What makes people want to stay?
Why do people decide to stay in their job? There are many answers to this question – almost as many as people employed. Everyone knows what makes them excited to get out of bed in the morning, and it’s rarely the exact same thing as the people they share an office with. John has been with Company A for 7 years and has every intention of staying as long as he can, maybe even retiring there. John’s manager knows why John likes working there and why he’s chosen to stay there this long and to continue working there. Everyone wants an office full of Johns, but to get there you need to know more about your workforce. The first step to getting more of those satisfied, happy individuals is to understand why your team members come to work in the first place.
How do you go about figuring it out what makes the right people for your organization tick, and how do you start getting more of the people who are excited to come in? Finding the right people is a continual challenge for companies, using up time and money. In addition, if that person you just hired doesn’t stay at least a year, you’ve added to your cost of turnover and the vicious cycle starts all over. Luckily, there are a number of concrete ways to keep your employees. Even three extra months of tenure increases your bottom line, so it’s worth considering how to keep your team together for longer.
Start by Asking
One sure way to retain your talent is to ask them directly what they like about their job. Conversely, you can ask what they dislike about it. Knowledge is power here and the better you know your workers the more predictive you can become at judging their actions and reactions.
Offering flexibility is a good action to take in retaining your employees. Whether that’s an ability to work remote, taking lunch at a desired time or any other amenity that flexes to accommodate an employee’s unique situation, it goes a long way when there’s an effort shown to let them know they, as an individual and an important part of your team, truly matter.
You may also consider offering a career path and make it clear that this is available to employees. It goes a long way to show that the company is interested in helping their employees grow, and that it encourages their efforts by providing actual opportunities for them to develop within the job and the company.
Sometimes it’s as easy as simply acknowledging and recognizing your people to let them know they matter. It doesn’t have to take the form of money, gift cards, or other monetary incentives – it can be a public expression of a job well done at a company meeting or a pat on the back during a one on one. So often people just want to know they are having an impact on their place of work and that the team wouldn’t be the same without them.
Implement Stay Interviews
Another method of retaining top talent is by conducting Stay Interviews to find out what motivates people to stay. A well-conducted Stay Interview by an outside third-party will key into what your employees like about their job and what they dislike, helping you determine the likelihood they will stay. Once you have the insight into why people come to their jobs every day, and keep doing so year after year, you can use this data to better recruit for the types of people you want to have around, and who will enjoy sticking around.
Effectively, putting energy and intention around knowing your workforce better, will improve the overall health of the company and create a vibrant environment. That kind of feeling is contagious and can lead to your personnel catching Stay-fever – and everybody wins in that scenario. For more information on how to key into what keeps your team motivated and coming back day after day, we’d love to chat.
