Employee retention is critical

For the small and medium business owner, getting and retaining good staff is a major issue today, if not the biggest issue.

Complications brought on by the impact of covid, financial uncertainty, visa regulations, and international travel have all had a significant effect on running and staffing a business, but finding staff to ramp up for summer and retaining them is the number one focus for many.

In a survey completed in 2020, some key issues emerged which are probably just as significant now as they were then:

• Only 26% of employees felt highly valued at work and 33% felt undervalued
• 43% workers were willing to leave for a 10% pay rise while a further 5% of the global workforce is considering a change of career.

In summary, the researchers concluded that 3 in 4 reasons that employees gave for leaving at an exit interview could have been easily prevented.

A recent Queenstown Media Group Survey showed that 30% of staff in Queenstown had moved jobs in the last 12 months.

Financially, the impact of staff turnover is typically double an employee’s salary while productivity can skyrocket [+202%] with higher worker satisfaction.

So – what can we do to retain staff during these uncertain and challenging times?

It is not easy! 

It can be complex and complicated, and will need different approaches with different people. You will need to understand individual needs as well as group needs – people have different needs – different goals – different drivers – and different ideas on what is best for them.

So, getting it right can be very rewarding for both staff and business owners.

What about the cost of staff retention on the business? One of the most common reasons that businesses give for not making changes to improve retention and satisfaction rates is the cost; but, there are many case studies that show the cost of making changes is not high and that the resulting productivity improvement paired with reduced recruitment costs easily negates the added expenditure. 

The case studies also found that the cost of replacing a key member of staff can be more than double that person’s salary when you take into account replacement time, recruitment, training and induction, as well as the reduced productivity of the employee who is leaving and the new employee as they get up to speed.

Here are some strategies that you can use to reduce staff turnover:

1. Take time to engage with staff in order to understand individual and group needs. Can you help with transport, housing visas etc.?
2. Employee recognition – achievement, fairness and consistent delivery leads to loyalty and motivation to remain
3. Create a culture of freedom – ‘trust’ comes from a degree of autonomy
4. Flexibility is becoming a highly prized attribute
5. Corporate Social responsibility is becoming a force for good
6. Terms and Conditions must remain competitive in the marketplace
7. Make sure lines of communication are very clear and 
8. Provide a clear career path for really talented individuals you want to hold onto

Having had a bit of a think about these issues and the strategies you can use to retain staff, here are some important things to ask yourself:

• Is our hiring process right?
• Can our employment offer be better? How flexible are we?
• Do we have an onboarding process and could it be improved?
• What if I introduce a mentor concept for all new staff?
• Do we celebrate wins and praise individual improvement? 
• Do I take the time to say thank you?
• Do we have a relaxed and casual atmosphere? 
• Have we got a set of values for the company, and do we talk about and abide by them?
• Have you got the Work-Life balance right?
• Do we offer enough training opportunities?

And on it goes.