Employee Retention: Even More Important in Today’s Economy

If you’re a business owner, no doubt you know that it’s important to retain the employees you’ve spent so much money and time on, getting them up to speed. Unfortunately, these days, many employees often quit and go elsewhere for that “better job,” leaving employers in the lurch. What do you do, then, when you have a whole generation of workers that does this very thing so often?

In a full employment economy, Generation Y, the children of the Baby Boomers and the older Generation X’ers, are holding many, of the cards. If you are interested in making sure that you can keep the valuable workers that you train, there are several things that you need to be aware of.

The first thing that you need to know is that Generation Y is better connected and communicates more than any generation before it. This is a generation that grew up on things like instant messenger and has always used the internet as an important resource.

As such, they know about their industry, what other people are saying about it, and, thanks to all of the information that is floating around, they know when there is a better employment option out there and when they are not getting what they deserve.

In light of all of this, it is easy to see why you want to work on employee retention. Every new employee that you bring on uses a certain amount of resources and budget to train. They may need supplies, instructions and valuable training, and the more you invest in them, the less you want them to leave.

If you have a high turnover rate in your staff, this can make for a very stressful work environment. It’s also not as productive as it could be. If you have high turn over, you’re going to spend more time and money training, and there’s no guarantee that new employees will stay put, either.

The best defense when it comes to retaining Generation Y employees is to give them the best work environment that you can. Good coaching and good training, with the promise of more valuable training to come, will ensure your employees job satisfaction. In which case they will be more likely to remain loyal.

You should also have a reputation for promoting from within, so that your employees have a reason to show you the same loyalty and investment in you that you have shown to them. One good way to make sure that your reputation is staying strong is to Google your company and see what other people are saying about it. This can provide valuable information that you can use to improve your company’s standing.

It’s true that those from Generation Y have a reputation for job-hopping, but they only do it because they want better job satisfaction. If you want to retain your employees, then, make sure you take care of their needs as much as you can, and within reason.