Employee retention is crucial to any business’s success, no matter the industry. High turnover can be time-consuming and expensive. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what business owners in the trades should know about employee retention.
Let’s explore why employee retention matters and discover practical ways to keep it high.
Why Employee Retention Is Important
Hiring top talent is just half the battle—once you’ve secured talented employees, you must retain them at your business. Making a great hire can be a months-long process, and fully onboarding and training an employee can take even more time.
All that hard work can quickly go down the drain if your employee quits shortly after being hired. A high turnover rate could be detrimental to your business’s long-term success. Recruiting alone can be challenging and expensive.
Not only can high turnover rates cause logistical issues, but they can also cost your company money. On average, turnover can cost thousands of dollars per employee who leaves their job. It takes time, resources, and money to replace employees.
Here are just a few downsides businesses may face if they don’t prioritize employee retention:
- Productivity downturn
- High recruiting costs
- Low employee morale
It’s inefficient to constantly replace employees. Instead, try to keep talented employees at your company.
How to Retain Your Employees
So, how can you encourage your employees to stick with your business? Here are a few strategies you can implement to boost employee retention.
Build a Safe Work Environment
Safety is arguably the most essential part of a workplace in the trades. Construction industry jobs are among the country’s most dangerous occupations.
As a trades professional, you need to prioritize following OSHA safety guidelines. Fines aren’t the only danger of safety violations. Why would an individual want to work at a company that doesn’t prioritize their safety and well-being? Unsafe work practices could lead to a high turnover rate.
Show Appreciation and Recognize Good Work
A simple “Thank you” or “Good job” can go a long way in retaining employees.
Research shows that employee recognition can have a huge impact on retention. A report found that employees who receive regular recognition are six times more likely to stay invested in their jobs.
Recognized employees are also seven times more likely to stay with their current employer for at least another year.
Ensuring your employees feel valued and recognized at work is essential to building a workplace that fosters employee loyalty and retention.
Listen to Employees and Send Engagement Surveys
One efficient way to gather feedback is through an employee engagement survey. Tools like Jotform and GetFeedback help business owners send out employee surveys. You must be ready to make changes if you conduct employee engagement surveys.
A quick way to disengage employees is to ask for feedback and then do nothing with it. It can make your employees feel unheard and disrespected.
In a Globe Newswire report, 34% of employees said their managers don’t listen to their opinions. Those employees said feeling ignored factored into their decision to leave their current job.
Conduct Regular Check-Ins
Contrary to popular belief, you shouldn’t only conduct employee interviews at the start and end of employment. As a leader, it’s crucial to keep a pulse on how your employees are feeling and if their needs are being met. That’s why it’s important to conduct regular check-ins with your staff.
You can have these one-on-one meetings annually, biannually, or quarterly. The cadence is up to you, but the goal should be to listen.
These check-ins can give you an opportunity to coach employees, offer new opportunities, and solve problems for them. For example, if you discover an employee is struggling with an aspect of their job, you can provide additional training and resources to help them succeed.
Check-ins show your employees you care about their well-being and are interested in what they have to say. Remember, feedback is only beneficial when you’re willing to act on it. As we’ve covered above, it’s essential to sincerely listen to employee feedback and act on it where necessary.
Keep Your Employees
With these retention strategies, you can improve the turnover rate and encourage employees to stay loyal to your company.
As you build your staff, ensuring your business can handle the growth is crucial. That’s where a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool comes into play. JobNimbus helps contractors manage their leads, streamline billing processes, and optimize sales.
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