There are a lot of lies out there. Especially about the world of work. Unfortunately the 🐂💩 often gets around faster than the truth. So let’s get the facts straight when it comes to staff retention. 

As RecruitmentJunky is a top-notch recruitment company, we work closely with our clients to ensure higher staff retention rates, we believe we may know a thing or two about the facts. 

So let’s get into it. The top lies and why they’re completely wrong: 

Lie #1 – “Higher salaries are the only way to make staff stay.”

So you have a member of staff thinking about leaving. In a bid to tempt them to stay, you offer a higher salary. Of course, an attractive salary is hard to turn down so this will work …initially.

But this doesn’t always tackle the issue that made them want to leave in the first place. So what happens when that issue arises again? That’s right – you end up with the staff member just as frustrated and looking to leave.

Is money going to fix the problem in the long run? – sadly not.

Statistics actually show that nearly half of employees will leave within a year after accepting a counter offer.

Short term? Yes, salary will convince your staff to stay. Long term? Unfortunately not. 

Lie #2 – “All benefits are created equal.”

C’mon, let’s not kid ourselves. When you look at a job ad, we all love to see what benefits are available. Mostly because it gives a really good indication of what the company believes its employees want.

And you can always tell when a company has listened to its employees – their list of benefits are attractive and based on what staff want. 

Versus a company that guesses. 

Or worse – doesn’t want to put money into their benefits at all!

While each individual has different wants and needs when it comes to benefits, there are some that obviously trump others.

Let’s give an example. Here are two benefits:

1. Bean bags and a pool table at the office.
2. WFH Fridays with an early finish.

Which would you prefer? It’s not a hard decision. You know which one most people are more likely to want!

Want to fix your benefits? Easy – ask your current employees in a survey what benefits they like the most (that you currently offer), and which new benefits they’d be attracted to (that you can reasonably achieve). Alternatively, look at what your competitors are offering, and what’s most popular in the market currently.

For instance – WFH, flexible working and hybrid working? Definitely some of the top picks for employee benefits since 2020.

This is an easy way to get rid of the benefits that aren’t floating (if you need to), and update with new ones to remain competitive in the marketplace. Your talent attraction and staff retention rates should definitely be positively impacted.

Lie #3 – “Staff retention has got nothing to do with managers.”

Ever heard of the saying “Employees leave managers, not companies”?

A recent study found that 2 in 5 employees have quit their job because of a bad manager.

So yes, staff retention does have to do with bad managers. While it might not always be the number 1 reason employees leave a company, it’s often one of the real reasons they leave (that they might not tell you).

So what makes a bad manager? Here are a few examples:

• Lack of recognition
• Taking credit for success, and blame others for mistakes
• They intimidate and bully employees and colleagues
• Failure to offer career progression or promotional opportunities 
• Abuse their power 

Naturally, if there are bad managers in your company, or team members with low motivation, it will impact others. This will result in poor morale, poor performance and poor motivation all round.

You must make it a mission to avoid making a bad hire for your company. You must also make sure that poor behaviour is quickly challenged and improved – be that from employees or managers at the highest level! After all, your employees are what make up your business. 

A knock on effect from this is that if an employee leaves on bad terms (e.g. falling out with a manager), word can travel quickly. Word of mouth or bad reviews on Glassdoor, Google or your company Facebook page can seriously impact your company’s reputation.

Lie #4 – “No one is loyal – everyone can be replaced.”

You know what stinks? B***s*** like the management mentality that everyone is replaceable. It’s a bad attitude to have and an awful message to send to employees (especially the good ones).

It devalues the hard work from the employees and shows that, as managers, you really don’t care about the people in your business. 

With this mindset you will never build a loyal, hard working and long-term team. 

Instead, you’ll likely foster an unhappy company culture and see rapid employee turnover. Screwing your staff retention.

Yes, sometimes you do have to attract new staff, especially if your business is growing. But that’s hardly an excuse to think of each new employee as little more than a replaceable robot.

You should treat each employee as if they are irreplaceable, and in return you will see amazing work from them. Utilise their interests, engage them by finding career pathways that suit their goals, and celebrate their successes. They’ll then start to live and breathe your company mission and vision. It’s valuable to see people as people, not numbers!

It’s hardly rocket science. The more loyalty and trust you build with an employee, the more hardworking and irreplaceable they will become. 

💡 The one true fact about staff retention: 

Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organisation than disengaged staff. 

AKA your staff won’t stay in a role that is boring or doesn’t inspire them. They’ll be looking for something that’s more of a challenge or inline with their values.

So let’s ignore the BS and stick to what we know is true:

• Praise and recognise your staff!
• Motivate your team – support them, set them up with career progression plans, and find suitable challenges
• Talk to your employees – see people as people (not numbers)
• Build a happy and equal culture
• Make sure you are hiring the right people from the start

Need help building teams like this? Seems like you need help from an awesome recruitment agency who don’t deal in BS. Contact us at info@recruitmentjunky.com