By Andre Lavoie
You see your team being disengaged at work every day. They sit at their workstations, heads down and quiet—clicking mouses and tapping keyboards. Then they punch out.
This could go on like this for a long time, and then eventually some people will leave. New employees will come in, and more will leave. This cycle is common, and it proves employee retention is the biggest challenge you face.
The good news is you’re not alone. In fact, a 2017 Gallup survey found 51% of the workforce is not engaged. What’s more, 51% of workers are looking to leave their current jobs. Disengagement is turning your A players into active job seekers, which is causing widespread employee retention nightmares for many organizations.
It’s difficult to engage your staff each day, unless you understand one thing: Employees want to be challenged and see their growth. To re-energize your workforce, focus on building a culture around learning and development.
Let’s take a look at how to do this and how to pull your company out of an employee retention slump.
Help employees plan their future
If your top talent doesn’t fully understand where they are heading with you, they are likely to seek other opportunities. To keep staff from jumping ship, show them how they fit into the future of your company.
Explore career options and determine employee growth goals that align with current roles and the roles that they want. If they have clear objectives that include advancement opportunities, they will be more engaged in their day-to-day and more enthusiastic about taking on new challenges.
For those employees who feel stuck in their roles, motivate them by sharing the success stories. Be sure to demonstrate that advancement and professional growth is possible. Also, encourage communication and collaboration among your entire team, even if they work in different locations.
Outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) promotes employee communication by hosting a digital space where employees across the country can engage with each other and have open discussions. Encourage your staff to share their growth goals and talk about how they plan to advance within the company.
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Provide development opportunities
When employees can see their true potential, they become more engaged in their work. In fact, Aon’s 2016 report found that career opportunities were among the top engagement drivers in global engagement trends.
After you’ve shown your employees career path options and have helped them plan their growth goals, develop programs that deliver tools and resources to help them grow. They can be as hands-on or hands-off as you want—just make sure they align with your culture.
For example, software app company Buffer encourages independence in its staff, so it offers employees $20 to put toward any type of learning. This learning stipend fits the company’s small budget and culture.
If you want a more structured program, design a program for each role. That way new hires know from day one there are opportunities to grow after they learn the fundamentals of their roles and the culture.
Track short- and long-term goals
One major oversight committed by many employers is not offering feedback. As Officevibe’s State of Employee Engagement found, 32% of employees have to wait more than three months to get feedback from their manager, and 31% wish their manager communicated more frequently with them.