Remember when companies were hellbent on getting foosball tables and other Fun Activities in order to keep employees motivated and employed? It was nice, but as employee retention strategies go, it was pretty weak.
Some employees really believed this would help employee retention. But not a single employee stayed for games. (If they did, they might have been the wrong hire!)
There were bigger fish to fry:
This is a fairly comprehensive list of what keeps employees engaged enough to stick around. It’s from Robert Half Talent Solutions, who made a name for themselves as the “temp worker experts.”
Here are some suggestions for prioritizing this list of employee retention strategies:
- Take the money issue off the table. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Are we really competitive in pay and benefits?” See items 3-5. (You won’t know unless you get a current comparison with competitors.)
- First do no harm. Which items on the list remind you of perennial issues brought up in feedback, especially when people quit? (You won’t know unless you are conducting exit interviews and gathering regular feedback from staff.)
- Which one speaks to you? What on the list sticks out because it’s not something you had considered or speaks directly to an opportunity?
As with anything you do with staff, the secret is in the implementation and execution. In fact, how you implement may mean more to the staff than the thing implemented–see items 6, 12 and 13.
A gut check question that undergirds all of this: How is your relationship with staff members, direct supervisor? They won’t always tell you, but people quit bosses.
Let me how I can help with employee retention strategies you want to tackle.