By Trudi Charest

WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY RECRUITING AND HIRING THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES FOR OUR EYECARE BUSINESS, SO RETAINING THEM SHOULD EQUALLY BE A TOP PRIORITY. DON’T BE BLINDSIDED WHEN YOUR BEST STAFF MEMBER GIVES YOU NOTICE BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T FEELING APPRECIATED OR GROWING IN THEIR CAREER. UNDERSTAND NOW WHAT YOU CAN DO TO KEEP YOUR BEST EMPLOYEES.

According to strategic planning consultant Leigh Branham, SPHR, 88 per cent of employees leave their jobs for reasons other than pay. However, 70 per cent of managers think employees leave mainly for pay-related reasons.

Branham says there are seven main reasons why employees leave a company:

– Employees feel the job or workplace is not what they expected.
– There is a mismatch between the job and person.
– There is too little coaching and feedback.
– There are too few growth and advancement opportunities.
– Employees feel devalued and unrecognized.
– Employees feel stress from overwork and have a work/life imbalance.
– There is a loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders.

So if these are the main reasons why people leave what can you do now to reduce turnover:

1/ REVIEW YOUR HIRING PROCESS
Hiring right the first time is important. Is the person qualified for the role and do they understand exactly what the position is? Are they aware of what the responsibilities and daily duties require upfront so they are not disappointed once they arrive and find out what they are doing? Are you asking the right questions to determine if this new person will fit the current culture of your office and team?

2/ SPEND TIME COACHING AND MENTORING
Employees crave one-and-one time with their leaders and feedback on their performance. They want direction and guidance as well as constructive feedback on what they can do to grow and improve. Managers often get so caught up on operational tasks they forget how important being a manager and coach is to their team and individual performance. Schedule today to give dedicated time to each employee.

3/ TRAIN ON NEW SKILLS
Employees who are growing and learning in their roles still feel like they are advancing. They feel empowered to do their jobs well and confidently which is important to their overall output in an office. When an employee feels they are contributing to the overall performance of an organization they feel more connected and involved.

4/ WORK/ LIFE BALANCE
It’s all we hear about these days that employees are feeling overworked and undervalued. Let’s face it, everything in life has sped up so we all feel like we are running around more than we ever have. Try to find ways to ensure that your employees are not working more than their scheduled time and that you have adequate staff on for the work shifts and work load. Maybe also try to find an opportunity to reward staff with a staff retreat or a ½ day off instead of a monetary bonus. At the end of the day, leaders hold the power to make life better for employees from telling them how much they are appreciated to giving them a more flexible schedule. It is going to get harder and harder to find good, qualified staff in the future so start retaining your good ones now.

5/ RECOGNIZE AND REWARD
Money isn’t always a top motivator, you really need to find out what motivates each employee as they are all different. Recognition is one thing everyone appreciates. When you hear that you have done a great job, you want to hear it again and again. Rewards also don’t always have to be financial. Sometimes even a small reward can have a huge future impact as the employee enjoyed the act of being rewarded almost more than the reward itself.

At the end of the day, leaders hold the power to make life better for employees from telling them how much they are appreciated to giving them a more flexible schedule. It is going to get harder and harder to find good, qualified staff in the future so start retaining your good ones now.

Trudi Charest is the Co-Founder of 4ECPs, a business resource company for eyecare professionals. 4ECPs has three divisions, jobs – training – marketing. Check out their website at www.4ECPS.com or email Trudi at trudi@4ecps.com