Strategies for Retaining and Engaging Employees

You have secured some great employees and now the next step in the process is developing strategies to ensure that they will stay with you for the long term.

The reality in today’s labour market is that businesses are going to lose employees to competitors or other career opportunities. However, there are some excellent strategies that businesses of any size can implement to ensure that they are doing the best job possible to retain employees.

At the very heart of any retention strategy is the simple rule: Engaged employees are retained employees.

Engaged employees are:

  • Committed to the organization
  • Far more productive then disengaged employees
  • Much safer in the workplace
  • Extremely profitable
  • Able to provide excellent customer service
  • An inspiration to fellow employees to do great work
  • Very effective in attracting other great new employees

Ten steps to retaining and engaging your employees:

  1. Be clear about what is expected from employees
  2. Ensure they have the materials and equipment needed to do great work
  3. Never stop creating ways for employees to do what they do best every day
  4. Remember that nothing is more important than leaders who cares about their people
  5. Create a work environment that is filled with employees who share a commitment to the values and vision of the business
  6. Provide myriad opportunities for career and skill development
  7. Provide ongoing performance feedback, recognition and acknowledgement
  8. Instill a sense of purpose and direction in each employee
  9. Provide constant communication and transparency between the leaders and the employees
  10. Look for ways to support the need to have a balanced work/life schedule

The information adapted for this article was provided by WorkBC and Venture Kamloops. It was originally published in a joint venture entitled “The WorkBC Employer’s Tool Kit: A Resource for British Columbia Businesses Booklet 2 – It’s about Ability – How to Attract, Retain and Engage Mature Workers,” and is reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit www.workbc.ca and www.venturekamloops.com.

This article may not be republished without the express permission of the copyright owner identified in the article.