As a manager, you know how much time it takes to find qualified candidates to join your team — from setting up the job post to sorting through resumes to sitting in interview after interview to finally onboarding the new hire, it’s a big process that takes you away from your other responsibilities. 

It would be much easier, and a smarter investment of your time and efforts, to focus on retaining the talented people you already have on your team! A group of employees who work together for a long duration of time builds trust and a system of communication that makes for increased productivity, better relationships and morale and the retention of institutional knowledge that makes it easier to adapt and grow together. 

Keep in mind, too, the current unemployment rate in Massachusetts is 3.2%, and the unemployment rate in Rhode Island is 3.4%., meaning there aren’t too many people looking for jobs right now — an estimated 120,000 as of December out of a population of nearly 7 million people — which would make finding the right candidate for an open position akin to trying to find that proverbial needle in a haystack. 

There are several ways to boost your retention rates, even if you’ve seen good employees leave their positions lately. If you’re worried about that becoming a trend, take these tips into consideration. 

• Ask for feedback and take it to heart. Listening to your employees, hearing what they have to say, and working to improve and address any and all concerns they bring to your attention is a critically important way to improve your working environment and increase retention. Employees who feel supported and that their thoughts and concerns matter to their managers are more likely to stay engaged in their positions and will be less inclined to look for another job. 

• Improve your company’s culture. This might sound like feel-good nonsense, but if people work in an environment that they feel takes them for granted, or where much is expected of them for little recognition, that’s a bad workplace. Look for little ways to improve your company’s culture: Celebrate birthdays on a monthly basis; start a program for health and wellness opportunities like a walking club in the warmer months; encourage people to get up and take breaks away from their work area and make it clear their health is a priority. If you don’t already offer or allow for mental health days, start! 

• Provide mentorship opportunities. A major factor that has some employees looking for a new opportunity is the feeling that they cannot grow in their current position, or that there’s no support for wanting to learn new skills. Offering yourself up as a mentor, or creating a mentorship program within your company to allow for cross-training or professional conversations about career development can be a great way to help people learn how they can advance their career from within their current organization. Mentorship also boosts someone’s self-esteem and their belief that there’s a place for them to achieve their goals, that their goals are achievable and within reach, and all of that can help to improve both retention and morale! 

• Support work-life balance and flexibility. During the pandemic, we all had a lot more time to think about what really matters in our lives. Now that people are back working in the office full-time, in most cases, there could be some conflicting priorities. This doesn’t need to be a major crisis! Work with your team to determine the best ways to support their work-life balance and how to meet their personal needs in addition to your company’s objectives. Be supportive of flexible hours, even if it’s on an as-needed basis. If your workplace allows for remote work, talk to your team about setting up a regular rotation to give everyone the opportunity to take advantage of it if they’d like. Talk to your team about how the company can help them achieve a better balance between their home lives and their workdays and determine what changes will be beneficial to your company. 

• Show appreciation. When was the last time you thanked your employees for their contributions? Do you regularly practice showing gratitude, or is the expectation that your team should be satisfied with the personal knowledge that they’ve done a good job at the end of the day? Showing appreciation for hard-working teams can go a long way toward boosting morale, especially if your team has been shorthanded recently or if your company has been busier than usual. Call people out for going above and beyond; offer gratitude for someone sticking with a project if they’ve struggled to see it through. It really takes so little to make a big difference, plus it makes people feel good to be recognized and noticed for their dedication. 

Employee retention is critically important to most companies. Training new employees is hard and takes a long time, plus there’s the concern that a new hire might not be a good fit and then you have to start the whole process all over again. By focusing on retention, you’ll create a more supportive, positive work environment for your current staff, possibly addressing issues you didn’t even know were working against you. 

Keeping your current team together is the goal! But if you need to bring in someone new who will compliment them, it’s time to call ABLE Associates. We believe in finding the best candidate for your company and will work with you to understand the qualifications, characteristics and skills that can help your team become even more successful. Our dedicated recruiters will work quickly to find just the right candidates! If you’d like to learn more, call ABLE Associates today to see what we can offer.