steps to Retaining Good Employees in a Red-Hot Job Market

Employee retention is an increasing concern for employers faced with a competitive labor market. When employees jump ship for better benefits or a few dollars more, being proactive about employee retention saves your company money and time in the long run.

Here are three quick takeaways that will increase loyalty, improve company culture, and keep your top performers happy.

Create meaningful opportunities

Provide opportunities for professional improvement and enrichment and give employees the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths. Offer challenging but manageable assignments that are a vote of confidence, especially if the assignment recognizes a special interest or talent of an individual employee. Studies show that 94% of employees will stay longer at a company that provides career development and training opportunities. Offer employees growth opportunities, as well as let them know that they each contribute to the success of the company. Embody brand values that make your employees proud to be a part of your organization.

Related: Promoting Employee Growth Without a Corporate Ladder

Connect with your employees

Building personal connections with your employees is vital to understanding them, especially why they choose to stay, and why they may leave. Meaningful connections allow open communication and invite feedback which is important to understanding what the company is doing right, as well as what needs improvement. Find out what motivates your top producers to come to work each day.

Staff morale is also positively impacted when leadership demonstrates interest in the well-being of their employees. Create opportunities for COVID-safe team outings or virtual meetups to show appreciation for your employees and help build relationships that motivate employees to stay with your organization. Work friendships boost job satisfaction by 50% (Source).

Offer competitive wages and benefits

Employees need to be compensated fairly commensurate with their work and experience. In this current hot market, people are job-hopping for just a dollar or two more per hour. It will generally be more costly in the long run to replace a good employee than to scrimp on wages. In addition, wages are a metric for the way you value your employees. Compensation is a reward for work well done and should reflect the value employees provide and appreciation of the organization.

Learn more: Is Paying Your Employees Less Costing You More?