3 Strategies to Improve Employee Retention and Engagement

You see your team being disengaged at work every day. They sit at their workstations, heads down and quiet—clicking mouses and tapping keyboards. Then they punch out.

This could go on like this for a long time, and then eventually some people will leave. New employees will come in, and more will leave. This cycle is common, and it proves employee retention is the biggest challenge you face.

The good news is you’re not alone. In fact, a 2017 Gallup surveyfound 51% of the workforce is not engaged. What’s more, 51% of workers are looking to leave their current jobs. Disengagement is turning your A players into active job seekers, which is causing widespread employee retention nightmares for many organizations.

It’s difficult to engage your staff each day, unless you understand one thing: Employees want to be challenged and see their growth. To re-energize your workforce, focus on building a culture around learning and development.

Let’s take a look at how to do this and how to pull your company out of an employee retention slump.

If your top talent doesn’t fully understand where they are heading with you, they are likely to seek other opportunities. To keep staff from jumping ship, show them how they fit into the future of your company.

Explore career options and determine employee growth goals that align with current roles and the roles that they want. If they have clear objectives that include advancement opportunities, they will be more engaged in their day-to-day and more enthusiastic about taking on new challenges.

For those employees who feel stuck in their roles, motivate them by sharing the success stories. Be sure to demonstrate that advancement and professional growth is possible. Also, encourage communication and collaboration among your entire team, even if they work in different locations.

Outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) promotes employee communication by hosting a digital space where employees across the country can engage with each other and have open discussions. Encourage your staff to share their growth goals and talk about how they plan to advance within the company.

When employees can see their true potential, they become more engaged in their work. In fact, Aon’s 2016 report found that career opportunities were among the top engagement drivers in global engagement trends.

After you’ve shown your employees career path options and have helped them plan their growth goals, develop programs that deliver tools and resources to help them grow. They can be as hands-on or hands-off as you want—just make sure they align with your culture.

For example, software app company Buffer encourages independence in its staff, so it offers employees $20 to put toward any type of learning. This learning stipend fits the company’s small budget and culture.

If you want a more structured program, design a program for each role. That way new hires know from day one there are opportunities to grow after they learn the fundamentals of their roles and the culture.

One major oversight committed by many employers is not offering feedback. As Officevibe’s State of Employee Engagement found, 32% of employees have to wait more than three months to get feedback from their manager, and 31% wish their manager communicated more frequently with them.

To improve feedback, start conducting ongoing performance assessments, where you provide feedback on employee performance and help your staff set short- and long-term goals. These weekly sit-downs should be one-on-ones and focused on areas where your employees are thriving and where they are falling short.

Help employees track their progress toward their goals and stay actively involved in keeping them on track. Management consulting firm Bain & Company, for example, provides each of its consultants access to a staffing and professional development manager who provides advice and advocates for consultants as they manage their professional development.

Consider teaming up employees to manage their goals. Encourage them to keep each other accountable and regularly reflect on how they’re approaching their growth objectives together.

Show your staff how their goals align with their career paths and roles. Giving them context and demonstrating how taking action on a daily basis can help them grow professionally will improve employee retention and engagement. When you invest in your employees’ growth and center your culture on learning, your staff will be more engaged and ready to commit to your company.

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Post by: Andre Lavoie

Andre Lavoie is the CEO of ClearCompany, the first talent alignment platform that bridges the gap between talent management and business strategy by contextualizing employees’ work around a company’s vision and goals.

Company: ClearCompany
Website: www.clearcompany.com
Connect with me on Facebook , Twitter , and LinkedIn.

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