CEO at Loxentus Inc., providing entrepreneurs with implementable frameworks in leadership, profitability and growth.
Throughout my career from public service to entrepreneur to a CEO, I’ve been invested in understanding the areas that drive business growth and success. One of the most important takeaways is for leaders to not only prioritize profit but the people—especially those in your organization who propel your business goals. Part of impactful leadership is giving employees the resources they need to thrive in and out of the workplace. Over time, continued support will lead to profitability and measured growth.
To help leaders better grow and retain company talent, I turned to the members of Forbes Business Council Employee Empowerment Group, an online community I lead, to share their best tips for maximizing employee retention.
1. Invest in employee development and career growth opportunities.
Prioritize training, mentorship programs and clear career advancement paths. This shows employees that the company is invested in their professional growth and development, which can increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover. It can also help to provide regular performance evaluations, recognition and rewards for good work and open communication. – Kirt Linington, Linear Roofing & General Contractors, LLC
2. Pay people what they’re actually worth.
With an ear to the ground in HR and recruiting, the best tip for owners to increase retention is to pay people what they are actually worth! Shocking, I know, but today’s graduates, as well as varying roles with significant transferable skills between arenas and industries will find somewhere else to pay them for the skills they currently possess. Don’t hire if you can’t afford to. – Dana Neiger, HIVE Talent Acquisition Firm
3. Strengthen team culture.
Business owners can enhance retention by focusing on team culture. Team-building and supportive workplaces boost employee motivation, engagement and job satisfaction. Flexible work arrangements and development ladders will also help employees feel secure in their jobs. – Shaan Rizvi, Plaxonic
4. Enforce transparency.
Employees appreciate when leadership shares goals, plans and challenges with them, even if those challenges are around being able to afford increases and bonuses. Being direct and honest with your team and giving them something to look forward to keeps them engaged and committed even when tough decisions need to be made. – Adi Vaxman, Sheba Consulting
5. Cultivate drivers in your organization.
Look at the optics of your middle-management positions, and differentiate between who’s driving and who’s maintaining the status quo. Frankly, every department needs to cultivate drivers through what could be a two-year economic turbulence. But here’s the thing: Some people in your organization may want to drive, but they don’t have permission to. Discover the drivers, and you’ll unlock the revenue to pay more and thrive. – Jeremy Finlay, Quantiem.com
6. Remember that mindset leads to performance.
Focus on what’s needed to accomplish business goals and strategy. If vision and strategy lead to transformation, growth and acquisition, leaders may need to prioritize their investment in “growth mindset” employees who have the ability to think about complexity and embrace change. On the other hand, if the goal over the next couple of years is survival and maintenance, invest in client-maintenance employees. – Karrie Sullivan, Culminate Strategy Group
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
7. Leverage effective people analytics.
The one key factor missing in many companies’ efficiency maximization efforts is effective and actionable people analytics. Who is the true top performer? How biased is the manager’s framework for identifying top performers? What drives their productivity? What are the drivers of attrition? What are the patterns of behavior that lead to increased ROI? – Denys Grabchak, Performetry
8. Focus on employee well-being.
Through this time, it is important to focus on employee well-being. What are your employees’ top stressors? Offering benefits to support them will keep them healthy and, in turn, focused and productive which lowers the attrition rate. – Roxanne Derhodge, Roxanne Derhodge Consulting
9. Provide better benefits.
During the pandemic, we focused on providing better benefits to our employees instead of laying off people. In those hard times, we are able to double our sales and still thrive despite the situation. Employees are assets to your business and not liabilities. If you take care of them, they will take care of your business. – Pavel Stepanov, Virtudesk
10. Emphasize psychological safety.
Employers should significantly increase open-door policies and invite all departures to engage in leadership executive planning. Transparency is key in times of volatility, so providing consistent, psychological safety is a too valuable commodity. – Ben Sever, Phoenix Portfolio Partners
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