Retaining Good Employees – The Old Fashioned Way

It is a bad day when one or more of your best employees put in their 2-week or 30-day notice. That hurts! They are reliable, communicate well, are a team player and never cause any conflict. So, why are they leaving? For many reasons like better pay or benefits, a higher level position, or their spouse got a great job but they have to move. Or maybe they are leaving because you and your company don’t care about them and they are reminded every time they come to work. Either way, one of the most important things you can do is keep good employees by doing old fashioned things every day. Let’s take a look at these strategies.

Old Fashioned Ways to Retain Good Employees

Starting on their first day of work, meet with them, get to know them and welcome them to the facility. Have a mentoring program in place so they are not left out there alone, looking for someone to bond with. Employees who form relationships with other employees generally stay longer. Hold monthly or quarterly groups with your staff to get a reading on what is going on in the facility and their lives. You can’t put your finger on the pulse if you have no clue what’s going on.

Implement inexpensive, short-term incentives to keep your staff motivated about work, new policies or programs. Remember, some of your employees work on a shoe-string budget and incentives like gift cards for gas or food are much appreciated. Some employees struggle to put gas in their car to get to work. Others need more food on their table. Tap into the needs of your team and their loyalty and commitment will blossom.

Be diligent about having the right equipment to get the job done. Employees feel at times, that administration is tone-deaf about their needs for better or updated equipment or tools to get their jobs done right. Make sure they have what they need. Listen to your employees and respond honestly.

Provide high quality, ongoing training and education for your team. You cannot expect them to remain in high gear without keeping training fresh and exciting. If you are doing the training, do it with high energy and a positive attitude. One of the tricks to training is getting employees to like learning. Give them something educational and fun and they will become more engaged.

Socializing Employees to Stay

How can you “socialize” employees to stay with your company instead of looking for employment elsewhere? Share the history of the company and owners who started it. Be a story-teller. People love a good story, especially feel-good stories. Stress the organization’s vision, mission, values, and principles. Employees want to know what you, the organization and they stand for. Talk about the importance of honesty and ethical behavior. But, just don’t talk the talk. Live it.

Another way to socialize employees into staying is to get them to fall in love with the organization or facility. Get them to fall in love with taking care of their residents and the residents themselves. Employees don’t generally leave things or people they love, at least, not as frequently as they would things or people they don’t like.

Openly and frequently talk about commitment, loyalty and dedication. Use words like these and they will stick in the minds of your staff. Don’t use them and they’re not even on their radar. And, don’t forget to talk about the importance of work-life balance. Life is very busy. Work is, too. Employees who have a roughly balanced mix of work and private life have more satisfaction than those who are super stressed about one or the other.

Conclusion

One of the most important jobs you have is trying to keep good employees. This is not rocket science, as you can see. Retaining employees just takes some good, old-fashioned tender, loving care. Start out a new hire’s experience in a positive way. Mentor them. Get to know them. Incentivize them to stay by understanding what they need. How many single moms do you employee? Do you know what they need? Make sure employees have the right tools to get their jobs done right. Keep them well-trained and educated. And lastly, socialize them to stick around. Doing these easy, old fashioned things are a much better alternative to the expenses and losses associated with employee turnover.

More About Recruiting and Retention

• How to Retain Good Employees
• Successful Employee Retention Strategies
• Recruiting the Best Employees
• Employee Turnover in Senior Care

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