Why do seemingly ‘good’ and well-performing employees leave the companies they’re working for? To the casual observer, money may look like the biggest factor as far as resignations are concerned, followed closely by neglect from management. While both are indeed key factors behind employee-management problems, things aren’t as black and white as they seem. There are far more factors to consider if you want to keep a low turnover rate.
For starters, do you consider employee engagement as high up on your list of HR and management priorities? There are many ways to engage employees and keep them motivated, but few are as important as creating a sense of personal progress in individuals working within the organization. Employees don’t just value organizational stability and an income that pays the bills. They also need direction and a firm grasp on whether or not they actually fit in the organization and are doing a good job.
The differences between engaged and disengaged employees are immense. Engaged employees take pleasure in the work they do and feel zero to little stress, even when in the middle of challenging work. They completely immerse themselves in their tasks and lose sense of time, often remarking how workdays pass by so quickly.
In contrast, disengaged employees lack zeal and a desire to come to work. They often dread reporting for duty, and question what they’re doing in a company. Tasks are done because that’s “what the boss says” and not because they find a quiet contentment in the work they do. So as you can see, it’s not really surprising why this eventually leads to resignation.
With managers and HR personnel racing to streamline their companies in today’s tough economic times, it can be very easy to forget about the goals, aspirations and needs of the individual employee in the organization. Here are some innovative ways you can create a sense of progress in your employees and keep them happy over the long run.
Acknowledge and place value in individual contributions
Leaders must make it a point to illustrate to employees how their efforts as individuals play a big role in the overall direction and business strategy of an organization. People naturally want to be part of a team that’s winning, so talk and interact with employees and make them feel proud of the work they do. They need to feel that your company’s success is thanks to their efforts. Always remember: an employee who feels that he, or she, belongs is a happy employee. And a happy employee, is, more often than not, a productive employee.
Don’t neglect training
Investing a substantial amount of resources in training is a way for you to hit two birds with one stone. First, training teaches employees new skill sets and helps increase their productivity. From a business standpoint, training is good because it allows you to retain workers who can handle large responsibilities, instead of hiring new people, which can be expensive.
For employees, knowing that employees care enough to invest in their training is motivating, and the very concept of undergoing continuous learning is a major morale booster. It means the management actually wants to keep them by investing in their training.
Provide mentoring support
Mentoring can provide employees with a sense of how well they are doing within an organization. More importantly, mentoring allows them to sound off on issues revolving around work, allowing them to resolve their problems efficiently. Note than mentoring can be facilitated internally or outside the organization— choose whichever works best for employees.
At the end of the day, employees want to feel that they are doing a good job within an organization. That said, management must make an effort to demonstrate this to employees to keep them motivated.