Recruitment is an expensive undertaking for employers. It requires a significant investment of time and money to find the best candidate for the job. That’s why employee retention is such a critical (and cost-effective) way to manage your team. A more efficient use of resources is to hire and keep talent rather than needing to seek new employees on a regular basis.
High turnover rates may be the result of bad hires, employees unable to meet the needs of the job, or a team that feels they are being undervalued for their work efforts. Regardless of why an employee might decide to seek work elsewhere, one commonality across the board is there are things employers can do to reduce employee turnover. Here are four retention strategies that work and will help you maintain and grow a high-performing Ag team.
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Focus on Engagement
Employees, particularly the millennial generation, are interested in the type of work that keeps them engaged. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. Managers should have their fingers on the pulse of each team member’s overall engagement level as well as their performance. Creating an open conversation about goal setting and career development will bring the long-term interests of an employee to the forefront of the conversation.
Understanding the interplay of skills and how team members provide value within the context of the projects they work on is important. This provides the information you need as a manager to directly engage and maintain their interest in the work. Offering the opportunity for regular one-on-one meetings or mentorship programs can help make employees feel their leadership is fully invested in their engagement, their success, and their overall happiness.
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Show Your Appreciation
One of the greatest contributors to unhappiness in the workforce is a feeling of being unappreciated. This can take the form of a lack of appropriate financial compensation, but more often than not it is a simple lack of recognition. Each employee likely has a different way in which they feel appreciated, and managers are regularly tasked with finding out how their top performers prefer to be recognized and rewarded for their successes.
Motivate your employees through achievement and recognition programs. Little things like gift cards, holiday parties, an extra day off or even tickets to a show, all help to make employees feel like they are appreciated and part of a strong community rather than just showing up for a job to pay their bills.
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Compensate Fairly
One of the most common errors companies make in their retention strategy is to regularly check the worth of their employees in the job market. This is especially true if it’s been a while since you needed to hire for a particular role. Understanding what the competitive compensation packages are in the present day will help you align your current compensation and salaries to help your employees stay for the long term.
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Create a Strong Culture
In terms of overall worker happiness, the modern workforce is looking beyond basic benefits and compensation packages. There will always be another company willing to offer a little more money to retain their top employees. Consider what you can offer beyond the market norms that will make working for your company a unique experience. Offering extra paid time off, sick leave, maternity or paternity leave will show you value their happiness outside of the workplace as much as within. Encouraging your team to maintain healthy lifestyles with a paid gym membership or extracurricular activities helps create the work-life balance that maintains emotional contentment.
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For more tips on how to build a consistently strong and happy ag workforce, connect with the team at Ag 1 Source today.
