How to Retain Good Employees

Once upon a time, the industry you started in was the industry you’d retire from. Millions of people led rich and fulfilling lives working with the same employer for decades.

For a number of different reasons, this is no longer the case. Many workers today will work in various roles and industries before they retire. It’s no longer considered the norm to make a career in one role in one company. 

While workers and recruiters may be feeling the benefits of this new way of doing things, it presents a new challenge to business owners. Good staff members are hard to find and with the ongoing “great resignation” [1] it’s even harder to retain them. 

Minimising your employee turnover and improving your retention rate can be difficult and time-consuming. That being said, the long-term benefits of ensuring your staff feels comfortable and content in their jobs will pay for themselves many times over. 

In this blog, we’ll be looking at some of the reasons increasing numbers of employees are choosing to leave their jobs and what you as a business owner can do to ensure your staff stick with you. 

Why are so many workers resigning?

Each worker will have their own reason for leaving their role and so it’s difficult to pin the “great resignation” down to any one cause. However, it’s safe to say that the Covid-19 pandemic and the societal changes that came with it have been a huge contribution to this shift. 

The retail and hospitality industries were two of the most affected industries during the pandemic and many businesses are still feeling the ripple effects. For some, the pandemic encouraged them to pursue interests and dreams outside of service work. For others, the pandemic allowed them the space to search for a more lucrative role. 

Whatever the personal reason workers have for leaving their roles, it is unsustainable to operate a business where staff leaves after a few months or a year. As a business owner, you need to put processes in place that encourage your team to stay with your company.

How to retain good employees

For an employee to stay in a job, they need to feel secure, comfortable, and supported by the business. As the owner and employer,  it’s your job to ensure that your business offers all this and more. 

While it may be tempting to ask how to retain employees without money, this is ultimately unwise. Fair recompensation is the cornerstone of a good employer-employee relationship. This relationship will be key to your efforts to build a workplace that your employees wish to stay at.  

To help you in the sometimes difficult (though necessary) work of building a happy workforce, we’ve compiled a list of helpful employee retention strategies. By implementing these effective ways to retain employees, you’ll soon start to see results. 

Responsibility 

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that many employees, especially younger workers, see retail and hospitality jobs as stepping stones on the way to their real careers. This can lead them to not take their jobs as seriously as they should and this, in turn, can lead to poor customer service.

A way you can tackle this attitude and help retain your staff is by trusting your employees with more responsibilities. This doesn’t mean overloading them with extra work as you want to avoid burnout. Instead, offer your employees the chance to explore other aspects of the business and show them how they could turn their role into a viable career.

Respect 

In an unhealthy workplace, it’s very easy for your relationship with your employees to turn into a “Me vs Them” situation. Building a sense of mutual respect is key to retaining staff as your team will have no issue finding a new job if your employees feel disrespected and undervalued. 

You and your managers should sit down with your employees and have a discussion about what the business does well and what it could do better. These will help build a more respectful work environment as both you and your employees will know exactly what is expected and how you can achieve it together.

Rewards

It may seem a simple answer but rewarding your employees when they excel in their roles. The recognition alone will make them feel like a valued member of the team and give them a greater sense of pride in their work. 

While you should budget for these rewards, they don’t have to be overly fancy. They could be as simple as an Amazon gift card or a piece of clothing branded with your business’s logo. If the team as a whole has a high-performing week or month, it would be a good idea to take them all out for dinner. 

Keep customers and employees alike happy 

Streamlining your processes and cutting out busy work will come as a relief for both your customers and your employees. The easier the job can be, the more likely your employees will stick with it. 

The Epos Now Complete Solution has been designed with ease of use in mind. Your employees will find it simple and easy to serve your customers. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about Epos Now, get in touch with our expert team below.