One of the most effective ways of reducing the costs of recruitment is to keep your valued team members! That’s simple logic, but how do you keep employees content and fulfilled at work? The grass is always greener on the other side, after all…

Lowering employee turnover may mean adjusting your hiring process to attract the right people that want to be part of what you’re trying to achieve…and then leading them from the front.

What’s the Vision?

You can’t expect people to buy into what you’re doing if they don’t know what’s for sale. Explain the company vision clearly to candidates, as well as the culture, so that they know from day one what they are stepping into.

It’s not just about the salary; people have a human need to feel part of something, and our professional lives are no different to our personal lives in that. Suggest what they can become a part of and see if their eyes light up…

Who are They and Do They Fit?

You need to find out during the interview who is sitting in front of you. This means throwing the resume to one side and getting to know them as people. What are their driving passions, motivations, goals, ambitions, values? What do they stand for? What do they really want to do and what is their ideal working culture?

It’s easy to find out about skills, experience and academic qualities. Personal characteristics are more difficult to uncover. Careful open questions elicit responses that allow them to reveal themselves and for you to consider whether they would be a good potential “fit” for your organisation. Psychometric testing may also be of use here.

Remember that skills and experience may get a person a job, but it won’t keep them in it. For that, you need people who enjoy coming in to work, being part of your organisational culture, and collaborating with co-workers and leadership.

Leadership

Understanding people and what makes them tick, maintaining integrity and respect, empathising with others, and having the courage to lead a team through their many battles: these are all signs of good leadership that will help keep your organisation together.

In a positive work environment, team members are respected, praised and recognised when they have achieved something. Simple emails or “thank you’s” for doing a good job, with recognition higher up the chain from execs above, can really give a boost to the esteem.

Strong leadership makes the workplace a happier place to be for everyone and reduces turnover.

Flexibility and Inclusion

A flexible workplace is usually a happier one. As well as the financial benefits of a job, like bonuses, flexibility can be built into work schedules to cater for ways employees prefer to work. Forty hours a week is a long time to be doing something when you’d rather be somewhere else, so employers should become more creative with arranging work schedules. Telecommuting, compressed schedules and day care are all good options to consider.

Don’t underestimate inclusion and engagement either. We can see with social media how important it is to people to feel connected to others and to engage with them. Unless you foster a work environment that encourages interaction and inclusion in the “life” of the company, then it’s likely that pretty soon things will go stale.

A Future Path

If team members see a career path ahead they are more likely to hang around. Nobody wants to be stuck in a perceived “dead end” job, so try to help employees see what they need to do to head up the ladder.

Holding at least bi-annual reviews and feedback sessions will help them understand where they can go, and avoid feelings of disengagement, disenchantment or disappointment. Also encourage an open-door policy on asking you questions at other times, whenever they need guidance.

High staff turnover is not only bad for the bottom line, it can drag morale and motivation levels down. Following the five approaches outlined above will help reduce turnover and set you on the right path to breaking the expensive cycle of hire-train-rehire-train that many organisations experience.