Companies that have a high rate of attrition among long-tenured employees justify it in several ways:
“It’s been a long ride. It has to end someday.”
“Time for fresh blood and new thinking.”
“We couldn’t have kept him/her as the <competitor XYZ> is making an insane financial offer.”
All of these justifications are wrong-headed excuses which are not rooted in reality. When an employee whom you want to keep quits on his/her own, it may be a sign of underlying decay that an exit interview, where most employees tend to be polite and going through the motions, cannot identify.
It is not just money or title – even though both are important. More often than not, here are six simple ways to build employee loyalty and reduce attrition.
Six Simple Ways to Build Employee Loyalty:
Make Employees a part of the Company’s Vision and Mission:
Many employees thrive on having a sense of purpose to their job. It is like the adage about a stonemason who is happy and productive despite the hard work as he takes pride in the fact “I am helping build a cathedral.”
Provide them with work that is meaningful and challenging:
When work becomes routine and does not challenge intellectual curiosity and does not help sharpen the skills, employees fall into a rut and quit.
Show Authentic Appreciation for a job well done.
Many managers take employees for granted and forget a simple pat on the back or a kind word of kudos goes a long way in inspiring and motivating employees. It is not empty praise, but authenticity is the key.
Empower employees and Mentor them but not Micromanage.
As Steve Jobs famously said you don’t hire smart people to tell them exactly what to do, but you hired them in the first place to tell you what to do. Provide a mission, set guardrails and offer guidelines, and mentor them, but never micromanage.
Offer Opportunities for Growth – Promotions and Self-development.
Growth is not just about title bump. And promotions are not always about pay jump. Job assignments that stretch the employees and allow them to develop new competencies and enhance their existing skills will go a long way in keeping employees motivated and loyal. Job rotation, overseas postings, company paid training and certifications even if they are unrelated to the job, and paid sabbaticals are some of the ways to offer opportunities for growth.
Offer a competitive Salary and meaningful Benefits.
Of course, you don’t always have to be the chart-topper. If an employee is happy with her/his position, they seldom compare with other companies and are not going to jump ship for a few pennies more. Employees who are happy do not regularly scour Glassdoor or Payscale for salary information. However, if the pay and perks are not at all comparable with the industry norms, it will come to bite back sooner than later. As the saying goes, you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
Do you agree? Is there something else missing in this list? Please share your thoughts.