Do your valued staff know that they are appreciated? Is their pay reflective of their worth within your company? If you’re answering no, then you need a wakeup call. The number one reason candidates give for wanting to change jobs is salary. This is followed by lack of career opportunities and then poor management or toxic workplace culture.
These powerful strategies will ensure your company is doing everything possible to retain talent.
- Avoid loyalty taxing staff
Have you heard of the term loyalty tax? It’s where individuals are financially disadvantaged for remaining loyal to a company. For example, banks offering new customers better interest rates than their long-term customers.
Numerous businesses apply a so-called loyalty tax to long term staff. Why is this? In some instances, it is an intentional decision to try and keep profits high and stakeholders happy. These companies avoid pay rises unless forced into giving them. Other companies put long-term staff at a financial disadvantage because they simply aren’t proactive about comparing internal salaries to the market.
With the current skills shortage, salaries are rising, and staff turnover is increasing. Companies need to be across the conditions of comparable external salaries and proactively offer competitive salaries to valued staff. This step is the most essential retention strategy.
- Offer career progression clarity
It’s well documented that employees are happier and less likely to quit when there is growth and a sense of purpose within their role.
Career development programs and training should be a key priority in your retention strategy. It’s important to have one-on-one discussions with individual employees around what motivates them and what they want to achieve. If possible, lay out a promotional plan with transparent KPIs. Talented staff you wish to retain and develop may also benefit from mentoring and/or career coaching.
- Company Culture
Many companies work hard to create a positive work culture that employees benefit from. However, it’s good to be aware of what is the standard so that you can go above and beyond this to help retain talent. For instance, it is now common for businesses to offer some degree of flexible work. Additionally, the implementation of environmentally sustainable policies is now commonplace which wasn’t the case in the past. Think of what you can do to set your business apart and be the most desirable place to work for talented employees. If you do so, your company will reap many tangible benefits.