What Makes An Employee Stay?

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What Makes An Employee Stay?

It’s no mystery that good employees are hard to find. Today, with all the craziness that we call life, employees are struggling to make sense of what their futures might look like. That’s why it’s important for organizations of all sizes to pay attention to their employees and focus on what makes an employee stay.

 

Why Wouldn’t They Stay?

According to Harvard Business Review, employees stay for several reasons, with the main being inertia. An employee will remain at a company “until some force causes them to leave”.

What would cause someone to leave? We’ve boiled it down to three reasons: lack of recognition, no motivation or mentorship, and inadequate compensation.

 

Recognition: Being A Part Of The Success

In my opinion: Employees stay when their employers recognize them for their hard work.

Most people want to be successful. They see others around them succeeding and they want to be successful too. But, do most people feel as though they are being recognized for their success at work? We’d like to think that most people are but it’s quite possible that expressing your recognition has fallen by the wayside. If someone is putting in the hard work with no recognition, then it’s easy to see why that employee would lose interest in being a part of something that they feel so disconnected from.

So, what’s the solution? Going out of your way to tell your employees that they are contributing to the success of the organization and that they are an essential piece of the puzzle can be a small gesture that reminds them of why they enjoy working there.

 

Motivation and Mentorship: Achieving Their Full Potential

The way in which employees interact with their employers can say a lot about the foundation that has been built. Most employees want to achieve work goals, improve in their role, and grow, so they can move up in the organization. Therefore, they require motivation or mentorship from their employer in order to achieve their full potential. If there is little interaction between employers and employees, the employee might feel unattached to the success of the organization.

It’s important to take the time to schedule one on ones with your employees in order to discuss how things are going, how they can be better motivated or mentored, and how you can help them get to a place of success and happiness.

 

Compensation: The Effects It Has On Talent

If you are on LinkedIn, or any other social media platform for that matter, you are being headhunted in some frequency. Often, employees will be reached out to even when they are not actively looking for employment. When this happens, if your employee is unhappy at your organization, this new offer can be appealing. One reason why an employee might decide to change careers is compensation. If another organization has headhunted your employee and they are offering better compensation, the employee is likely to entertain that conversation.

You are at risk of losing quality talent!

How can you change this? Keeping up with salary and compensation levels in your local market, providing incentives outside of the expectation (including bonuses or performance-based rewards), and having frequent conversations with your employees to gauge their level of content, will help to retain employees.

 

Has COVID-19 Made It Easier To Lose Contact?

Throughout COVID-19, we have had to change the way we work. This might mean working remotely, working with a smaller staff, and not seeing staff as often, and so on. Something we have to keep in mind though this tough time is our staff’s well-being. As employers, we must ensure that they are not being overlooked. Our employees are the livelihood of our companies, therefore, placing importance on remaining in contact with our employees, promoting an open line of communication, checking in on them, and reminding them of their successes more frequently will ensure a happy organization.

 

In My Experience

I have worked for organizations of varying sizes across several industries. Greenlight Consulting stands out among the rest for understanding how to retain employees and ensure their happiness. During COVID-19, Greenlight Consulting placed a large focus on empowering their employees. They have pushed us to think outside of the box, learn new skills, and in a way, have re-energized each employee’s approach to 2020. With almost a year of remote work, they have focused on increasing communications company-wide, and built a much-needed community.

 

Do you need help finding IT talent? Tell us about your staffing needs!

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