Tips for Improving Employee Retention in 2020

Turnover is a problem in every line of business. It costs time, money and productivity to get new employees ready for their positions. In the long run, it drains valuable experience from your company. While causes of turnover are varied, they can all be handled with proper management techniques. Read on to learn how.

Never Micromanage

Micromanaging your employees tells them you don’t actually trust them to do the jobs you hired them for. You keep them watching you more than working. In other words, micromanaging kills your team’s productivity, creates a tense workplace atmosphere, and makes sure your employees are looking for other jobs. Instead of micromanaging, give projects to employees you know can handle them, and then get lost so they can work in peace. You can check in with them regularly, but avoid doing so frequently.

Workplace Tone Is Important

Some managers try to foster a competitive atmosphere at work, using bonuses and special opportunities given top producers as the carrot,  and punishments as the stick. Others have an absolute, inflexible approach to the rules. Both of these approaches set an unpleasant workplace tone, making your employees dread coming in to work.

Employee retention is tied directly to job satisfaction, which is heavily influenced by workplace tone. Employees who look forward to getting to work, or who at least don’t dread it, are more likely to keep working for you. Happy, satisfied employees work hard to help your company succeed, while unhappy employees just look for new jobs.

Listen to Your Employees and Try to Stay Flexible

Listening to your employees has a number of benefits for you. Firstly, it lets you know about potential problems before they become unpleasant surprises. Second, it shows your employees that you respect them. Set aside certain times specifically for your employees to come and talk with you. If they need you to change the schedule a bit, or be flexible with the official rules in some way, do so if at all possible. It shows them you value them, makes them happy to work for you, and it can even make them work harder out of gratitude.

Be Generous with the Perks and Benefits

Give your employees every benefit and perk you can. Offer them flextime, paid holidays, employee discounts, paid personal days, bonuses for high productivity, and whatever else you can manage. Many of these things are more valuable to your employees than money but cost you little more than a little effort with the schedule.

The Takeaway

Employee retention is, first, last, and always, a management problem. It is usually created by management, and it can be solved by management. Taking some time to create a positive work environment and make your employees feel respected and valued is always worth the effort. The happier your employees feel in the workplace, the less inclined they are to roam.

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