Money is what makes the world go round right? Well that’s what we’ve been told and of course money is what each and every one of us gets up in the morning to go to work for. But why is it then that some companies who offer brilliant salaries lose so many good employees. Surely, they love the money, so why would they leave?
The answer…money just isn’t enough anymore!
Of course, they love the money, but the reality is in 2019 the working world has changed. People value so much more in terms of their social lives and expect much more from employers than any other generation before them. So, wafting a good salary under their noses won’t always make their head turn in the direction of loyalty.
So, how as an employer do you keep your employees in today’s market and keep them happy!
You can break it down into four categories; well-being, rewards, training and development, and culture. Each of these categories offer the employee something different but they’re each something they want or need to feel that staying in your employment is the right thing for them to do. And while the following might seem like an awful lot to give for someone just doing their job, trying to provide even some of these to your workforce will ultimately make you the winner in the end if your top employees choose to stay with you.
Well-Being
In recent years people have become more open and honest about their personal lives, employers need to be more aware of their employee’s well-being. Ensuring that their staff are happy with more than just the work they produce.
With one in four people suffering from mental health issues, having an open-door policy and effectively tracking and aiding staff’s mental health will create an environment where people feel comfortable talking about their mental health.
Offering flexi-work and ‘duvet days’ are considered some of the most desirable benefits when asked in a survey what they wanted from their employer. Being able to have the time back with family or just time to themselves is what employees seem to want most, as well as, being encouraged to lead a healthier lifestyle with free fruit and discount on gym fees.
Ensuring your staff are healthy; both mind and body, will reduce sickness days for your business and create happier people.
Rewards
Whether people go to work to pay bills or work to help others in need, everyone wants recognition and to ultimately be rewarded for their hard work. It’s just the way we as humans have been hard-wired.
If you have the budget for it you can offer amazing rewards to your staff, such as, holidays abroard and bonuses. However, not all businesses have endless resources in the bank to fund such lavish rewards. Of course, offering your staff such amazing rewards would be highly desirable to current and future hires, but providing rewards doesn’t have to cost you a pretty penny if you don’t want it too.
Offering smaller rewards such as employee of the week titles or free breakfasts, while small, will still create the same effect. Staff will feel that their hard work is being noticed and will ultimately work harder because of it.
Training and Development
Investing in your staff’s development shows that you’re invested in them as people and their careers while also having the added benefit of upscaling your workforce. Some employers worry that investing in training and development might give their staff the opportunity and desire to move but it’s in fact the opposite.
Lack of development and progression is one of the most common reasons for employees to start looking for another role. People don’t want to remain in the same role their whole lives, they want and need self-development. And that can come in the form of promotions, being given more responsibility or learning/developing a skill.
Focusing your time and money investing in the current staff you have will serve you in the long run, rather than spending it on continually hiring and training their replacements. Which we all know takes and costs twice as much every time you have to do it!
Culture
Working culture has been around for decades. You’ll have seen it in the form of the smoke filled male dominated offices of the 40s and 50s to the power suits and unions of the 80s.
Office culture has always been there, but in the last 20 years has very much come to the forefront of employee’s minds due to the likes of companies such as Google who’ve created a new era for workplace culture. And there’s no going back!
While their culture consists of indoor slides, tennis courts and shuttle bus services, it’s more importantly an open one of innovation where employees are friends first and colleagues second. And encourages its staff to share their opinions and ideas to work together to achieve growth.
The majority of successful organisations and top 100 companies to work for at the moment share the same or similar culture to that of Google. So, for companies who still believe in the rigid hierarchy days and don’t move with the times they will be left behind in terms of both success and keeping good staff.