Employee retention is always important as a method of saving company money. It is even more important, however, to retain good employees who follow the rules and perform their jobs well. There are several types of employees in the world. There is the bad employee, the average employee, and then the great employee. Great employees will be appreciated at nearly any company that they go to, so it is important for a business owner to provide an environment that makes these workers more likely to stay with their organization. There are several methods in which this could occur, and using any or all of the methods will do wonders in keeping employee satisfaction high.
1. Provide Ongoing Training
A good employee will always want to further their own knowledge base and pick up skills that would prepare them for more responsibility within the company. This can be provided through on the job training or online company courses. These employees usually aren’t working hard just because it’s their job; they’re working hard because they want to be more within the company. Providing this opportunity will ensure that employees stay active and happy.
2. Recognition
The best way to make a good employee unhappy is to not recognize their contribution to the company. Raises, promotions, and bonuses are always good ways for a business to show its appreciation, but a ‘good work’ or ‘thank you’ every now and again does wonders as well. This definitely doesn’t mean an appreciative comment should replace real recognition such as awards and bonuses, but the combination of the two will show good employees that they are valued and their exceptional skills aren’t going unnoticed.
3. Talent and Skill Utilization
A great way to make good employees feel stagnant within a company is to underutilize them. As mentioned earlier, good employees are interested in going places with the company. Providing training for these workers means nothing if they are not allowed to utilize their skills.
Exceptional employees should be allowed to do work outside of their initial job description. This doesn’t mean that a worker should be taken advantage of by constantly having to handle responsibilities that usually warrant a higher pay grade, but occasionally allowing them to showcase their other skills will definitely boost their morale.
4. Allow Decision Making
Giving good employees a bit of control over their work responsibilities and tasks allows them to feel as if their decisions are having a direct effect on making the company better. Even if it’s simply allowing them to choose the right course of action for one particular client, the feeling that the company trusts them enough to make an important decision will let them know that they’re appreciated and that promotion is a very real possibility.
5. Refine Manager Skills
Most of the frequently cited reasons for employee dissatisfaction are related to manager inefficiency. When a manager isn’t doing their job it will make a good employee feel as if they have no direction in fulfilling their own duties. Expectations and earning potential should be clearly stated from the beginning. It is also imperative that a manager or owner hold scheduled meetings and provide performance feedback. These actions should all be performed in conjunction with providing a solid framework that employees feel that they can succeed in.
Keeping employees happy is imperative to running any type of business. An employer who focuses on ensuring that their workers are happy will almost guarantee that their best employees will stay happy in their positions. These good employees are literally the backbone of any organization, so it is imperative that managers strive to be fair and treat them with the respect that their skill sets warrant. If one company doesn’t keep these workers happy, there is always another one that will.
[performancereview]
