You may be surprised but this new year’s most popular resolution has been “find a new job”. According to the latest research, two in five full-time Australian employees will be on the hunt for a new job in 2014.
Employee retention
Are your employees thinking of making a move?
A vast number of employees are fed up waiting for that overdue pay rise or are searching for a job that provides them with a better work/life balance. If you fear that your employees are feeling this way, then it’s time to assess what you can do from a human resources perspective to avoid your top performers from leaving you this year.
Retention tips
Consider the following…
Promote open discussions: Although the yearly performance reviews are crucial for both employees and managers, ensure you maintain an open, ongoing conversation with your employees. Schedule time into the diary for one-on-one catch-ups with each of your team members. These catch-ups will allow you to see where they are at with their workload and any roadblocks can be discussed. In some cases maybe it is a matter of shifting some of the responsibilities onto a less occupied employee or providing an employee who has a big responsibility with assistance from another team member. It is also a time to discuss any non-work related issues they would like to share that could be impacting on their performance.
Create opportunities: As a manager you should ensure you are looking out for any opportunities you can offer your team. This could include internal/external training that can contribute to their career progression, mentoring, leadership opportunities or even encouraging them to contribute to a company-wide project. This is guaranteed to let employees feel valued and show them that there is always room for growth.
Offer perks: Where pay rises are suitable but not a possibility, perks can be. Perks are a financially viable alternative for rewarding staff. Keep your employees happy by offering catered lunches, an office pet, discounted gym memberships, personal training sessions, team sports, study leave, birthday leave, social activities, volunteering day off, half-day Friday’s during summer, massages or even a sleeping pod.
Improve employee work/life balance: The most recent Better Life Index from OECD has found that Australia is lagging behind in 29th place when it comes to work/life balance. Employees value any free time they have outside of work to complete their non-work related chores. Allowing employees to work from home every now and then will not hurt your business. In fact, research has proven that employees who work from home are 10 – 20 per cent more productive. They also tend to contribute more to the company as they greatly value the trust that has been placed in them. For employees, working from home means that they can get those extra things done, before work, during their lunch break or in the afternoon. It is a huge bonus, especially for those employees who have kids needing to be collected from school!
Ask them!
So how about scheduling those meetings in with each of your employees this month? Ask them how they are honestly feeling in their current role and what you can do to help them feel happier at work. You never know, maybe just asking that simple question will show them that you care and could have a positive impact on their decision to stay or leave your workplace.