Improving your employee retention rate is important because it helps you save money in the long run. The higher your rate is, the fewer employees you’ll see leaving your company in the future. As more employees leave, you need to spend more money and resources finding prospective employees, interviewing those workers and training them. Using the right methods can help you find employees willing to work for your company for years to come.
Increase Wages
A common reason why workers leave is because they can make more money elsewhere. You should look at the average salaries in your area for each position. The wage you pay must cover the cost of living in your city and state and give workers enough money to live comfortably. Even a wage increase of just 10% is enough to make your workers happy and keep them around. You should also consider increasing the starting salaries for certain jobs, especially if you have a difficult time filling those positions.
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Change Benefits Packages
A benefits package is basically the package of incentives that you give employees. Most packages include health insurance and paid time off. Look for ways that you can give more to your workers. This might require moving to a different insurer, covering their spouses and children or adding vision and dental insurance to an existing plan. Companies can improve employee retention rates through the use of new benefits too. Consider offering a reimbursement program that pays employees back for the money they spend out of pocket to take classes or offering extra time off when an employee has a child or adopts a child.
Find the Right Employee
Steve Olenski of Forbes suggests that the best way to retain your workers is with a look at your hiring practices. Olenski points out that finding the right employees for the right positions can keep those workers from leaving. He found that some employers run credit checks as this can show which employees have credit problems that might cause them to bounce between jobs. When you hire professionals who actually want to move through the ranks in your company, they’ll stay with you for the long haul.
Do Evaluations
Performing regular evaluations can help you better retain employees because these evaluations show them that you appreciate their hard work. Evaluations also show workers where they need to work harder and what they can do in the future. It’s important that direct supervisors and those who are familiar with their work perform those evaluations. Workers want to know that their bosses actually appreciate their work and that those supervisors know who they are and what they bring to the table.
Offer Bonuses
If you do not offer bonuses, you risk your employees leaving for companies that do. There are a few different ways in which you can implement bonuses. Some companies offer a holiday bonus that they base on the amount of work employees did in the past year. Something as simple as a gift card can go a long way towards making employees feel recognized. Another option is a bonus incentive program. Reward employees with bonuses when they make more sales, bring in new customers or refer either employees or customers to your business.
Companies with a high retention rate have a better reputation. Job seekers know that those companies treat employees right and that workers want to stay there for their whole careers. Some of the best ways to boost your employee retention is with the use of bonus programs, regular evaluations and improved benefits packages that let workers know that you appreciate them.
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