Staff Retention

How should employers retain staff?

In some eyes this would seem to be straight forward enough – pay them highly enough and they’ll take your job offer and remain! But others would argue that it is not quite as simple as that.

1 in 4 staff are thinking of leaving their job at any given time while looking for more opportunity and growth.

Get it right first time.

The first step towards retaining staff is probably to get the initial selection process correct. If the successful candidate’s expectations are not aligned with the employer’s expectations – in terms of each of culture, performance and development, there could be trouble ahead !!

Clients should be honest with candidates about the company’s values and the practicalities of the role.

Can you match the candidate’s expectations, and they yours?

It is important to understand the candidate’s career development aspirations and ambitions. Can the employer accommodate these ambitions?  If they cannot, then eventually the person may look elsewhere.

Do you promote from within?

A factor to be mindful of is the hiring organisation’s attitude towards internal advancement. If there is not a culture of promoting from within, then staff will assume that to progress they will have to move elsewhere.  This is a vicious cycle, as it will typically be the most talented who are able to move on, leaving those who are perhaps less suited to more senior or more complex roles in the organisation.  Internal candidates often face the challenge that the organisation knows – and may focus on – what their weaknesses are.  For external hires, this is generally not apparent beyond “I’m a bit of a perfectionist” interview responses…

Can the person perform in the role?

Hiring solely based on someone’s CV may not lead to staff retention.  The candidate’s functional capability should be identified during interview process. In technical roles this will be determined via the technical interviews and discussion or possible using technical testing.  However, this is not the whole story!  

Other factors that may come into play include:

The candidate’s current work environment.

Is it similar to your own company environment?  Is it fast paced or slow paced?  Is it a similar sector eg will the person be moving from the banking environment to the banking, financial services sector?

Team size.

If candidates have been working in a small team, they may find it difficult to adjust to working in a larger team and vice versa.  If the new environment is similar, it is reasonable to suggest that it is more likely that the person will be successful in the new environment.

Such challenges are not insurmountable.  It can help new employees if there is an internal network available to them. This could be in the form of a buddy system in a smaller organisation or having regular meetings with an HR Contact to help them build new relationships. This can help with performance and job satisfaction which will ultimately lead to better staff retention. 

Related to the above, it is suggested that companies provide a comprehensive feedback loop. This can be in the form of regular one to one informal meetings between the employee and the HR Person or ‘Buddy’. This provides the opportunity to confirm if the employees career aspirations are being met, if the role is what it they were led to believe. This allows for any adjustments to be made also. This gives the employee a voice, makes them feel involved in the process and this can contribute to job satisfaction and ultimately staff retention.

A Learning and Development Strategy contributes to staff retention. A lot of employees leave companies due to the perception that there is no opportunity to develop and upskill. According to Deloitte, millennials are 42% less likely to leave if there is an opportunity to upskill. Investing in your employees shows commitment to their progression!

Finally, if employees are rewarded, praised and acknowledged this will help with retention. Employees value praise when they have done a good job. If they are good at their job they may consider leaving if they feel unappreciated, unrewarded. This appreciation is generally demonstrated by financial reward, increased responsibility or promotion. Failing to do this may foster disappointment or - worse - resentment on the part of the employee.

In conclusion there are many ways companies can increase staff retention, and while the above is not a comprehensive list, applying some of these principles can go a long way to helping employers with staff retention.