Recruit or retain? How to improve staff attrition

Whilst everything may be running smoothly in your business, there is the temptation to sit back and become complacent. However, whilst you are doing this your competitors could be on the prowl and preparing a better offer for your key employees!

It’s a well-known fact that the cost of replacing a member of staff far exceeds keeping them. Once you have factored in recruitment costs, plus the training and development of a new member of staff, you may start asking yourself if you could have done more to keep that member of staff who has moved elsewhere.

Attracting the best people to your business is a great start when recruiting, but you need to make sure you are keeping hold of them long-term to get the best value out of your employees.

Here’s our 5 top tips to improve employee retention

  1. Offer a competitive salary

Whilst selling on cost may not always be the best approach when looking for a new recruit, offering a competitive and fair salary is a vital part of the package on offer. Salaries should be benchmarked against competitors and the industry you work in. You should take into account regional variances; however, this should be aligned with industry averages not only for the salary itself, but the overall remuneration package (such as pension, employee benefits, holidays etc.)

Regular salary reviews in line with hitting performance related targets can give employees something to aim for and give a sense of career progression without needing to look elsewhere.

  1. Build a culture of trust

Employees need to be managed; however micro-management is not the way forward! You were trusting enough to offer your member of staff the job in the first place, so as long as you have set out a strategic development programme for them, with clear and achievable objectives, you should be able to trust them to perform to the best of their ability.

Mistakes will naturally be made but allow your employees to learn from them and adapt this to future performance. Remember, trust is a two way thing, so developing a culture of trust throughout your organisation will not only aid communication, but also improve retention. 

  1. Recognise and reward

Rewarding your staff doesn’t always have to be financial. Depending on the type of role, a bonus structure may not be appropriate for every employee, especially if they don’t have sales targets to meet, so recognising your employee’s achievements can be done in other ways.

You could think about internal awards, retail vouchers, health benefits or additional days holidays. After all, we all like to be thanked for our hard work!

  1. Manage the relationship

One of the key reasons why employees leave their jobs is a breakdown in relationship with their manager. Promoting from within is a great way to retain key members of staff, however if they are promoted into a management position make sure they are put onto relevant training and development programmes to ensure their management skills are fine-tuned alongside the culture and long-term plans of the business.

Training doesn’t always have to be formal; it could come in the form of mentoring or on the job coaching – which is good practice for staff development at any level.

  1. Be flexible

Flexibility at work doesn’t necessarily have to mean offering flexi-time to your employees. As we have seen in recent months, home working is becoming more of a necessity as opposed to a luxury for many employees now.

Giving your employees the option to work from home, or work more flexible hours can improve loyalty. It also shines a positive light on the employer, showing you to be caring and considerate of the wider needs of your employees. 

Build your business around your employees

Employers who strategically align their overall package to the needs of their employees, are more likely to reap the rewards of long-term staff attrition. Thinking about what’s important to your employees is just as important as what’s important for your business, as without your employees there is no business!

At Multitask Personnel, we feel employee retention is just as important as recruiting the right person for the job in the first place. In order to get the best value out of your recruitment, having long-term employee retention plans in place are essential.

If you need our advice, we’re only happy to help. Contact us on 0845 478 5009 or enquiries@multitaskpersonnel.co.uk and we’ll be happy to discuss how our employee retention tips can help future-proof your business.

Testimonials

What our clients say about us!
Finance & Operations, Research & Development – Sheffield
“Having worked alongside Claire on both a personal level & for recruitment requirements I have always found Claire & her team at Multitask Personnel to be friendly, professional & helpful & would highly recommend.”
Senior Quantity Surveyor, Construction – Sheffield
“It is with great pleasure that I’m providing this letter of recommendation to Multitask Personnel. Providing support labour in the construction industry is a massive challenge, we need quality resources who are reliable and good value for money. Multitask take away the intensive searching and validating tasks that takes up so much of our valuable time. They have a good portfolio of trade labour and when short notice is all you have they will step up to the mark! It’s with no hesitation that I highly recommend Multitask Personnel for any recruitment needs, they have a brilliant, committed team with Claire their MD always there to help. All the best for the future, keep up the good work!”

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