What’s the best-kept secret to retaining employees? It’s actually not more money or added perks. For most employees, it comes down to one important aspect of your business, and that’s your culture.
Did you know that 70 percent of US workers feel negatively about their jobs? Millions of workers are emotionally disconnected from what they are doing, and that disconnection leads to a drop in productivity.
Psychological engagement and social engagement have a huge impact on how people are performing and how satisfied they are in their careers. Companies that understand this and actually do something to address it are the ones that will see low turnover rates, high employee engagement, and increases in productivity, creativity and overall success.
While every company might not have the huge budgets or large staffs that are conducive to fostering consistent forward-thinking innovation, there are a few simple elements you can put in place to help create an environment where your employees are happy, healthy and most importantly, want to come to work every day. They don’t have to be budget-breaking – we love our “Pizza Fridays” (and so did Forbes!).
Communicate and Be Transparent
Remember that mean girl in school who would whisper secrets to her BFF and it made you feel like an outcast because you were so out of the loop? Don’t be the mean girl boss. Honesty and communication is key if you want to create a stable and loyal workplace. We all know that some information is confidential and must stay between certain key executives, but keeping your employees in the know, even when it’s about minor updates, shows that there is trust among team members. This is crucial to workplace morale.
Map Career Paths
Regular check-ins with employees should be an obvious one but it’s something that often gets overlooked by executives who are constantly running from meeting to meeting. Scheduling regular employee reviews is a necessary step when it comes to an employee’s future with the company. These meetings provide a chance for the employee to discuss likes, dislikes and where they seem themselves fitting in to the overall growth of the organization.
You don’t want employees who feel like there is no future at your company. You want them to know that they have room to grow and further influence how your business does its work. If you let them think “this is it,” then they probably won’t stay too long.
Appreciate and Acknowledge Success
Who doesn’t love a compliment every once in a while? Highlighting an employee or a team’s success is critical when it comes to making people feel valued. It’s as easy as sending out a company-wide email about a big project that was just completed and calling out the key players that made it happen. Everyone wants to feel that their hard work is noticed and appreciated, and by thanking them for their individual contributions you will be sending a message to your entire team that you care.
Have Some Fun
This is the simplest concept of them all and one of the most important. Of course, the work takes priority, but to really make sure you are keeping your employees happy, make sure they are enjoying doing it – and enjoying the time your employees get to be together without any pressing deadlines.
Just wrapped up a big project? Celebrate with ordering pizza for the whole office that day. Just signed a huge client? Take everyone out for a beer at the end of the workday. Giving people something to look forward to and bond over will no doubt help in creating an environment where employees are loyal, honest and most certainly, connected.
Keep Everyone Involved
I end on this one, because, more so than pizza and compliments, it’s important that everyone understand how their role and work benefits the company. This is what will push people to do their best – if they believe their work has no impact, they’re going to do just enough to stick around.
Give everyone in your organization a chance to speak up with new ideas. Allow them to raise concerns when they think there are issues that need to be addressed. Promote a culture in which every voice is valued – that’s a culture that people who want to achieve and take your company further than ever will join and thrive within.
