Keeping hold of your staff is imperative to having a successful business, but it’s not always as easy as it sounds. As job-hopping becomes an ever-increasing trend, it is important to make staff feel valued to ensure their loyalty to your company.
Staff turnover can be extremely costly to businesses and can result in a loss of essential knowledge and expertise. Not to mention recruitment time, interviewing and training new staff members that also need to be taken into consideration, all of which can take its toll on productivity. Many companies have already taken this on board and have introduced schemes to keep employees happy, in the hope to keep them in the same place for longer.
Provide Flexible Hours
The pace of the world is increasing, and it’s becoming harder to fit everything in. Employees can become frustrated with the rigid 9 to 5 structure and would often like the benefits of flexible hours. If your business model can accommodate change, try introducing optional work patterns to the week allowing staff to choose hours that work for them.
Time applications such as Harvest will help keep track of employee schedules, and you may find productivity increases along with the satisfaction of your staff.
Work from Home Options
Something to consider if you can trust your employee’s work ethic is to allow certain days to be worked from home. A monthly allowance could be issued to long term employees, giving them the opportunity to save time on the commute or be at home for package deliveries, and so on.
You’ll need to keep a close eye on productivity initially as working from home is not suitable for all, some employees may take this for granted and end up costing the business valuable time and money.
Incentivize Your Staff
Whether it’s a monthly sales bonus or an enterprise management incentive, giving staff something more to work for is a great way to keep them happy. Providing a sense of ownership for the work they do, employees will feel part of the bigger picture and not just another cog in the machine. It’s a great way to achieve long term loyalty in the workplace.
Schedule in Social Events
Work doesn’t always have to be about work, and social events are often the perfect way to get staff interacting together. Boost staff morale and give them something to look forward to, there are plenty of out of office activities worth organizing.
From away days to meals out, make your staff feel part of the family and get them involved in the planning process too. Remember your idea of a good time may not be right for your employees.
Recognise Hard Working Employees
There’s nothing wrong with the classic employee of the month as staff members relish recognition for their work. Hold a relaxed office meeting on the last Friday of every month giving staff the opportunity to wind down for the weekend and leave work in a positive mood.
