March 23, 2011 | Talent Management Software | Posted by Ascentis
Retaining Great Employees
Why Employees Stay
Some of the factors affecting employee retention include:
- Compensation
- Strong leadership
- Challenging and fulfilling job
- Relationships with immediate supervisors and staff
- Recognition
The following are strategies that may help to increase retention:
- Acknowledge and reward your employees' contributions and provide regular, constructive feedback.
- Make sure your compensation package is fair and competitive.
- Provide a forum to encourage new ideas and open communication.
- Provide training programs and mentoring to enhance skills development, learning and career growth.
- Provide employee assistance, wellness and health programs.
- Support work-life balance.
- Offer flexible work arrangements, such as varied hours and the possibility of telecommuting.
- Provide leadership opportunities.
There are a number of different ways to conduct an employee attitude or satisfaction survey--from simply filling out a paper survey to taking an online survey or hiring a consulting firm to do all the surveying and analysis work for you. If you decide to work with a consultant to administer the survey, make sure you have access to the data. By personally reviewing the data and analysis, you’ll be able to make a better assessment of employee satisfaction.
Some of the topics that can be covered in a survey include:
- Job satisfaction
- Senior management
- Functional expertise
- Compensation
- Customer service
- Communication
- Mentoring
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Staff development
A company health and wellness program refers to activities or initiatives undertaken within the workplace that are designed to support your employees’ general health and well-being. Programs will often differ from business to business in terms of the range of initiatives offered. Some simple initiatives to consider include:
- Providing filtered water.
- Having your air-conditioning and heating systems checked and maintained on a regular basis.
- Increasing the nutritional quality of food available in the workplace.
- Providing desk chairs that are ergonomically designed to support the back.
- Empowering employees to include physical activity into their working day, such as encouraging walking at lunch.
- Providing incentives such as subsidized memberships to local health clubs. Be sure to check with your local health clubs to see if they offer corporate rates.
- Providing flexible work hours.
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