How to Retain Your Office Staff

Let’s face it, if you want to run or manage a successful business, the number one thing you need to think about is hiring the right people. BUT there’s no use hiring good people, if you can’t get them to stay! Therefore, having a clear retention strategy is essential to your business’ success.

If you’re looking for a way to retain your office staff and maintain a steady workforce, you’ve come to the right place. Buckle up and get ready to learn how to create an environment that allows your team to settle and thrive.

Provide Opportunities for Development

As recruiters speaking to candidates on a daily basis, we tend get a good insight into what is important to them! It probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that one of the most common reasons behind employees wanting to leave their job is the lack of progression opportunities within their current company.

We appreciate that not all companies can offer a clear progression path or annual promotions, but development opportunities can offer similar benefits to employees, keeping them from feeling stagnant in their role.

Development can include training courses, secondment opportunities elsewhere in the business or even a mentorship programme, allowing longer-serving staff members to develop their leadership skills.

By offering these opportunities, your staff will feel that you’re invested in their future and are more likely to stay for the long-term.

Positive Office Culture

We spend a LOT of our time at work, so it’s probably important that we enjoy our office environment, right? The same goes for your employees too!

Why not introduce a recognition programme, to increase motivation and celebrate team successes. Regular socials are also a big hit at strengthening relationships between team members. Think outside the box when it comes to choosing activities, we’re talking bake-offs, escape rooms or even getting out into nature, to keep things fun and informal.

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is another way to cultivate a positive office culture. Flexible hours or hybrid-working options will give your employees peace of mind knowing their commitments outside of the office will be dealt with, allowing them to fully focus on work.

Employees who feel comfortable in their workplace and connected to their colleagues are a lot less likely to leave. A 2015 study found that a positive working environment can increase productivity by 12% – that’s a win-win if you ask us!

Offer Competitive Salary and Benefits

Let’s face it, money talks. While salary isn’t the only reason why people stay in a job, it’s definitely a big factor. Offering a compensation package comparable to (or better than!) what is provided by other companies in your industry shows your staff that you value their contributions and want them to stay in the business long term.

An alternative could be performance-based bonuses for employees who go above and beyond to keep motivation high and create a sense of achievement. Additional benefits could include gym memberships, healthcare packages and employee discounts – the more, the merrier!

By making your salaries and benefit packages competitive, you can lower the chances of your team feeling the urge to look for something better elsewhere.

Support Employee Wellbeing 

To retain your office staff, employee wellbeing should be of the utmost importance. Being sat in an office all day can become repetitive and heavy workloads become stressful over time.  By prioritising employee well-being, you can keep burnout at bay and ensure your staff stick around for the long term.  A few suggestions could include:

Lunchtime initiatives such as exercise classes, meditation sessions or wellness challenges can promote a healthy lifestyle as well as preventing stress and creating a positive working environment.

Offering mental health days gives employees the opportunity to switch off and re-energise, returning to work with increased productivity and focus.

Seek Feedback

No one likes feeling out of the loop, and communication is a big part of making sure employees feel valued and heard.

We’re not advising you to spill all the beans, but being transparent in sharing updates about the company’s goals, financial health or upcoming changes can go a long way in building trust with your employees.

Conducting regular reviews to catch up on progress or discuss any challenges, as well as allowing employees to share their opinions via anonymous surveys, are all effective ways to ensure everyone’s voices are head.

And after all that, despite your best efforts, it’s inevitable that some people may choose to move on to pastures new. When this happens, it’s a good idea to conduct exit interviews. This will help identify any patterns for leaving or areas of improvement that can be worked on.

As Bill Gates put it, “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve”.

Conclusion

And there you have it, retaining your office staff requires a combination of development opportunities, a competitive salary and benefits, and a supportive & engaging office culture where everyone feels valued. It may be easier said than done, but when employees are happy, it shows in their performance – and your office will run more smoothly, keeping your business thriving for the long haul.

For more on how to find the best candidates, and how to keep them invested in your company following the hiring process, get in touch, we’re always happy to help!