How to Boost Employee Retention

As a business owner, you know the importance of keeping your employees, especially the top ones, happy and wanting to return to work each day. It’s important for any business owner, manager or human resources team to understand how to identify top employees. It’s also equally important to understand and be able to implement a reward system for those top-performing employees. This will help boost employee retention.

Identifying top employees

There are multiple ways to keep track of how well each of your employees performs their job duties, including an HRIS software program. These programs will help you keep track of those who go above and beyond, have good attendance and other factors.

Another way to know which employees are excelling is to watch and observe. You can easily see how an employee does on a project or handles a customer just by checking on them occasionally. You can also ask other managers, fellow co-workers and customers how an employee is performing.

Reward the best

Once you have identified your best-performing employees, it’s time to set up a system to reward them for an outstanding job. There are many different types of reward programs you can offer, including compensation, benefits, recognition and appreciation.

Recognition is the best form of reward when an employee not only does their job but also goes above and beyond to help the company and other coworkers. Say thanks immediately after a job well done. This lets the employee know they are appreciated and you recognized their hard work now, rather than letting them assume someone had to point it out to you. You can also present a plaque or certificate for a job well done. Another way to say thanks is to include a notation in an upcoming newsletter.

Award systems can also be developed for your company or for individual departments. This type of reward system offers employees added incentive to work hard and achieve specific goals. Awards can include various items, such as cash, household items, office accessories, pizza parties and company logo merchandise. Other popular reward programs can include a spot bonus, an employee referral bonus or a bonus at the completion of a project.

A point system can be used that will give the employee incentive to reach a certain point level. This type of reward system gives employees the freedom to choose which reward they want to receive and when they want to redeem their points. Create a point chart with rewards and point amounts for various prizes at different levels.

Consider implementing rewards that will offer a mutual benefit to both you and the employee. For example, if you offer perks and benefits that will increase employee morale, their productivity will increase as a result. These perks can include bonus time off, travel incentives, recreational gifts and team outings. Read more about boosting morale at the office.

Benefits Of Employee Recognition

Keeping your employees happy and feeling appreciated will help keep company morale and productivity up. How you choose to reward your top performing employees is up to you, but keep a few things in mind. The bigger the project, the better the reward should be. If someone truly goes above and beyond you need to recognize that with more than just a piece of paper stating they did. But if they do what is required of them a simple thank you will go a long way.

If other employees see a coworker receive a special reward and recognition for doing something special, it may inspire them to do the same. Thus, in the long run, you will see an increase in productivity and more top-performing employees will emerge through the ranks. This will also help boost employee retention. Read more about Ways to Improve Employee Productivity.