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No longer confident in the company’s leader(s)
This can occur when employees feel they are being asked to do more while company leaders do less, or if employees were promised one thing and another is happening.
Further, confidence may be lost in the company when an idea is presented and employees spend time, effort, and energy researching, developing, and outlining the strategy, but it is never executed. This can be very frustrating for workers, as this shows a lack of open communication. There is likely another side to these situations and reasons for each, but, if the conversation never takes place, it is hard for everyone to know what those reasons are.
Does money matter?
There is one major topic yet to be discussed and many are likely thinking about it—money. By no means is this author going to say money is not a factor, as it would be a lie. Everyone has bills to pay and families to provide for, which is why, in many cases, an employee will likely make the switch to another company for a mere 10 per cent increase in salary. Considering the aforementioned investment, a pool and hot tub company makes to find the right candidate and provide training and education for his/her position, it is not a lot of money.
The important question is, if it were only about money, how many employers would find a way to give an employee the extra $5000 to get him/her to stay? Further, it is also important to consider what may have made this employee start looking around for another job in the first place. For instance, maybe it was one of the nine reasons discussed earlier.
In addition to those already mentioned, the following are some additional strategies an employer can implement to help with employee retention:
- Having an in-house certification program is a great way to keep employees engaged and motivated to stay on track with his/her training timeline without having to spend additional expenses on a regular basis. This author is a strong believer in education for employers and employees. There are some great programs available in the pool and hot tub industry through companies, manufacturers, and industry associations. One can never know too much in a changing and evolving industry. A company that creates its own unique programs can bring all of this available knowledge together to help create a curriculum based on the company’s needs.
- Another strategy is to cultivate company culture. However, most businesses do not intentionally create this culture, but instead simply go along with what is already there. Some companies looking to change their culture find it helpful to bring in an expert, in a consultant role, to help discover, define, and develop the desired culture. Employers can also concentrate on team building efforts; however, open communication is key when doing this. One way a company can get an understanding of what is happening in the workplace is to consider doing an anonymous online survey. Remember, when the survey results start coming in, the goal is to receive open and honest feedback to help the growth of the organization.
An employer undertaking any one of these strategies as a way to manage employee retention must think of it the same way when they perform an employee review—do not take it personally. This strategy allows employers to be proactive by looking for honest feedback from employees.
Kate Rabe is a communications and marketing consultant located in Beacon, NY. She has more than 10 years of marketing experience in the pool and spa industry. Rabe can be reached via e-mail at kate@katerabe.com.
