How To Keep Your Best Employees

First and foremost, if you want to keep employees, especially your best employees, realize it’s not just the money. Here’s an important question for you to consider:

Do you want employees working for money, or do you want them working for the company?

Working For Money

Offering more money is a strategy that may keep employees for a while, but if employees get offered more somewhere else, they are gone. And if employees get burnt out, they will sacrifice a few dollars in exchange for getting some of their life back. By the way, much of what has fueled the current “Great Resignation” is employees who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Long hours and stress that cut into their perception of a balanced life have caused employees to find what they term as “better jobs,” which actually translates into a better balance or a better lifestyle outside of work.

Working For the Company

However, there are employees out there who, even if the hours are long and often stressful, stay with their employers. Many of these employees love their companies, not just their paychecks. All you have to do is look at Glassdoor’s annual list of the 100 Best Places to Work to know which companies and brands are beating the trend that is plaguing many American companies. Often, the reason is the company culture.

The restaurant, hospitality and retail sectors may be the industries hit hardest by the labor shortage. Evening hours and weekends contribute to the problem. So, what can these industries, and others that experience similar problems, do?

A recent article in RetailWire mentioned certain retailers that have excelled in negating the impact of The Great Resignation. For the second year in a row, Lululemon was the highest-ranking retailer on the Glassdoor list, coming in ninth overall. There were ten other retailers in the top 100 list that included H-E-B, eBay, Apple, Wegmans, Vans, Madewell, Scheels, Costco, REI and Malouf Companies.

A big incentive that keeps employees is benefits, which can include employee discounts, a good retirement plan, health insurance that includes dental and vision, and more. But these benefits might not stand on their own if it weren’t for the company culture these companies/brands have created. All included in the retail list above, according to the article, have “… strong culture and values as well as a positive and supportive work environment. Some retailers were commended for competitive pay, flexible scheduling and opportunities for advancement.” As mentioned, culture can be the defining reason employees stay with their companies. That includes the way the company is run and how employees are treated.

As you look at the staggeringly high numbers of people who have “resigned” from their jobs, you might think there are tens of millions of people who are no longer working. That’s not the case, at all. Most of these people are simply no longer working for the company they left but are currently employed elsewhere. Some have opted for self-employment, taking advantage of what has become known as the gig economy. They chose to make a change based on having a better life, and in some cases, are willing to sacrifice some of their income to achieve this.

Consider that any and all of this could be applicable to any type of business, in any type of industry, be it B2B or B2C. Just read the comments associated with Glassdoor’s top 100 list. Here are comments from the top three companies:

·        No. 1 NVIDIA – “The work is challenging and meaningful. Compensation and benefits are great, and I love my coworkers.”

·        No. 2 HubSpot – “The company works remarkably hard to create an inclusive community where every single person is able to bring their best, whole self. …”

·        No. 3 Ban & Company – “Great people, supportive culture with lots of resources to help you develop, high performing teams and a culture of success.”

As you read these quotes, consider that there is something beyond “compensation and benefits.” You read words like, “work is challenging and meaningful,” “an inclusive community,” “supportive culture” and “a culture of success.”

Do employees say anything similar about their work at your organization?

The nice thing about Glassdoor.com is that it not only shares positive reviews, but also negative. Even these top performers have some “cons” to consider. There’s plenty to learn about what’s working and what’s not, simply by reading the employee reviews.

If your organization is struggling to keep your best employees, just study these top 100 companies. There is an obvious pattern to their success. In many organizations, the employees are working for more than money. They are working for the company.