Long-term employees contribute with stability, security, and specialised knowledge. In this checklist you can learn about how you retain them.
When an employee leaves a company, they take things such as optimised routines, valuable know-how and maybe even customers/clients with them. Adding to this, there are high recruitment costs in relation to finding, hiring, and onboarding a new employee.
For the sake of the economy, stability, and cohesion, there are lots of reasons to focus on long-term retainment of employees. You can succeed with this, if you follow the advice in this checklist.
The first step: Invest in your employees
In order to stay at a company, the employee needs to be able to envision a future in said company. Otherwise, the employee will eventually start looking for new opportunities. For this reason, it is necessary for you as a manager or CEO to invest in your employees, if you want them to stay at your company in the long run.
- Offer professional development and continuing education
An obvious way to invest in one’s employees is to offer relevant courses and continuing education, that strengthen their qualifications and competences. - Give your employees a role that allows for them to grow
It is only natural that more responsibilities come along with time, as the employee gets older and gains more work experience in your company. Give your long-term employees new roles down the line that better let them decide on their own work assignments. - Strengthen your efforts within reboarding and cross-boarding
Regardless of whether an employee has their first day of work in a new role or returns after an absence period, it is important that that employee has been properly prepared for the new working life that is about to start. - Offer work benefits
It isn’t the benefits alone that make the employees stay long-term, but they are a useful addition, whether that entails a work phone that can be used for personal things, a company car, or health insurance.
The second step: Be responsive and openminded
It is important to listen, especially as a manager/leader. Your employees possess valuable knowledge and experience, that you may not necessarily know about, unless you actively seek it out.
- Gather feedback continuously
Continuous feedback gathering is important in order to optimise workflows, processes, and to get a better impression of the daily operation. Your employees are deeply involved in the essence of what makes your company function, and they are definitely a wealth of knowledge and good ideas.
- Be open to change
People have different needs. Where some people need structure, others need a freer framework for their work. Be open if someone e.g. wants more flexibility and the ability to work from home.
- Acknowledge your employees
Not everyone attracts attention to themselves, so remember to acknowledge the high-performing employees as well as the employees who are stable and reliable.
The third step: Focus on well-being
Going in to work as well as being there needs to be safe. If the place of work is associated with insecurity or stress, it is a bad sign, and it can lead to employees leaving the company. Well-being is therefore also an important focus area, if you want to retain employees in the long term.
- Hold social events outside of working hours
Whether it is a company party, a trip, a Friday bar party or a meal enjoyed together, social activities create bonds and increase job satisfaction.
- Make teambuilding exercises
Teambuilding exercises make people get to know one another better, and it provides insight into each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It increases the professionalism, improves collaboration, and contribute to the creation of an inclusive company culture. - Hold well-being interviews
At well-being interviews, the employees get the opportunity to speak up. However, be aware that it takes planning, security, and skilled meeting management to succeed.
The fourth step: Set up boundaries for the work
In a world where most of us are online 24/7, the line between work and free time has become more and more blurred. But especially after the corona pandemic forced a big part of the workforce to work remotely, a bigger focus has been put on actually taking the time off, when you are off from work. By respecting this, you also retain your employees for a longer time.
- Stick to a set schedule regarding working hours unless anything else has been agreed upon
By agreeing upon a set schedule regarding working hours and not replying to emails or inquiries outside of that timeframe, you signal the importance of taking time off. That varies according to line of business and the specific company, of course. - Acknowledge signs of dissatisfaction
If your employees seem unmotivated and stressed, it might because they are in fact unmotivated and stressed. Acknowledge this as bad health signs and take action by e.g. lowering their work load, seeking professional help, or other things. - Live by the same set of rules as your employees
It can be difficult, but also managers and CEOs need breaks. If you live by the same set of rules as the ones you set for your employees, your behaviour will influence everyone else in your company.
Next step
Are you ready to improve the retainment of your long-term employees?
