How to hold on to your favourite employees

Employees are expensive, aren’t they? First you spend money on actually hiring them, then spend more time and money training them, and then there’s actually paying their salaries. And what do they do to thank you for everything you have invested in them? They go and leave your business for a job at another company, don’t they?

There are, however, things you can do to make your business seem more attractive and stop your best employees from wanting to leave.

Pay your employees more

If you pay your employees a salary higher than the average for your industry you are going to attract the best employees when you are hiring and you will give employees a better incentive to stay if they are ever thinking about leaving for another job.

You don’t need to increase salaries so much that you almost bankrupt your business, you can get away with paying just a little above the average.

Just let them get on with it

A good employee doesn’t like to be micro-managed, they just want to get on with the job they know how to do better than you do.

If they know that you are always looking over their shoulder, they will be more stressed working for your business and want to take their skills elsewhere.

So let your best employees just get on with their jobs if you want them to stay.

Get rid of the bad employees

If you want to hold on to your best employees because it means your business is stronger, it makes sense that you should want to get rid of the bad employees.

Bad employees can be a drain on the business because they are not using resources effectively, and they can also be a drain on other employees who cannot do their jobs effectively with incompetent workers on their team.

Promote from within

One of the reasons a good employee might want to leave for a job at another company is because they have found a higher, or better paid, position.

So it makes sense that having a business culture where you turn to promoting current employees rather than hiring from outside the business will go a long way to help you hold on to your best employees for longer.

Give your employees the opportunity to be creative

One of the best ways to keep people interested in what they are doing is by keeping their brains working.

Giving them the space to be creative in the way they work, and in coming up with new ideas, will not only keep them engaged but will make them feel as if they are a positive influence on the business, especially if you actually using any of the ideas they give you.