These days, people are multitasking while they work. They have one eye on the job they’re doing, and one eye on their next job. In the last several decades, employment mindsets have shifted. Very rarely are there loyal employees who are with their companies from high school until they graduate. Employment seems to be more short termed employment. Employees are switching jobs every few years it seems. There are a number of factors that make an employee feel their only option is to move on. So, here is a list of four ways to keep loyal employees.
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Training
This one is so simple, you’d think. However, it doesn’t seem to be. You have an employee that starts their job and goes through a training class of two to six weeks. They then start their job, armed with freshly gained knowledge. But, then what? What happens once they’ve excelled what they’ve learned. They’re experts in their field. They are now getting bored. It’s the same mundane thing, day in and day out. Training should always continue. Whether it’s cross training with another department, or learning new skills for the next higher up position in that department. Even if there are no job openings. It never hurts to have that back up knowledge should anything happen.
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Don’t Treat All Employees Equally
I know what you’re thinking! Wait! Why wouldn’t we treat all employees equal. Well, there’s one particular reason. If you’re here, looking for ways to keep loyal employees, you must recognize this. THEY’RE NOT ALL EQUAL! You are going to have some employees that go above and beyond. They’re the ones that will deliver exemplary work because that’s what they do. They are the ones that want to move up in the business. Then you have the employees who are there to get a paycheck. They do the job they are given and that’s it. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that. If that’s what they want, they have that choice. But, it’s not fair to the employees who go the extra mile for a breadcrumb of recognition, to get the same treatment and recognition as those who don’t care.
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Benefits
This is actually a big one. Employees want to feel valued. They want to know that their employer understands the need for a work/life balance. Benefits include not only medical benefits, but, ones that allow an employee to live. Vacation time, personal time, education reimbursement and yes, volunteer time. I’ve worked for an employer where I had 64 personal hours. They turned around and gave us three holidays back, Presidents Day, MLK Day and Veterans Day. Which, ok, that works. But, instead of taking only 24 personal hours from our personal hour’s bank? They took 48. Ummm, wait… We’re given three days back, but, you take six days away from us? I’d rather have those hours back. So, that now gives us less time with our family.
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Morale
Happy employees equal higher productivity and less complaints. When employees work for a company that they’re miserable at? What kind of work do you think you’re going to get from them? Using another experience of mine, I had a job where the CEO said in one of our town hall meetings, “Ask not what your employer can do for you, but ask what you can do for your employer.” With that kind of mindset, employees aren’t going to feel valued. They’re going to feel used. Certainly not one of the ways to keep loyal employees.
In the end, it really boils down to, if you want a successful company, you need happy employees. A successful company is not always about the amount of money it brings in. Yes, that is a key factor. But, how much more financially successful would the company be if they had a majority of their employees happy and actually want to be at work each day? Success is not just a public showing. It’s how your peers and staff view where they spend 40 hours a week.
So, these are just four ways to keep loyal employees. If you’re an employer, what do you do to make sure your employees are happy with where they work? If you’re an employee, what do you wish your employer did? Or what do they already do?
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My husband is dealing with some of these issues at his work place now. It’s a hard line.
Rena recently posted…Life In A Small Town Part 7
Great post! Employees want to feel respected and appreciated, so commendation and positive feedback is crucial.
Darlene Berkel recently posted…Smart Women Use Walking for Stress Reduction!
This is great! You are right about morale. I forgot where I read it, but there is a study somewhere that says people are more likely to leave due to morale and appreciation versus money.
Toni | Dr Toni DDS recently posted…The Truth About Your Child’s First Dentist Visit