Have emotional intelligence: Easily the most inexpensive strategy to put in place is to be empathetic and appreciative of your staff. Saying ‘please’, ‘thank you’, being interested in your staff and praising their work is all it takes, but something that is missing in some workplaces. 

A recent LinkedIn post highlighted the value of emotional intelligence. The LinkedIn member posted how having returned to work after illness her manager asked her how she was feeling and she replied, ‘fine thanks’. The manager stopped and asked again ‘how are you really feeling’ and this time the employee opened up and said ‘rubbish’. What followed was a conversation about how the manager and organisation could support the employee while recovering, and the LinkedIn member then went on to say that afterwards she achieved more than she had all week. Empathy really does work. 

Understand what motivates employees: Everyone is motivated by different things, and salary is generally quite low on the list. Some employees may be motivated by the sense of achievement they get from a job well done, challenging work, knowing that they’re helping other people, believing in the ethos and vision of the organisation and wanting to support its’ goals, being part of a high-performing team, personal / professional growth opportunities, or something else… 

Getting to the bottom of what makes individual employees tick will help you understand how you can continue to motivate them in their role, and provide the opportunities they need to keep them engaged with your organisation. Performance reviews are a good time to look at what you can do to retain your top employees, but don’t confine this to set dates on the calendar – if you have concerns about an employee, get them in early so you can put a plan together to keep them onside. 

Culture is really important: Many employees will stay in a job, even when another offers more money, if the workplace culture is right. This may be because of a ‘better the devil you know’ mind-set, or because we all spend a considerable part of our lives at work and therefore we want to be somewhere we fit. In a survey by US employee engagement news site – TinyNews – employees who gave their work culture low marks were nearly 15 percent more likely to think about a new job than their counterparts. Empower your managers: Managers and supervisors can help you retain employees, or have them updating their LinkedIn profile overnight. This is not necessarily the fault of the manager; many people find themselves managing other people without the skills to do so. Naturally there are some individuals who lack the interpersonal skills to be a successful manager, but most people can be taught them. Could your managers and supervisors benefit from some training to help them support employees better? 

Review benefits, incentives and perks: We sometimes hear employers saying that benefit schemes don’t work, they’ve tried them before but haven’t seen any improvement in staff retention. Digging deeper this is often because the benefit scheme or incentive isn’t aligned with their employees, and their motivations, or because it isn’t sufficiently promoted within the organisation. Benefits, incentives and perks only work if they are relevant to the people you wish to engage. Therefore don’t offer a gym membership scheme if the business and employees are located in a rural location with no facilities nearby!  However, a bike or car scheme could be exactly what your employees need, and a very useful way of keeping them on board long term. 

The other issue we see with engagement and benefit schemes is a lack of internal promotion. People forget what they’ve signed up for and the benefits their employer offers them. As well as formalised schemes other perks should also be promoted, for example if Friday at your company involves an informal lunch why not remind employees of this on Monday morning when they’re suffering from the post-weekend blues? Little reminders of what a great employer you are could stop that valued employee from registering with a recruitment agency when they’re feeling low. Employee retention is a challenge for all organisations, and no more so than for those sectors whose staff work in stressful conditions. Fortunately there are many schemes and tactics the HR department can use to improve retention, starting with the five above.