Your business is only as successful as your employees. If you’re losing staff, then you’re likely losing business too.
The high costs of employee turnover are well documented. Frequently recruiting and training new workers has a direct impact on your bottom line, as does the inevitable productivity loss every time one of your staff members walks out the door.
The average economic cost to a company of turning over a highly skilled job is 213% of the cost of one year’s compensation for that role.
But poor employee retention is also a warning sign of some potentially serious issues within your business. The most likely culprits? Either there’s a problem within your corporate culture or a problem with your hiring practices.
To reduce turnover and improve your retention rates, follow these 5 tips to help you hire employees who stay.
1. Set Clear Expectations
To find the perfect candidate, you first need to create the perfect job description. Clearly describe not just the position you want to fill, but the person with whom you want to fill it.
Be upfront about the requirements of the role, working conditions and hours, amount of travel expected and what experience, skills and personality traits are needed to be successful in the position.
2. Let the Candidates Interview You
A job interview is a two-way street. While you are searching for the ideal candidate, remember that applicants are searching for their ideal job and their ideal company to work for.
Be candid not only about the benefits and opportunities of working with your team, but also any challenges and potential obstacles new hires may encounter.
Share details about your management style, corporate culture, office facilities and amenities, employee benefits and special events and answer candidates’ questions about your business openly and honestly.
3. Be Creative With Your Benefits
Offering an attractive benefits package can be a financial challenge, especially for small business owners. But employee benefits don’t have to break the bank. Think outside the box to provide innovative benefits that are meaningful to your staff, but not punishing to your bottom line.
Telecommuting, flex time, lunch and learns, pet-friendly offices, healthy living workshops, employee discounts and incentive programs can all contribute to happy, productive, long-term workers who want to stay.
4. Examine Your Onboarding Process
If you struggle with employee retention, take a good hard look at your onboarding and training programs.
Are you giving new hires the tools they need to succeed? Do you set reasonable goals and expectations for new staff members and are you providing adequate support in those crucial first days, weeks and months?
If you don’t have a formal training program, you should, but that’s often not enough. Consider implementing a peer mentoring program, pairing new employees with experienced senior staff members who can provide training, guidance and support.
5. Look For Candidates That “Fit”
One of the easiest ways you can reduce employee turnover is to hire the right people in the first place.
Take advantage of online tools like MyHiring.Guru, which uses behavioural science to rank the factors and personality traits most critical to success in your specific position.
The simple to use web-based platform incorporates years of scientific research, predictive analytics, and cutting age artificial intelligence to help you find the right fit with just a few clicks.
The platform not only posts your job online, but pre-screens and ranks applicants by assigning each one a scientific Fit ScoreTM which predicts their likelihood of success in your specific role.
Let MyHiring.Guru take the work out of hiring and allow you to focus on what you do best – running your business.
