You’ve probably heard about many of these before, but take a minute to consider if you’re really doing everything possible in each of these areas to make a real difference:
- Onboarding and orientation. This is a critical first step. What are you doing to make new employees feel valued and welcome and to engage them from day one?
- Mentorship programs. Do you have a mentorship program? Do new employees know about it? How do you choose and train mentors?
- Employee compensation. Are your salaries competitive? What compensation beyond wages do you offer? Are you offering things workers really want (such as paid parental leave or childcare support)?
- Wellness offerings. Do you offer efforts such as stress management programs, retirement planning services, mental health support, and reimbursement for fitness classes?
- Communication and trust building. How do you communicate with staff? How do you seek their input? What do you do with their insights and feedback? How transparent are your communications with staff?
- Continuous feedback on performance. Do you offer support, training, and education to help with staff development and performance improvement? Do you ask about professional goals and give workers the tools and resources to reach these?
It also is important to regularly review your recognition and reward systems, encourage/support work-life balance, offer flexible work arrangements, implement effective change management, emphasize teamwork, and acknowledge milestones (both big and small).
