Retaining Employees In A Tight Labor Market

Hiring competent employees can be a challenge, but keeping them can be even harder. In a tight labor market, employers spend significant time and money finding, training, and onboarding employees, with no guarantee that the employee will even stay. This can be frustrating for employers and counterproductive for companies. So how do you not only hire qualified employees but keep them around? Here are five strategies that may help:

Pace the onboarding process

Being a new employee can be overwhelming. There are so many papers to sign, classes to attend, policies to learn, and people to meet. Throwing all this new information at a new employee can make them feel overwhelmed and under-qualified. By pacing the onboarding process, you introduce new bits and pieces of information to an employee a little at a time. This can help them master specific skills and responsibilities before moving on to the next phase of training. By slowing down the onboarding process, employers have the time to teach new employees how to do each aspect of their job and celebrate small successes from the beginning. Laying this foundation helps the employee be more successful in the long run. And when they feel successful, they're more likely to stay.

Invest in training and education

One of the most common reasons that employees leave a job is because they don't see a future with the company. Investing in training and education for your employees lets them know that you see them as part of the company's future. It helps them develop a professional path for success and allows them to see themselves as part of the company in the long run. In a tight labor market, employees that feel stagnant in their current position won't hesitate to jump ship and look for a company that will offer them professional growth. Show your employees that you want them around for the long term by investing in training and professional education.

Show your appreciation

People stay in jobs and careers where they feel valued and appreciated. Create a work culture that focuses on the strength of the employees, and make sure each individual feels like a valued member of the team. Create a space where employees are encouraged to share their ideas and opinions. Learn about the strengths of each individual and allow them to use those strengths to better the company. Establish open-door policies and commit to listening to the feedback of employees. Acknowledgment and appreciation are great motivators!

Offer Incentives

While acknowledgment and appreciation can be great motivators, offering incentives, rewards, and perks for employees who go above and beyond or who meet specific milestones can help boost company morale. Pay raises and bonuses are obvious perks that employees appreciate, but buying lunch for the office, implementing Casual Friday, or even surprising employees with a Starbucks gift card in their mailboxes can help employees feel motivated and appreciated and encouraged them to grow with the company. These rewards help you connect with employees and let them know that while you appreciate them as employees, you see them as individuals.

Hire the right person the first time

If you are worried about the time and money that goes into retaining good employees, you may need to shift your focus. Instead of finding ways to make employees stay, turn your attention to hiring qualified employees that will want to stay. The hiring process can be a lengthy one, which is why many busy employers hire staffing agencies to help them find, screen, train, and hire qualified employees. Most Orange County staffing agencies have access to a large pool of qualified candidates and work with an extensive network of people who have all of the skills and qualities that you're looking for.

Outsourcing the hiring process not only saves you time and money but helps you find the right candidate the first time. When you find someone whose values match the companies, who has the experience and skills required for the job, and possess an attitude and communication style that fits with the current company culture, you dramatically reduce your chances of turnover.

The worst thing you can do is rush through the hiring process just to fill the position. This only results in spending time, effort, and money on the wrong person for the job. If you've been experiencing a lot of turnovers lately, it may be time to outsource the hiring process to a local staffing agency so they can not only help you find the right candidate but keep the right candidate.

What are you doing to keep your great employees during this tight labor market?