Holding on to good staff

If you have tried to recruit any staff recently you will know how hard it is to find the right person. Unemployment has never been as low so when you find Mr or Mrs perfect you really what to make sure they stick around. Of course, money and benefits are important, but they are not on the top the list of motivating factors. Instead, some of the most important factors tended to be peer motivation and feeling encouraged and recognised. Here are a few tips you might consider doing to keep your staff.

1. Make your place of work pleasant.
No one wants to stand around in a grimy, boring place. Have it aesthetically pleasing, well-lit, functional and perhaps even fun! First step is to make sure things are well-kept and that you have updated, working equipment. This might mean up-grading your antique office equipment with something much more up to date. Keeping things clean and nice-looking help and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Try featuring local artists or picking up interesting furniture pieces at a charity shop.

2. Be respectful, honest and supportive.
Bad management is one of the top reason’s employees will quit. Things like respect, honesty, support and clear communication are key and there’s a lot more you can do to be a great leader – for a start, check out Amazon’s best-sellers on management. The fact is, if you’re a good person to work for, your employees will be more loyal.

3. Offer employee rewards.
People will stay with you if they have a reason to, so if you want to keep your good people and keep them motivated, it’s worth providing an incentive. Maybe it’s a quarterly bonus, maybe it’s private healthcare, maybe it’s offering to pay for a training course. If people know they’ll be rewarded for a job well done, they’ll be first, more likely to do a good job, and second, stay to see things through.

4. Let them grow.
If your business is expanding rapidly, giving your employees room to grow within the company is a big motivator. As well as the dangling carrot of more money, there’s also the psychological factor of feeling like they’re trusted and respected for their work. If you’re opening a second location, think about which of your employees might be a good fit for a management role there. If there’s someone who’s doing a particularly good job in one part of the business, consider preparing that person to take over more. When you give your best employees growth opportunities, it shifts their thinking from “this is just a side job” to “this could be a full-fledged career.”

5. Share positive feedback.
It’s great to feel fulfilled by your work. In fact, it’s one of the key job satisfaction factors. Satisfaction in your work can come from a variety of places. If your customers express appreciation be sure to share that feedback with your employees.