Successful companies don’t just make the best products or deliver the best services. They are successful because they have the right employees in the right jobs, and they have teams that stick together for the long haul. High turnover – especially among top performers – can impede an organization’s growth and negatively impact its competitive edge. Furthermore, losing top employees leads to low morale which leads to even more turnover, eventually impacting your ability to recruit great people. If your top employees are leaving for greener pastures, it’s time to start thinking about ways you can improve employee satisfaction and ultimately, retention.
Make the Right Hiring Choices
The real key to long-term retention is hiring the right people from the start. Many companies make the mistake of focusing solely on skills when evaluating candidates, but cultural misalignment is one of the biggest causes of employee dissatisfaction today. If you hire with both skills alignment and cultural alignment in mind, you are more likely to cultivate a team of people with staying power.
Offer Competitive Salary and Benefits Packages
Make no mistake, your employees will find out if you are paying less than competitive wages or if your benefits packages are thinner than your competitors. You don’t have to pay the highest salaries in your market, but you certainly don’t want to be on the low end of the scale. If you can’t compete on salary or benefits, you can sweeten the pot by adding perks that help your employees achieve work-life balance. Flexible scheduling, work-from-home days and liberal leave policies can instill a sense of loyalty in employees who yearn for greater flexibility in their workday.
Invest in Career Development
Your best employees are ambitious. They don’t want to be doing the same job for the next ten years. They want to learn, grow, develop and move up. If you don’t provide a clear path for advancement or if you don’t offer your team opportunities to learn new things and grow their skills set, they will be easily wooed by an employer that does. When you invest in the future of your team, they will invest in the future of your company.
Reward Strong Performance
It is human nature to want to be recognized for hard work and meaningful contributions. People want to know they are making a difference, and they want their leaders to notice when they are going the extra mile. Ideally, top performers would be recognized with promotions, raises, incentive bonuses, etc. However, monetary bonuses are not always practical. Develop a culture where hard work is rewarded with praise, thanks and recognition, so your hardest workers feel appreciated.
If your company is looking to attract and retain top technical engineering talent, reach out to the expert recruiters at Selectek today. We can connect you with the professionals who add value and have long-term staying power.
