How to retain your employees: 6 tips

Here are our 6 tips on how to retain your employees: 

1. Understand your employees and their motivations
2. Approach recruitment the right way
3. Good communication
4. Attractive salaries for employee satisfaction
5. Offer career opportunities
6. Counteroffer or let them go

 

Due to an increasing shortage of skilled workers, the best talents are in high demand – and headhunters regularly knock on their doors. 20 years in one company? Rather rare these days.

Fluctuation has risen sharply compared to older generations, and employees change jobs regularly. The high demand in certain sectors, a lack of satisfaction among employees, or the unwillingness of companies to remain attractive and motivate their employees in the long term are some reasons for this.

A key corporate goal is to have a team of talented, qualified, and highly motivated individuals. But hiring new talents – such as in the tech and IT industries – is difficult and, above all, expensive for companies due to the current skills shortage. The challenge is to develop strategies to retain qualified employees. This is the only way for companies to remain competitive.

What are the ways to retain your employees?

Tip 1: Understand your employees and their motivation

As a manager, ask yourself: What motivates my employees? What is important to them in their job? What career goals are they pursuing? And which company values do they support and appreciate? 

8 criteria that could be important to your employees:

1. Career and promotion opportunities
2. Continuing education/training
3. Regular interviews/feedback from supervisors
4. Being able to proactively contribute to the smooth running of the company
5. To be heard and recognised
6. good pay and attractive opportunities for salary increases.

Since the Corona pandemic, the desire for a work-life balance has increased, which adds the following criteria:

7. Introduction of home office
8. Flexible working hours

Tip 2: Approach recruitment the right way

Do you have a vacant position? Then you should start looking for a capable and motivated new employee – and take a close look at the potential applicants.

“If you act hastily and skip some steps in the recruitment process, you will end up with employees who are not happy with their job or the company and who do not identify with the company’s values. In this case, dismissal is inevitable. Take your time when hiring new talent and select profiles that perfectly fit the culture of your company.”

Tip 3: Good communication

Today’s generations are well-connected and always up-to-date. They expect transparency and a good communication policy from their employer within their team and the management. Company activities, such as new projects, future investments, or changes in the company structure, should therefore be communicated regularly.

“For employees to feel valued in your company, they need to feel that they are being heard. Therefore, it is important that they can express their opinions, but also that they regularly receive constructive feedback on the quality of the work they do. Employees are best placed to raise issues or problems within the organisation. Give them a voice.”

Your tools for more appreciation:

1. Regular interviews
2. Team meetings where everyone can express their opinion
3. Anonymous mailboxes or surveys

Tip 4: Attractive salaries for employee satisfaction

Salary is and remains one of the most significant factors when choosing a new job, and is also a frequent reason for quitting. If the position is the same and the field of activity is similar, talents will select the company that offers the best pay and promises further benefits.

Find out about current salaries in your sector. You can achieve employee loyalty and appreciation through performance-related benefits, among other things.

Tip 5: Offer career opportunities

Boredom or the feeling that there is nothing more to learn is motivation killer number 1.

Create room for advancement in the form of promotions, training, or further education.

Ways to train your staff:

1. Hire external experts
2. Offer learning and development platforms that are tailored to the positions of each employee
3. Ask colleagues to train other teams to distribute the knowledge of the employees within the company.

Tip 6: Counteroffer or let them go

Does your employee want to quit despite all your efforts? Then you have two options: Accept the resignation or make a better offer.

If you make a counteroffer, it is first important to gather enough information to see what the new company offers your employee and compare it with what you have up your sleeve.

Depending on the reasons for your employee’s resignation, there are different levels you can go to retain them:

1. Salary increase
2. Promotion
3. Better bonus

However, make sure you check your budget beforehand and also whether a salary increase is fair to other colleagues or not.

If the reason is family-related, you can offer to switch to home office, change working hours or organise differently with colleagues.

If the reason is under-demand, a change of project, job, or team could be a solution.

The reasons for leaving an employer are various and individual. In some cases, it is appropriate to simply accept the employee’s decision. Good communication and appreciation of the workforce is a significant pillar of the company and pays off. Understanding what motivates your employees is a good way to retain the best talent.

How can we support you?

We at LHC International offer tailor-made support on the client side as well as on the candidate side. We do not provide CVs, we place personalities. Contact us.