Most business leaders can relate to the feeling of having someone on your team resign unexpectedly. This requires you and your team to scramble (always at the most inconvenient time) to fill their role. Turnover is always going to be part of running a business, but excessive turnover is usually a sign that something deeper is wrong. Think you know a lot about what your employees care about and what it takes to retain your best people? Let’s examine some common employee retention myths:
1. The #1 thing employees care most about is money. True or False?
False. Now more than ever, employees are ranking the importance of salary lower on their list of priorities than you might think. And surprisingly, money has historically not been at the very top of this list. The Great Resignation and The Great Reshuffle have helped perpetuate this trend as employees are realizing that money doesn’t buy happiness or make a difficult high-paying job sustainable if other important things are missing. This is good news for employers.
2. You have a lot of control over whether employees stay with you. True or False?
True. As a leader, you have an ability to make changes, address pain points, and fix things that are broken. People are going to leave, but if this is happening in droves it points to deeper issues you need to address. If you’re experiencing a lot of turnover, even taking some small steps to address underlying issues goes a long way with employees. If people see that you care and effort is being made to improve things, they are more likely to stick around. Ask for feedback too so you know where to start in order to make the most impact for your staff the fastest.
3. Recognition for hard work ranks higher than a big promotion or a bonus. True or False?
True. In fact, appreciation for hard work is consistently ranked as the #1 most important thing to employees. If you do one thing consistently and well, this should be it.
4. Employees don’t care about transparency on the business side. True or False?
False. You might be surprised to know that after recognition for hard work and feeling appreciated, transparency has historically been the second most impactful item employees value at work. Obviously full transparency isn’t possible or advisable, but you can demonstrate open and honest communication and encourage your leadership team to do the same.
5. Friendships at work don’t impact retention very much. True or False?
False. Friendships at work are one of the primary ways that employees feel a sense of belonging and connection. They’re also a really important part of helping your team successfully navigate through rough patches, busy seasons, or difficult changes. For those in remote jobs, making friends at work is harder because it’s not easy to connect with people over a screen. A few minutes of chatting before or after meetings is not enough to build real friendships. If your team is fully remote, it’s critical to give your people time to connect when work is not the center of the conversation. This is a really important culture initiative that should not be ignored.
6. Flexibility often matters more than money. True or False?
True. While flexibility has not always been part of the traditional list of top priorities for improving employee retention, it’s turning out to be one of the most important things that people are looking for in 2024 and beyond. Work/Life balance in the form of flexibility carries a lot of weight with employees who are considering whether to make a job change. Whenever you’re able, give employees control over their schedule and how they work. Even if it’s in a very small way, it will still be very appreciated. No one wants to feel tied to a desk.
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