How to Maintain Loyal Employees

Employers know that the cost of replacing an employee is high. Between time spent interviewing new candidates and leadership’s time away from daily responsibilities, the entire process is costly. Therefore, employee loyalty and longevity are an asset to any company. Organizations fortunate enough to retain top talent for extended periods of time not only benefit financially but may even see improvements in other areas.

The question is, how do you encourage employees to stay loyal to your company and avoid a high turnover rate? One way is to understand your workers. Who is excelling and who appears bored, underwhelmed and not challenged? Focus on the employees who seem restless and do not appear committed. Improve employee outlooks by deciphering the challenges or obstacles that may be preventing them for fully engaging. What is holding them back? You may need to have one-on-one meetings with some of your staff or initiate other popular methods of investigation that include surveys and anonymous questionnaires.

When leading employees toward success, it is important to give them the opportunity to shine. When employees feel as though they are contributing to the collective good, by using their skills, they feel valued and respected. You want your employees to feel needed, and their experience and skills are being recognized and appreciated. If your team feels needed by you, they may not feel the need to go elsewhere.

Company culture is another key aspect of employee retention. Create an environment that breathes warmth, kindness, tolerance and patience. One way to do this is by emphasizing collaborations. Whether on projects that include most of your team, or are much smaller in size, collaborations are a great way for team members to feel their voices are being heard and they are contributing to the success of the company.

Lastly, be a good listener. Questions, concerns and personal matters are unavoidable in the office. To improve employee outlook, you must also improve working conditions, and this includes the ways in which matters are addressed. Listen to your staff and understand what it is that they want, fear or desire. You may not be able to resolve every concern, but you can be present and make sure they feel heard and comfortable speaking up when a matter does arise.

-Dina Barabash, NASBA Content Development & Web Specialist