Employee Retention through job satisfaction

 

Improving Employee retention through increasing job satisfaction

While the job market in some industries and regions favors employers, candidates with in-demand skills likely won’t have to wait long to find a new opportunity (Marriage, 2014). Many companies never stopped hiring during the pandemic, and a lot that did are starting to expand staff levels again.

If you sense your business is at risk of losing top talent, you need to move fast to shore up your employee retention strategies (Marriage, 2014). Here are 14 areas where deliberate action can help boost employees’ job satisfaction and increase your ability to hold onto valued workers:

Onboarding and orientation — every new hire should be set up for success from the start. Your onboarding process should teach new employees not only about the job but also about the company culture and how they can contribute to and thrive in it. Don’t skimp on this critical first step. The training and support you provide from day one, whether in per
son or virtually, can set the tone for the employee’s entire tenure at your firm (Molefe, 2010).

Mentorship programs — pairing a new employee with a mentor is a great component to add to your extended onboarding process, especially in a remote work environment. Mentors can welcome newcomers into the company, offer guidance and be a sounding board. And it’s a win-win: New team members learn the ropes from experienced employees and, in return, they offer a fresh viewpoint to their mentors (Manjoo, 2013).

But don’t limit mentorship opportunities to new employees. Your existing staff   and your overall employee retention outlook and team’s job satisfaction can greatly benefit from mentor-mentee relationships.

Employee compensation — it’s essential for companies to pay their employees competitive compensation, which means employers need to evaluate and adjust salaries regularly. Even if your business can't increase pay right now, consider whether you could provide other forms of compensation, such as bonuses (Molefe, 2010). Don’t forget about improving health care benefits and retirement plans, which can help raise employees’ job satisfaction, too.

Perks — Perks can make your workplace stand out to potential new hires and re-engage current staff, all while boosting employee morale. According to research for our Salary Guide, flexible schedules and remote work options (separate from pandemic-related stay-at-home orders) are the perks many professionals value most (Marriage, 2014). In addition, about a third of the employees we surveyed said paid parental leave is a big plus.

Wellness offerings — Keeping employees fit  mentally, physically and financially is just good business. The pandemic prompted many leading employers to expand and improve their wellness offerings to help employees feel supported and prioritize their well-being (Manjoo, 2013). Stress management programs, retirement planning services and reimbursement for fitness classes are just some examples of what your business might consider providing to employees.

Communication — The pandemic helped underscore the importance of good workplace communication. Your direct reports should feel they can come to you with ideas, questions and concerns at any time. And as a leader, you need to make sure you’re doing your part to help promote timely, constructive and positive communication across the entire team, including on-site and remote employees (Marriage, 2014). Make sure you proactively connect with each team member on a regular basis, too, to get a sense of their workload and job satisfaction.

Continuous feedback on performance — many employers are abandoning the annual performance review in favor of more frequent meetings with team members. In these one-on-one meetings, talk with your employees about their short- and long-term professional goals and help them visualize their future with the company (Marriage, 2014). While you should never make promises you can’t keep, talk through potential career advancement scenarios together and lay out a realistic plan for reaching those goals.  Also plus,

·         Training and development 

·         Recognition and rewards systems 

·         Work-life balance

·         Flexible work arrangements

·         Effective change management 

·         An emphasis on teamwork

·         Acknowledgement of milestones, big and small   factors to use increase the job satisfaction.

 

Conclusion

Following mentioned above employee retention strategies outlined above are just some ways to help increase your team members’ job satisfaction. Be sure to re-evaluate your efforts regularly. That includes staying current on market standards for salary and benefits, and best practices for developing an attractive workplace culture and strong manager-employee relations.

References

Manjoo, F., 2013. How Google Became Such a Great Place to Work. [Online]
Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/01/google_people_operations_the_secrets_of_ the_world_s_most_scientific_human.html
[Accessed 03 April 2022].

Marriage, A., 2014. Counter-Terrorist Financing and Humanitarian Security. European Interagency.

Molefe, G. N., 2010. Performance measurement dimensions for lecturers at selected universities: An international Perspective. SA Journal of Human Resource Management.