7 Key Practices to Acquire and Retain Employees

There has been a lot of press around the “Great Resignation.” Losing marginal employees is always welcomed. Losing Key Employees is a much different manner. How a company hires, trains, and manages employees should be a key best practice – always. For too many companies, it is too low a priority. Here are 7 Key Employee Practices every company should follow. It starts with the company’s culture.

Build a Culture by Design

Most company cultures happen by happenstance. These cultures are usually disjointed, often toxic, non-collaborative, hierarchical, and marked by single points of failure. Iven Good people will flee these companies. Marginal people thrive in this culture. Companies must build culture that feature collaboration; encourages personal and professional growth; rewards company, team, and individual performance; where employees hold each other accountable; and promotes “fun.” We call this good communication.

Hire Right

Recruiting employees should mirror a company’s practice in acquiring new customers. Develop detailed job descriptions and the qualifications required to perform this job including experience, expertise, and skills. What most organizations fail to consider is the culture of their company. Hire people that will fit into its Culture by Design.

“Train Your People to an Inch of their Lives”

Giving people company orientation and then telling them to jump in is not training. Every new hire should be set up for success from the start. Your onboarding process should teach new employees not only about the job but also about the company culture and how they can contribute to and thrive in it. By the way, quickly weed out people who are failing during training. Their counterpart employees know.

Establish Obtainable Goals and Measurements

Every employee wants to know how they are performing. This practice should not be a once-a-year event. A quarterly review with periodical team and one-on-one’s is the key to good communication. Keep your compensation plan simple. Not every objective should be tied to compensation. There are some objectives and behaviors that are just expected to be part of the job. If you cannot measure it; you can manage it.

Implement a Personal and Professional Development Program

What are the personal goals and aspirations of each employee? What programs does your company have for continuing job and personal education. These programs are evolutionary. They may be a year or even years in longevity. Empower your employees to be co-authors of these programs. Include input from immediate supervisors for these programs.

Pairing a new employee with a mentor is a great component to add to your extended Personal and Professional Development Program, especially in a remote work environment. Mentors can welcome newcomers into the company, offer guidance and be a sounding board. And it’s a win-win: New team members learn the ropes from experienced employees, and, in return, they offer a fresh viewpoint to their mentors.

Employee Compensation

It’s essential for companies to pay their employees competitive compensation, which means employers need to evaluate and adjust salaries regularly. Often, improving health care and other forms of compensation is a key to employee retention. Even if your business can't increase pay right now, consider whether you could provide other forms of compensation, such as bonuses. Don’t forget about improving health care benefits and retirement plans, which can help raise employees’ job satisfaction, too.

Perks can make your workplace stand out to potential new hires and re-engage current staff, all while boosting employee morale. According to research for our Salary Guide, flexible schedules, and remote work options (separate from pandemic-related stay-at-home orders) are the perks many professionals value most. In addition, about a third of the employees we surveyed said paid parental leave is a big plus.

Make Your Company Fun

Wellness – Keeping employees fit — mentally, physically, and financially — is just good business. The pandemic prompted many leading employers to expand and improve their wellness offerings to help employees feel supported and prioritize their well-being. Consider meditation, stress management programs, and reimbursement for fitness classes are just some examples of what your business might consider providing to employees.

Recognition Programs. Every person wants to feel appreciated for the work they do. And in today’s “anywhere workforce,” an employer’s gratitude can make an especially big impact. These programs can be monthly and/or quarterly. The programs can be set up by department in addition to company recognition awards.

Flex Programs. Employees treasure flex programs. These programs recognize that employees do not have to be on one schedule. It is important that these programs DO NOT impact team projects and performance. These programs include the offer of remote work, compressed workweek, and flextime. All can help relieve stress for your team.

Contests & Team Events. Companies should promote team and individual competition and events from attending sporting events to bringing in breakfasts and lunches. It can be afterwork get-togethers. Be creative.

These 7 practices are critical to the long-term health of companies/organizations. Companies must build culture that feature collaboration; encourages personal and professional growth; rewards company, team, and individual performance; where employees hold each other accountable; and promotes “fun.”