Employee retention is critical for the long-term effects of your business. When you have a great employee, it gives you more freedom and adds to the success of the company. A weaker employee will perhaps take up more of your time. It's often we end up spending more time with the weaker employee than with the employee who is helping the business. This often leads to frustrations, our efforts and time need to be spent with our best performing employees to, to make sure they know they're appreciated.

So, how do we retain our best employees and why should we? Read on to find out!

Appreciate
The first, and most obvious step is to make staff feel appreciated. Even just saying thank you or well done can go a long way. Rewards, whatever they may be, from monetary to gifts, can make the thank you that more significant. Bonuses and commissions will also raise motivation and help to retain staff.

Clear Expectations
If you provide a specific framework for people where they know what is clearly expected of them, then they will feel more inclined to stay with you. Constantly changing expectations and workload can cause unnecessary stress and unhappiness. People like to know where they are at on a day to day basis and constantly changing the dynamics can cause uncertainty and confusion, which means the work may not to be the best standard either. Having a project management system can help with this, it will allow the employee to feel that they, and the business, is organised.

Work Environment
Employees can often feel at a loss when something is bothering them. Make them feel more at ease by providing a platform for people to speak their mind without coming under fire. A good company will provide an environment where people are happy to provide feedback, constructive criticism and ideas for improvement. Most importantly a good company will listen to these communications. When an employee feels their voice is being heard, the more they will stay engaged.

Tools & Training
Do you have the best tools and platforms possible for your employees? Sometimes an employees downfall at work can be because of the tools their given to work with, if they don't have the necessary means to do their job, they will move onto an employer who can supply those means.

Progression
Progression is important. If there is a chance at a new opportunity to learn something new, then present it to your employees. If employees are stuck in doing the same thing day in, day out, they will eventually start to get bored and decline. A valued employee must experience growth and be offered potential opportunities to progress.