How to Keep Your Company’s Keepers

Talented, dedicated employees are the backbone of every organization. They are responsible for the quality of your products and services, and they play a direct role in customer loyalty and how you fare against your competitors. However, even the most devoted employees see the end of the year as a time to evaluate and plan for their future. If you want their future to be with your company, it’s vital that you make them feel valued, trusted and excited.

Here are three things you can do now to make sure “Find a new job” isn’t on their list of New Year’s resolutions:

• Show You Care: Thank them in ways that honor their individual preferences. Do they crave the spotlight? Recognize them among their peers. Do they have a favorite hobby, restaurant or store? Get a gift card that shows you understand what is important to them. Do they need a bit of time to attend to family or personal matters? Our recent employee survey shows flexible scheduling is the single most craved perk, but most employers still aren’t offering it. Depending on your team or company culture, there are infinite ways to show their contributions did not go unnoticed – and won’t go unrewarded this year.

• Make Them Feel Trusted: One of the best qualities employers can hope for in an employee is a sense of ownership – that “personal stake” in the company mentioned earlier. While mentoring and training are important, so is giving employees enough breathing room to get their job done, show initiative, and when appropriate, resolve challenges and issues. People in general respond positively when they feel trusted. Employees who feel that a task or project is truly their own will be more motivated to excel because it becomes ‘their baby’. Cultivating a workplace culture built on trust will have a strong foundation that will free and empower employees to build – and that’s something that benefits them, you and your company.

• Keep Them Interested: Most employee surveys reveal that for many employees, a fulfilling career is often more important than pay. As an employer, it is crucial that you keep your staff engaged, challenged – and wanting to be there for what’s next. Set clear goals, create well-defined career paths, and encourage learning through mentorship, outside workshops, and even skill-sharing. Promote from within whenever possible, and reward your most dedicated and innovative employees so that both tenured and new team members can see that contributions are recognized and rewarded.