Your Employees Really Are Your Biggest Strength and Growth Drivers The worker retention percentage of any company is directly related to its productivity and growth. Here are 10 tips to ensure the workforce stays happy and faithful

They say happy employees work harder and also stay longer. The employee retention percentage of your company is directly related to its productivity and growth.

So, how do you ensure that your employees not only stay with you but are also content with their work? Here are few ways:

Right Hiring

Hire candidates who are on the same page as you are when it comes to work ethics, values, and aspirations. It should be a mutually beneficial relationship. Develop a strategy that goes beyond the textbook hiring.

Training and Growth

Participate in conferences and industry events. This shall help the employees stay on par with the current trends and also give them external guidance and training to implement the required processes internally. Also, conduct regular in-house training programs to help employees grow on a personal front.

Orientation Programs

It's the manager's prerogative to keep the employees informed and updated. This can be in form of policy changes and new developments. Orientation programs give the employees the understanding of where they can contribute and also as to how they can excel internally.

Open Communication

An "open door" policy establishes a culture of mutual respect. You can conduct skip-level meetings and establish friendly equations, which will give you the employee's point of view. Also, regular feedbacks reduce the employee turnover as it gives you an idea of your employees' goals, responsibilities, way of working and also helps in identifying and filling the gaps.

Encouraging Team Work

When employees work as a team, they are bound to generate better results, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Your responsibility here is to establish this culture by creating that right balance. Have separate KRAs for every member as per their respective team and assign tasks accordingly, and at the same time develop synergy within the team.

Happy Hours

Socialize with your employees post working hours, which will give you a chance to get to know them on a personal front. You can also organize team lunches, group treks, and celebrate major milestones and personal achievements. This will give the employees a sense of acknowledgment personally too.

Out-of-the-box Benefits

Share benefits that are more than vacation and sick leaves. These could be ESOPs (an employee stock ownership plan), sabbaticals, maternity and paternity leaves, life insurance, etc. You can also create a health plan for your employees, which can be inclusive of regular health check-ups, fitness tracking, meal tracking, etc.

Rewards and Recognition

Several companies these days have adopted a Reward and Recognition policy, which they conduct every quarter. This helps keep the employee motivated. Besides this, send an email out if an employee does exceptional work. You don't need to wait for the quarter to end to acknowledge good work. You can also express appreciation during team meetings whenever an employee excels.

Work-Life Balance

This is a mandatory requirement to improve the employee retention percentage. Help your employee maintain a work-life balance. Give them holidays on their birthdays and anniversaries. Share their work load when needed, and give privileges like remote working, flexible hours and compensation leaves. You will definitely notice an increase in productivity with this approach.

Exit Interviews

Exit interview is the apt way of understanding the reasons behind an employee leaving, which will help in developing a strategy for employee retention. This will give you an insight on the work culture, management practices, departmental conflicts, etc. And you also want to part with the exiting employee on amicable terms; this process will clarify misunderstandings, if any.

You can use these strategies as a checklist to analyse the areas that need to be developed and then construct an employee retention plan around it. Create a culture that not only helps make your current employees believe that they belong but also leads to them giving strong referrals further leading to a strong and positive retention rate.