Hiring a new employee is a lot of work: many hours, dollars and conversations later you may have found the “perfect fit” for your company. What happens when they decide to leave the company a few months later? All of the time and money spent (which is a lot!) is now lost and the process starts over. Especially in the scientific field, retention can be an issue.
Here are a few tips on how to keep good employees and raise retention rates:
Make sure employees feel appreciated
Whether it’s in a small or big way, people love to feel appreciated and will work harder under praise. According to SocialCast, 78 percent of employees say they will work harder at their jobs when they are recognized. If you feel appreciated in a workplace, you will be a lot less likely to leave. There are a lot of ways to recognize employees, but some easy ones are: birthday and anniversary recognition in-office, social posts for employee achievements and rewards when staff hits a personal or professional goal.
Check in with employees regularly
We all know days can get crazy and before we know it a month has passed, but especially in high-stress careers, it’s important to check on employees. Many careers in scientific fields can be high stress and take a lot of focus, which makes checking in all the more important. If you can identify and resolve issues before they get out of hand, you can prevent a good employee for leaving over problems that should have been addressed.
Give the employees the tools they need
With all of the technology available, it’s common for tools to be available to make jobs easier. In a scientific environment, there are a lot of technological advances able to make tasks more efficient and more refined. If you provide employees with the tools they need, they will not only succeed and provide good results for the company, they will be less stressed. When new computer software is released, make sure it’s in the budget for your team to acquire it. If an employee asks for a certain desk, software program or tool, look into how it can help them and the entire company. If someone feels they can do their job to the best of the ability with the technology or support they need, they will be more likely to work through the rough patches and stay with the company.
Keep employees in the loop
Transparency is a big deal between employees and employer. Employees have the right to know what’s going on overall in the company, and especially have the right to know about anything that will directly have an impact on them. According to Forbes.com, this is one of the most important ways to keep employees loyal to your company. One common way to inform employees is with a regular newsletter containing company updates, changes and achievements. If you are in an office with a lunch or break room, a billboard with company information posted may also be helpful. Some companies take keeping employees in the loop to a whole new level with social platforms like Yammer, which is set up like a professional Facebook.
If you treat your employees well and with respect, they are more likely to stay with your company. If you are looking for loyal, talented scientific employees, contact an Alliance Scientific Solutions recruiter.