Love Your Team? Here’s How To Keep Them!

You’ve hired someone and they seem to be the perfect fit. They have passed the interview process with flying colors and you believe they have the potential to excel at their job and really contribute to your company. One question however is looming in the background: How will you ensure retention of the talent you have just acquired?

Why is it important to focus on employee retention?

Employee retention is critical to the long-term health of your business. Continually losing employees and having to hire and train new ones is a time consuming and costly process. Various estimates suggest that losing a middle manager can cost an organization up to 100% of his or her salary. Losing an upper level executive can cost up to two times that. Employee retention is also important for societal reasons as well. As the baby boomers (ages 49-67) retire, the workforce will almost be cut in half from 76 million people to 44 million people. This means that in a few years there will be far less people available to work and fewer options when it comes to hiring lasting employees.

Listed below are a number of strategies for increasing employee retention within your workforce:

• Ensure your employees know what is expected of them every day. Changing expectations make people nervous and on edge. It is important for people to understand their role within a company in order to perform at an optimal level and feel confident and satisfied in the workplace.
• Have a strong management staff. Many employees leave their job not because of the company or position itself but because of the management. Managers need to keep lines of communication open so employees feel free to come to them with questions or problems that might arise. Anything a manager does to make an employee feel unvalued is detrimental to retention.
• Creating a work environment that facilitates open communication channels and clear direction is integral to a positive work culture. A workplace where employees are not afraid to share their opinions and ideas is conducive to the continuous growth of your business and the people that work there. If an employee feels like they are being stifled, they will most likely look for another place of employment.
• Use your employees talents to their fullest. Take the time to understand your employees various individual strengths. This will help you delegate work appropriately as well as make your employees feel valued and empowered.
• Create new opportunities and learning experiences for your staff. People enjoy learning and being challenged within their roles. Give your most valued employees the chance to sit on relevant  committees, attend seminars and read and discuss books relating to their work. Without these opportunities the employee is likely to feel stagnant and will look for another company that better fits their needs.

These are just a few key points to help ensure that your top talent stays within the business. Overall it is important to get to know the people who work for you so that you are able to give them what they need to feel satisfied and motivated within your company. By doing this you will ensure that your top employees will remain loyal and will not take their experience, talent and skills elsewhere.

About The HR Team: Founded in 1996, The HR Team is a Maryland-based human resources outsourcing firm committed to developing  strategic, customized  solutions that respond to the unique needs and cultures of organizations of all types and sizes. Available as a one-source alternative to an in-house HR department or on an à la carte project basis, the company’s flexible service models address the full spectrum of HR needs that many organizations struggle to address. The HR Team helps clients achieve their highest level of success by providing value-driven human resources services that leave them time to focus on what they do best: directing business growth and profitability. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, the firm serves all of Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. To learn more about The HR Team, call 410.381.9700 or visit https://www.thehrteam.com/.