As a manager you have a huge amount of repsonsibility when it comes to hiring and firing employees. You’ll do your best to hire the candidates you think are the best and you’ll have to document incidents in order to fire those who turn out to be not as great as they presented themselves. In the midst of all this, managers tend to forget one group of people – the good ones – the ones they should be working to retain.

A good employee isn’t one you can just leave alone, monitoring only when it comes time for the annual review or when you need to assign new work. Even good employees need attention and if they don’t get it, or feel appreciated, they might start to look elsewhere for work.

So what can you do to help retain the employees you already have and want to keep? Here are 5 things to consider.

• Pay them well. Money really isn’t the only factor people consider when it comes to taking or keeping a job but it does play a huge role in the decision. If your employees feel overworked and underpaid they’ll start to wonder if they can find what they feel to be a fair level of compensation elsewhere (and they probably can).
• Treat your employees fairly. Truth be told, you are all simply people. If you want your employees to feel good about themselves, treat them as if you are on an equal playing field. You know, as if you are all members of a team instead of them being the team with you as the leader.
• Make one-on-one time for each member of your team – whether it’s an informal cup of coffee in the morning or a trip out to lunch. Find time where neither of you feels pressured and let your team members know, on an individual basis, that you actually care about their growth and development.
• Allow space to breathe. Sure, there are rules, but everyone has their own way of getting the job done. Let your employees be creative in their work. As long as they aren’t breaking the law or any important rules – and they’re getting the work done on time – you’ll find they’re happier if they’re able to express themselves.
• Be personable. Be a great leader, with heart and spirit, and let them know you respect and appreciate what they do. The more respect you have for them, the more they’ll have for you.

On Friday we’ll go over a few more tips for employee retention. Until then, think about the relationships you have with your team members. Are they strong enough to survive?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Are you tired of having to go through the interview process every few months? If so, have you taken some time out to consider exactly why you keep having to do so? Is your business expanding rapidly you’re probably not very upset about having to find new employees. On the other hand, if you simply have a high employee turnover rate you may need to get to the root of the problem – why are your employees coming and going so quickly?

There are seven key components to employee retention – things you need to explore and understand. They are:

• The local labour market – Are there many jobs available or are people fighting over jobs as they become available?
• Your employee age profile – Age discrimination is wrong. However, what’s the average age of your employee base? Do they tend to be very young people looking for a job to start out in or are they older employees who are more likely to want to stay in one place for a longer period of time.
• Education – What’s the local education sector like? Are potential employees in your area likely to be high school graduates, college graduates, etc. What levels of education do you look for when you hire?
• Your employer reputation – Does your organisation have a good reputation as an employer? Do people hear good things about you and want to work for you, or do your employees talk about how uncaring and difficult you are to deal with?
• Managerial competencies – Is your organisation stocked with competent managers that follow great employment practices or are they vague and difficult to work with?
• Compensation – Do you offer competitive pay and benefits packages or can your employees easily find better pay elsewhere after gaining experience working for you?
• Ability to change – Is your organisation stuck in a rut or does it have the ability to grow and change as the economy and marketplace changes?

The answers to these questions will tell you alot about your organisation and its ability to retain good employees. Is there anything you can do right now to improve your employee retention rate?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”