How to Attract and Retain Talented and Committed Employees

As a recruitment agency, we imagine the last thing you’d expect us to do is highlight ways in which companies can attract and retain the best talent in this candidate short market…..after all, surely we’re doing ourselves out of work!?! 

However, here at Simpson Dean, our mission is to ensure our clients and candidates are successful and, if that means them not coming to us as often because they’re happy with their employer/employee, then so be it.  

In the words of Richard Branson……..”I truly believe that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business”.

So, we all agree that it’s vital for businesses to retain motivated and happy staff who believe in the company, its values and ethos.  It isn’t rocket science….to have happy customers you need happy staff and the quickest way to lose customers is to have an unhappy and demotivated workforce.

A bad experience with a disenchanted employee can be reason enough for a customer to go to your competitors and, by doing so, potentially giving them the opportunity to tell anyone who will listen about the terrible service they received from your business!

So, what can you do to attract and retain the best talent? 

Here are our top five tips…..

Provide a Great Environment

Sounds simple right, but you’d be surprised how many companies don’t take this seriously enough. 

Give your employees a comfortable work space, ensure they have the equipment and resources they need to effectively carry out their job and, if you can, offer them somewhere nice to go to relax during their breaks/lunchtimes as this can promote a more sociable working environment which can make employees feel they are valued within the business.

Communicate

Ensure that all of your employees understand the company’s aims and ethos.  By involving your staff and giving them clear guidelines on where you see the business going, they will be able to see how important their role is and how they can benefit from the success of the business.

We appreciate that managers are busy people and can sometimes overlook the achievements of individual staff members, so consider setting up a 360 appraisal system where two-way communication can be beneficial on both sides.  Alternatively, ensure your business has an open-door policy to encourage open dialogue between management and employees….this method of communication can be invaluable for spotting the early signs of demotivation and loss of emotional engagement from employees.

Motivate

Companies can sometimes find it hard to retain talented employees as salary increases and/or promotions may not always be a feasible option for their business.

However, there are many ways to motivate and engage employees and these can often be in the form of non-financial rewards….from flexible working hours and a more generous holiday entitlement to ongoing training and development.   Candidates will often value rewards like this more than a salary increase with a less flexible company.

Training is a pivotal part of an employee’s development and, far from them wanting to resign as soon as they have gained a qualification, an employee is more likely to remain loyal to a business that has believed in them enough to invest in them and unlock their potential.

As mentioned above, motivation can often be directly linked to the flexibility an employee feels their company is able to offer….speaking of which…..

Be Flexible

According to recent studies, a third of UK workers are now working more than ten hours a day, often with a short break or none at all.

Keeping staff happy and motivated can therefore be a difficult thing to do and, if talented employees feel their employer isn’t able to accommodate their personal circumstances, they may jump ship to a company that can. 

So why not offer employees flexible working hours or the ability to work remotely, allowing them to fit their working lives around their personal priorities, such as appointments and school runs. 

Benefits to your business could include the ability to attract the best talent, reduced levels of absence due to sickness, better staff morale and a continuity of staff who might otherwise have left had they not been offered a working structure they could manage.

Value Your Employees

It’s true……employees would often prefer to have less stress than more money!

You may be under the impression that financial rewards come highest on the list of candidate requirements, however, recent studies show that personal and professional development, a good working environment, career progression, management support and flexibility can be more of an incentive for a vast majority of candidates, in particular, those passive candidates who may not be actively seeking a new opportunity.

Giving employees the chance to feel involved with the growth of the business can be an excellent way to ensure employee contentment, for example, some companies offer company incentives such as employee share schemes which can help make staff feel valued and give them a deeper connection to the business.

Finally, something as simple as a ‘thank you’ card or an employee of the month scheme can let your staff know that their hard work and commitment is appreciated.  

Following these steps will ensure that your business doesn’t just attract and retain the best talent, it will probably increase your productivity too! 

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