Nigerian employers: Here are some Retention Strategies for keeping valuable employees
Everyone gets tired of doin the same thing at a time. When you repeat a process continuously, it gets to a stage that you do not want to continue any longer.
This is absolutely normal as the human mind has been designed to explore different things and not just sticker to one thing.
This also applies to employees who work for their bosses. When they get employed at first, everything goes on smoothly, but it gets to a point that they get tired and want to quit the job.
Like I said earlier, it is absolutely normal for this to happen but the period cans be extended.
Here is what I mean. If you work at a place where everyone and everything seems conducive, it will take a longer time before you get tired of working there.
Actually, employers are usually the one who can affect how long their employees work for them, so they have a lot of work to do to retain them.
If you are an employer reading this, you will find a lot of things you could be doing presently which could make your employees easily get tired of working with you.
Also, you could discover new ways or ideas to further prolong their stay at your workplace.
Employers actually want employees who could work with them long term.
Having long term employees at your workplace will help save a lot of time and energy you would have used in explaining the whole process to newbies or new recruits.
The old employees gained enough experience that a point, your supervision is not needed anymore. Let’s cut the long story short and get straight to business.
How do you retain your staff as an Employer?
INVEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES TRAINING
Employees care about their growth. Their employers also do. When you as the employer pay for their trainings, seminars,
and courses which can add to their growth and at the same time boost their work profile,
your employees find joy with you and will want to stay for as long as possible.When you do this, your employees are not the only one who benefit from it.
Here is how you could benefit from it as an employer. After paying for their trainings, they get to grow in the field where they work.
They will surely apply the new things they have learned at your workplace which in turn will enhance the growth of the company.
Also, when you invest in their trainings, you give your employees the impression that you care about their growth and you take it as a priority. This will let them consider staying with you for a longer period of time.
TWEAK YOUR RECRUITMENT STRATEGY
A common mistake most employers make is that during the recruitment process, they just employ people anyhow without proper screening and laying down a concrete strategy to recruit new staff.
This might just allow you employ the wrong people who will eventually leave at the end of the day, because they did not even fit into that position in the first instance.
So, when you are planning a recruitment exercise, focus your interviews and recruitment on people with skills and high level of interest in these roles.
When they have skills and interest in the role you are employing them for, they tend to stay longer because they won’t get tired of it.
DESIGN THE RIGHT BENEFIT PACKAGE
Now, I should have put this first because it is of utmost priority to most employees but I didn’t do so, for a reason.
Many, if not all employees work in direct variation or proportion to the money they are being paid. This is not and at all, since the reward of labour itself is “Wages and Salaries”. So, you should expect it.
Therefore, ensure what you are paying your employees suits the kind of job you are offering them.
This will help lengthen their stay than any other factor that will or has been mentioned in this article. Do not pay them lesser than they should be paid and ensure their paychecks are not delayed for whatsoever reason.
Their paychecks should come on time and as at whene due. No Employee loves his or her payment being delayed.
SET REALISTIC GOALS FOR YOUR STAFF
Do not set targets that do not look feasible for your employees. Give them projects that you, as the employer is capable of handling without finding it too stressful.
If at anytime, your employee see the job too stressful or too demanding, they will tend to leave the work environment.
MAKE THE WORKPLACE FUN
This is another way of saying you should let your staff work with you and not for you. Don’t see them as a subordinate but rather as a partner.
Set out some days of the week for them to work from home (If it is possible). If they can not work from home, then you should make out time for them to take a break.
You can order finger foods, or sponsor their lunch on any day. It is a way of appreciating them. Also, it helps to ease the tension, stress and pressure they might be facing or going through.
Do not allow the workplace to be boring. When your employees see that everyone is flexible at the workplace, they will enjoy their stay there and plan to lengthen it.
MAKE THE COMPANY POLICIES EASY TO COMPREHEND FROM THE BEGINNING.
If it is possible, from the point of employment of your staff, disclose the company’s vision and mission statement to them. However, disclosing them alone is not enough.
Elaborate on what they need to do to get the company running Everytime. Let them them be aware of what exactly their office is for and how they can judiciously use it to everyone’s advantage.
Show them how they can achieve the company’s goals without getting sick. Open them to new and smart methods which are not stressful at all. I can assure you if you put all of these into practice, your employees will find peace with you and will want to stay longer.