How Your Startup Can Retain Employees

Stop the next employee from walking out the door by using these tips!

A skilled and dedicated team is a startup’s biggest asset. They make your ideas a reality and help establish a harmonious workplace culture and thus attract more top talent. Having employees who have your startup’s best interests at heart can make the difference between winning over investors in a fundraising round and getting no offers at all. Hence, you should do due diligence in not only finding the right employees but also ensuring these employees stay with the company through thick and thin. 

As a startup founder, it is vital to surround yourself with people who want to work together to achieve the organization’s shared goals. Here are five ways you can improve your company’s employee retention. 

Recognize employee efforts

Lack of appreciation can lower employee morale and productivity. It will affect not only your ability to retain an employee but also your company’s working environment. If you want good employees to stick around, give them constructive feedback to encourage consistent improvement in their quality of work. Also, you can offer them tangible rewards, like a raise, for their hard work. It might make a dent in your wallet, but it earns you a lot of points with the employees. It also helps dispel any concerns they may have about not being appreciated enough. 

Help employees grow

63% of employees in the workforce leave their jobs due to a lack of growth opportunities. If an employee feels saturated with the work your company is offering, they will look for opportunities in other places.  However, if you help your employees grow professionally through opportunities and mentorship, chances are that they will want to stay with your company. 

Provide flexibility at work

Four in ten adults who quit their jobs in 2021 believed they were working too many hours. A startup, in particular, demands a lot of work which can sometimes trickle into the weekends. However, you need to know that employees have a life outside of work, to which they can’t give enough time or attention if their jobs are too stressful.

In such a situation, offer employees flexibility at work, such as the option to work remotely, to help retain employees. 65% of employees today want to work in companies that offer remote working opportunities, which allows them to manage their familial responsibilities and also reduce the hassle of commuting to work daily. 

Prioritize team-building activities

If employees genuinely enjoy working with their team, they will likely stay with the company for a long time. Employees often look to each other for support, and they can become close friends with their co-workers, strengthening their ties with the company. 

To ensure that your employees feel like a part of the team, you should actively invest in team-building activities. These can include team lunches or dinners to give employees a chance to connect with each other. 

Research why people leave 

One of the ways to stop employees from leaving is to find out why they are leaving in the first place. You must conduct exit surveys or interviews to ask employees for their feedback. Ask them questions like “What can we do to improve the working conditions?” and “Do you have any suggestions on how we can retain employees?” With this information, you can make necessary improvements for both your current and future employees. 

A high turnover rate can lead to a loss of experience and can adversely affect the company’s morale. Retaining employees can also save businesses the expense of recruiting and training new employees. Studies have shown that it costs an employer six to nine months’ salary on average every time they have to hire a replacement employee. 

To sum up, retaining employees boils down to ensuring they are happy at the workplace. While employees might be tempted by companies offering higher salaries, they would choose to stay with your startup if they feel satisfied with their work life. Use these tips to make the right choices and get your employees to stay long-term. 

Also read:

• How Can Startups Hire Better?
• Exit Strategies for Startup Founders
• Practical Ways of Showing Your Employees You Care
• What Is the “Great Resignation” Trend?

Header image courtesy of Freepik

* This article was originally published here