Any business needs to look to the future in order to build on its success and secure the legacy which the owners have developed, so it is important to set the right tone when new employees join. As an employer, you’ll want to make a good impression right from the beginning in order to retain these employees.
Richard Branson has always said that to develop a successful business, you should look after your employees first before your customers. It is important to concentrate on praising an individual’s achievements rather adopt the “carrot” and “stick” approach.
These are not just empty words because Virgin is able to demonstrate that this type of ethos creates a thriving, successful and creative environment. Technology can produce its own challenges in terms of encouraging new employees but Richard Branson is still able to operate a global company whilst “working from home” from an island in the Caribbean.
This is an important lesson to learn when developing a strategy for new employees in business because employees are your most valuable asset and retaining your most gifted employees is a continuing challenge because of the flexibility to move jobs. Happy employees promote an environment where everyone wants to be engaged in the business and share in its success.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when seeking to retain new employees:-
1. Understand what motivates your employees and with the help of Human Resources identify the people who have the ability to succeed and are able to communicate effectively within the business. Not everyone one wants to adopt a leadership role and it is important to recognise those people in your organisation who want to progress further and help the business grow. Not everyone has the capability and communicating this effectively can be important.
2. Make sure that you have a basic structure in place that creates a fair environment such as a fair pay structure, reward structure and access to promotion. Also lack of experience and age should not be a barrier. It is helpful to have a transparent structure in place in terms of career progression and also provide training to managers to make sure that they follow this structure in order to avoid conflict. If you don’t get the fundamentals right then any retention planning is likely to fail because you will have demotivated staff.
3. Develop a mentoring scheme with the assistance of Human Resources. Ask the employees rather the managers who would be suitable to adopt a mentoring role because it is the employees who are directly affected by how someone behaves in the business.
4. Give employees the freedom to express their ideas and empower them to take on more challenging positions. It is only by adopting this process rather than a strict formal process that you will see who are the potential leaders of the future and it will also stop owners employing people in their own mirror images. The world is changing with the advent of AI so it is important to encourage the people in your organisation who have the knowledge about this technology and people who are willing to change. Owners need to release control or they will have a business that fails.
5. There are employees who think about the big picture and those people who are happy to concentrate on their own job. Give employees the opportunity to feel part of a team and the opportunity to build collaborative relationships within the business as this engenders positive mindsets. It is important to promote a positive culture and make sure you communicate this to new employees.
6. It is important to have current leaders in your business who are able to inspire employees to succeed and release control. They should be empathetic and prepared to listen to another’s person’s point of view. They don’t necessarily have to adopt the ideas that employees put forward but they need to spend time listening to them because in order for a business to grow it is the future leaders who will be able to take the business forwards.
7. Probationary periods may help if you have any doubts about whether a person can meet the needs of the business and if a person does not work out then a conversation should be had. Peer reviews are helpful in this process because you can see who people relate well to others in the business.
8. Look after the well being of your employees. Mental health policies should not be just a tick box exercise, they are an important tool in supporting employees to grow in the business. Many people go through struggles so you want to be an organisation that is there to support them through these challenges. A successful business is not just about money.
Finally the most important thing is to have fun in the business because great employees will gravitate to this type of business. If you have a high turnover of staff, assess how the business is failing because it is never too late to put it right. You may not get a Caribbean island but you will certainly benefit by having a prosperous business.
To discuss this or any other related matter with Jane directly, please call 01483 887766, email info@hartbrown.co.uk or start a live chat today.
*This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
