The best way to cultivate employee loyalty is to treat people the way you would like to be treated, providing staff with the opportunity to grow in their roles. Photo: File.
While job-hopping has become a standard practice, especially among younger workers, Roberta Matuson has some advice on keeping employee turnover under control.
In an era where switching jobs every couple of years (or months) feels normal, people often ask what can be done to reverse this trend. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind when seeking to engage and retain staff.
Employee loyalty is about people giving their all while employed by you. It’s better to have a fully engaged employee who is loyal for a brief period than an employee who has one foot out the door all the time.
Employees are free agents and will go wherever they get the best deal and where they’re treated well.
If you want people to stay, make sure you give them something that is tough to find elsewhere – outstanding leadership.
Pay competitive wages, even if you have the upper hand, as the pendulum could change at a moment’s notice.
When staffing positions, be less concerned with longevity and focus on the value a prospective employee will bring to your team.
Keep in mind that great people may have lost their jobs recently due to circumstances beyond their control. This means you have an excellent opportunity to pick up talent that may not have been an option in years prior.
Hiring the right people from the start is the best way to reduce turnover. Don’t assume your hiring manager knows how to hire, as very few leaders have been properly trained in assessing candidates.
Make employee selection training a requirement for all managers and watch the quality of your hires rise while employee turnover plummets.
People don’t work for organisations; they work for people, which is why you should be very careful who you let into management.
Make sure the people you’re placing in supervisory and management roles are worthy of these positions. If they’re not, you’re at risk of losing great employees, which in the end will cost your organisation its reputation and a lot of money when you have to constantly rehire.
The best way to cultivate employee loyalty is to treat people the way you’d like to be treated. Provide employees with the opportunity to grow in their roles.
Nurture your relationships with your team and watch them flourish.
When employees speak, listen deeply and act. Don’t wait until the annual employee engagement survey comes around again before fixing problems you know exist.
Employee engagement and loyalty do not have to be things of the past if you’re willing to work on a meaningful future with those in your employ.
In the end, people remember how you made them feel, which will determine whether they remain loyal to you or go elsewhere.
Roberta Matuson is president of Matuson Consulting, which helps Fortune 500 companies and high-growth businesses create exceptional workplaces, leading to extraordinary results. She can be contacted at [email protected]. This article first appeared on Roberta’s blogsite.
