by Nicky Budd-Thanos, on May 7, 2019
Employee turnover is an expensive and time-consuming problem that many businesses face. With on-boarding expenses, dedicated training time, and energy spent searching for new employees, a new hire can end up costing you and your organization over $5800.
If you feel that your employee retention is a problem at your company, first make sure you’ve calculated your retention rate and understand where you stand. Next, make a retention plan - implementing the following seven ideas can help keep your team happy and engaged.
1. Recognize your employees’ efforts
Noticing and appreciating the work your team is doing are key components in boosting morale and increasing employee job satisfaction. A simple “thank you” can go a long way toward making your employees feel valued - and you can take that to the next level with Crew Gold Stars which let you recognize your employees for their great work in front of the whole team. With competition at an all-time high for front-line workers, employees won’t hesitate to leave companies that under-appreciate and under-value them. 
2. Have a growth mindset
Even the best employees will make mistakes sometimes. Don’t hold your employees to impossible standards and then penalize them when they fail - see these moments as opportunities for growth and improvement.
If you discipline them for every mistake they make, they’ll begin to hide the little ones, which can turn into big problems later on. Fostering a safe environment in which employees can admit to messing up and get help with fixing the problem will help you earn the trust of your staff.
3. Offer benefits
Benefits packages need to actually be useful to employees. Healthcare coverage with a huge deductible, high monthly payments, and little coverage is impractical.
Ensure that your team is aware of the benefits they have available to them - for example, one Crew customer used Announcements and Tasks as a way to keep their employees on track for enrollment deadlines. Hold meetings to give employees the opportunity to ask questions about the packages and feel confident that they are making the choices that are best for them.
4. Provide opportunities for career growth
Holding someone stagnant in their position will only breed resentment and ultimately, a lack of loyalty. Some people are content with one role their entire lives, but most of us want to feel like we’re making progress.
Give your employees the chance to take on more responsibilities, transition to new roles within the company, and get promotions. To reflect this increase in responsibility, make sure to recognize this with increased pay raises and new titles. One Crew customer even uses the Gold Star leaderboard as a way to identify top performers and potential talent. 
5. Prioritize work-life balance
Everyone has a life outside of work, so strive to be mindful of this. Try to not keep employees past their quitting time, especially if they aren’t being paid overtime. Put in the time to determine where it’s time to redistribute the workload or bring on more staff before your current ones burn out. If you have employees who regularly volunteer to stay late or take on a last-minute shift, don’t take advantage of them without compensating their efforts.
6. Communicate clearly and often
It can be rare to get management and all of your employees in the same place for important announcements, training updates and more - and the bulletin board in the break room just isn’t cutting it anymore.
The Crew app allows managers to communicate directly to their teams, so important messages will never be missed. Because everyone carries their phone with them, sending group messages is an effective way to make sure people know what’s going on. Clear and honest team communication, whether electronic or in-person, is a valuable step in building trust and keeping everyone on the same page.
7. Give your employees a voice - and listen!
Institute a way to gather feedback anonymously from employees at all levels of your company, whether they stock shelves, bus tables, or serve drinks behind the bar, and listen to what they have to say. An anonymous suggestion box gives you the best chance of getting honest feedback because named employees may be hesitant to criticize the company or speak candidly for fear of retaliation.
Address employee concerns in a timely manner and be prepared to be transparent about any new processes the company is launching. Building trust requires showing trust.
What do you do to address employee retention issues? Let us know on Twitter!
Photo by Bimo Luki on Unsplash
