How to Keep Your Best Employees

A 2017 study surveyed 34,000 respondents and found that it costs employers 33% of a worker's annual salary to hire a replacement if that worker leaves. Furthermore, it concluded that 75% of employee turnover is preventable. The top reasons survey respondents gave for leaving their jobs were career development (22%), work-life balance (12%), managers' behaviour (11%), compensation and benefits (9%) and well-being (9%).

What can a workplace do to ensure employees are happy and want to stick around for the long term? Read on for a few of our top tips.

Check in Regularly

When it comes to employees' happiness in their roles, it's important to remember that some may not feel comfortable speaking up when something isn't working for them. That's why it's so important to schedule regular check-ins across all levels of the company. Having managers conduct 1-on-1s with each member of their team on a monthly basis may prove helpful. Questions like the following can help pinpoint areas of opportunity:

• How are you feeling, both at home and at work?

• Are you feeling balanced between work life and home life? Is there anything we could do to better support that balance?

• What aspects of your role do you most enjoy? Is there anything you would like to do more of?

• What are some of the challenges you face here? Do you have any suggestions to reduce/improve these challenges?

For the most productive conversation, consider sending questions to team members ahead of time so they can think through their feelings and experiences ahead of time.

It's also wise to keep in mind that with "managers' behaviour" being one of the top reasons employees leave, a great employee may, for whatever reason, not feel able to adequately discuss their concerns with their manager. Anonymous surveys and connecting individuals with their HR representatives may help ensure honest and open communication is possible.

Decrease Pain Points

Starting a conversation through regular check-ins is key in order to get a sense of where employees' pain points are in their role. From there you can begin to put together steps to support them and ensure they are satisfied with their time in the company.

Does their feedback indicate they are primarily craving growth and opportunity? Do they feel they aren't being compensated in accordance with their workload or responsibility level? Do they feel overworked and need a few days off or more information on how to support their mental and physical well-being?

By better understanding what our employees need in order to feel happy and valued, we can take steps to retain them before they begin looking elsewhere.

Offer Extra Supports

With well-being, work-life balance and benefits all coming in as top reasons employees move on — it's clear that taking care of our teams' mental and physical health is key. Here at Freshtalk Wellness we offer virtual wellness sessions on subjects such as Stress & Burnout, team challenges to support mindfulness and well-being, as well as personalized wellness boxes.

Check out our full offering and use the contact form below to learn how you can put together an employee wellness program that helps your team feel appreciated, valued and excited about their ongoing time with the company.