Ten things you can do today to keep staff

By Metis HR

29 Dec 2014

Brace yourself, we’re heading for that time of year again! It’s a fact, January sees up to a 40 per cent increase in people searching online for a new job.

By Metis HR.

Why do they start to look? Because something is lacking in their current job.

So what can you do to keep staff?

The five most common reasons people look to move jobs are

Job stability - People’s needs are changing. What people are looking for now is to work for an organisation that has a plan, an organisation that seems to know where it’s going and offers some job stability

Money – it’s not rocket science, as unemployment falls, people can afford to be pickier about where they work, and they can hold out for more money. If they’re working somewhere where they’ve not had a pay rise for the last couple of years watch out, as the economy picks up people expect to receive better pay.

Respect – have you heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? If not, find out about it, it really is true! It’s another blindingly obvious fact that if people feel that they’re earning enough to satisfy their basic needs, keep a roof over their heads etc, the next thing they want is to feel valued. Employees want to be recognised for the contribution they have made. That doesn’t mean they necessarily want to be paid more, nor does it necessarily mean they want to be made Employee of the Month but they do want to be recognised as making a contribution

Health Benefits – as more pressure is placed on the NHS and people may be waiting longer for appointments to deal with painful conditions that affect their quality of life, people are looking for workplace health benefits that will help them.

Work Life Balance – at one time more sought after by females, work life balance initiatives are fast becoming more sought after by an even split between the genders. It’s not that people want to work less, they want to work differently to help them balance the demands of work and personal lives and improve their overall quality of life.

So, what can you do to keep staff? Review how you work and make some simple changes, many of them won’t even cost you money! Communicate your plans for the business with staff on a regular basis. Let them know what the business targets are and how they fit into the grand plan. Set individual targets designed to help achieve the organisations targets so that each employee can see how what they are doing fits into the grand plan. Involve staff in coming up with new ways of saving money/increasing productivity/developing new products. Have a look at what Dan Pink shows can be achieved by freeing up staff to think more creatively about what they do at work Hold regular one-to-one meetings where you review individual performance against targets and make the effort to recognise good performance when it’s been delivered. Make cash plans available to staff that contribute to the cost of physiotherapy, subsidises the cost of dental treatment, new glasses etc. They don’t have to cost the organisation anything, other than the time to set them up, but offer great benefits to staff. If an employee can claim back £450 of expenditure a year for an outlay of £120 that can be equated to the equivalent of a pay rise, it’s additional money in the employee’s pocket as a result of working in your organisation. Consider introducing salary sacrifice schemes which allow costs for such things as child care vouchers to be taken out of gross wages, cost savings to both the employee and employer. If an employee has done something significant make the effort to thank them. A personal letter of thanks that the employee can show to family and friends (the very people that often egg them on to change their job) is a simple but highly effective move to keep staff. Maximise PR for company achievements. Articles in local media and awards won are all ways of improving the image of your organisation in the local community, as an organisation that’s going places/achieving things. This kind of external recognition of what the organisation does can have real impact on the pride that people feel about working for your organisation, they become proud to be associated with you and therefore more likely to stay longer. Can you be more flexible in the working patters that you offer people? Do they have to work 9-5 or is it only imperative that they are on site between 10 and 3 as core time but they can choose whether they then work 10 – 6 or 8 – 4? Could you accommodate them working four long days instead of 5 ordinary days (compressed hours)? Conduct an annual staff survey (anonymous responses give you the best data). Find out how you staff feel about working in your organisation, do they know what’s expected of them, how do they feel that the organisation communicates them, what would they like the organisation to do differently? You are always going to have some staff who want to move on to pastures new but it makes business sense to keep staff that you’ve invested a lot of time, money and effort in getting them to be a productive member of your team. Why would you want to just hand over that investment you’ve made to a competitor without a fight? It’s never easy to keep staff, it takes effort but it doesn’t always have to cost money.

Enjoyed this? Read more from Metis HR

Latest news

1

Three weekly domestic waste collection considered in plans Waste recycling Blackpool

Three weekly domestic waste collection considered in plans

01 Jul 2025

2

Graham Engineering confirms sale to a2e Industries Graham Engineering

Graham Engineering confirms sale to a2e Industries

01 Jul 2025

3

Training 2000 celebrates 'Good' rating by Ofsted Training 2000

Training 2000 celebrates 'Good' rating by Ofsted

01 Jul 2025

4

Fox Group acquires J Fisher and Sons Colin Fisher, Paul Fox CEO and Gary Fisher.

Fox Group acquires J Fisher and Sons

01 Jul 2025

5

Beever and Struthers strengthen leadership team with new partners Dean Curtis and Joe Diston

Beever and Struthers strengthen leadership team with new partners

01 Jul 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV123 July/August Launch Event
Lancashire Business View magazine launch
Networking
16 Jul 2025

LBV123 July/August Launch Event

Burnley

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

The Marketing Metrics that Matter – July 4
LBV Hub Seminars
04 Jul 2025 - 04 Jul 2025

The Marketing Metrics that Matter – July 4

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

08:30 - 11:00

Tri-Site Survey Equipment Showcase
unnamed (2).jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
09 Jul 2025 - 09 Jul 2025

Tri-Site Survey Equipment Showcase

Crow Wood Hotel, Burnley, BB12 0RT

09:30 - 16:00

Blackburn Cathedral hosts Champagne and Diamonds Event with Ainsworth Jewellers
Champagne-Jewellery 10 07 25_page-0001.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
10 Jul 2025 - 10 Jul 2025

Blackburn Cathedral hosts Champagne and Diamonds Event with Ainsworth Jewellers

Blackburn Cathedral, Blackburn, BB1 5AA

18:00 - 20:30

Choose Chorley for Business - Talent Reimagined Business Breakfast
talentreimaginedbb.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
10 Jul 2025 - 10 Jul 2025

Choose Chorley for Business - Talent Reimagined Business Breakfast

Strawberry Fields Digital Hub, Chorley, PR71PS

08:00 - 10:30

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past
1750160034867.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Jul 2025 - 16 Jul 2025

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:30

Chamber Summer BBQ
LBV Hub Social
17 Jul 2025 - 17 Jul 2025

Chamber Summer BBQ

The Borough, Dalton Square, Lancaster, LA1 1PP

17:30 - 20:00

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?
July Longer Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
29 Jul 2025 - 29 Jul 2025

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:30

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July
Longer July Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
31 Jul 2025 - 31 Jul 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin