Amid the ongoing Great Resignation, today’s businesses are more focused on retention than ever. As employees seek optimal work-life balance within their current positions, it is vital for organizational leaders to create a safe space for employees to express their needs in the workplace.
Leaders should take the time to research their current work environment and benefits to ensure they align with what their workforce needs to stay satisfied. To this end, 15 members of gotechbusiness.com Business Council discussed one perk or offer they found helpful in retaining their best employees.
gotechbusiness.com Business Council members share benefits that have been helpful in retaining employees.
Photos courtesy of individual members.
1. Build connections
Get to know employees personally and show them how much you care. Connection is everything in today’s pandemic-transformed world. If you’re open and authentic, they can be the same. People need to feel seen, so notice them when they’re not themselves and praise them when they’re doing well. Take the time to check in and have honest conversations. It really is that simple. – Nicole McCance, The McCance Method
2. Consider a home office stipend
We offer a comprehensive set of benefits, including 99% employer-paid medical and dental plans, 3% contribution to 401K, 100% basic employer-paid life insurance, unlimited PTO, a full work-from-home schedule, and more. However, our team is most excited about the $1,000 grant they receive to equip their home work environment with the tools, peripherals, and furniture that make them most productive. – J. Todd Phillips, Parson Partners
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3. Offer work schedule flexibility
One meaningful incentive that I have found effective is to allow employees flexibility regarding their work schedules. Workers find it valuable to work on their daily needs due to the impact of the pandemic on schedules and associated lifestyle changes. If they have children, pets, or elderly people to care for, they may have to work early, afternoon, or late night to meet those needs. – Armand Peric, New Age Public Relations
4. Give employees more options
Benefits are great, but they are short-lived. I’ve found that the best way to retain staff is to treat employees like adults by allowing them to do their jobs. This means that they need to understand their strengths and weaknesses and try to cater to them as professionally as possible. I am also an employer that gives employees grace and flexibility to get their work done. – Annalisa DeMarta, Ridgeline Insights
5. Share how contributions will affect business growth
New-age employees want complete transparency about what is expected of them and how their contributions will really impact business growth. I’ve found it critical to work with management and ask tough questions of staff about their personal, professional and financial goals. This path gives us a better strategy for keeping them while getting the best version of their skills. – Yvonne Cobb, Tax service for takeaway meals
6. Create a Mentorship Program
Aside from the usual good incentives, over time a good employee finds satisfaction in giving back to young talent through mentorship. We have created an innovation hub where we partner with universities to produce and develop skills in young people, with high-performing staff who provide mentorship and guidance to these young minds. This approach has proven to be sustainable for us over the years. – Adewale Adejipo, CWG Plc
7. Help employees become their best selves
We believe that everyone is different and that everyone wants to be the hero of their own story. By focusing on the stories of the team members, we try to build systems that help them get the best out of themselves instead of serving the company. This creates loyalty that really wants the company’s best interests at heart. – Brandon Carlson, Lean TECHniques, Inc.
8. Give Team Members Real Responsibilities and Ownership
In addition to offering highly competitive compensation, I am a big believer in giving people real responsibility and ownership in the positions they are in. Not many people like being told what to do every day. People like to feel empowered and capable, and responsibility activates those feelings. – Sami Rusanic, Rusani Ventures LLC
9. Make employees part of the company
Treat them like family by making them part of the company and creating a real sense of ownership. Employees spend most of their time at work; make sure everyone sees it as one big family, feels part of the company and knows what’s going on and where it’s going. For example, if it’s their husband’s birthday, the company has them invite them to dinner for two at their favorite restaurant. – Pedro Barboglio, Remote Team Solutions
10. Have an open door policy
Having an open door policy where employees feel they can interact with leadership in an open and honest way contributes to an employee’s sense of purpose. It also makes them feel like they have both access and influence. A leader needs to make sure they really listen and are attentive in their conversations so that employees feel heard and valued. – Stephanie Schwartz, Little Bean group
11. Show appreciation
Praising a job well done is a small sacrifice, but it greatly increases employee satisfaction and retention. Everyone wants to be appreciated and when someone is working on a project or a task, they want to be recognized for their efforts. The most effective praise should be honest, sincere and substantiated based on demonstrable facets of their work. – Kevin O’Leary, Jet Advisors, LLC
12. Use the CAMPS audit
My favorite retention tool is what we call a CAMPS audit. CAMPS stands for security, autonomy, meaning, progress and social inclusion. It summarizes our brain’s five main desires that we all have as humans, so it pays to look through the CAMPS lens at your corporate culture, systems and face-to-face meetings between managers and teams. CAMPS questions get us to the heart of what motivates our best employees. – Priscila Bala, LifeLabs Learning
13. Add a wellness stipend
At Asteya, we strongly believe in transparency, but we also understand that people value financial and non-financial well-being. While we make sure everyone is fairly compensated, we include a wellness-related allowance that covers our employees’ work-from-home costs, gym memberships, pet fees, and other wellness-related subscriptions. As a result, we receive enthusiastic and positive feedback from all our employees. – Hadi Radwan, asteya
14. Avoid micromanaging
While monetary offer has its advantage, micromanaging the team to retain the best employees doesn’t help. By doing this, employees will feel respected for the way they work, it will not limit their productivity and they will have the opportunity to create the best results. It’s best to focus on the results rather than the process. Remember that there are countless ways to skin a cat. – Lane Kawaoka, SimplePassiveCashflow.com
15. Take advantage of coaching opportunities
Coaching is the new employee benefit that has spawned multi-billion dollar coaching platforms like BetterUp and CoachHub. The top employees want more than money; they want professional development and coaching because either “leader to employee” or “coaching platform to employee” makes a difference. Such coaching also includes diversity and inclusion topics, which meet the needs of both employees and companies. – Dennis Reid, H2scan Corporation
