Developing a staff retention strategy (featuring Maree from CareerForce Australia)
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This week on Marketing + Margaritas, Jade is joined by Maree from CareerForce Australia to discuss how to develop a staff retention strategy. Maree has featured on our podcasts in the past + we will include the links to them down below, so that you can check them out!
Maree + Jade go way back, always loving the opportunity to spend time with each other in the real world (instead of the virtual world these busy women live in) 😉
What is CareerForce Australia?
Ultimately, it’s a people-focused business, providing professional guidance + coaching to both individuals + businesses to realise their potential, as well as achieving the overarching goals of the business.
For individuals: it could be to help develop or launch your career or uplift you personally.
For businesses: it’s ensuring that you’ve got the right people, doing the right job. It could be to identify opportunities for career planning + development within your business.
For business owners: yes, your business is a big part of who you are, but you are still your own entity + need to think of your own personal planning – is this what you want to be doing for the rest of your life, how will this look over time?
Why do businesses need a staff retention strategy?
Besides the obvious need to retain staff (no one wants to be constantly searching for people!), it’s about setting your business AND people up for continued growth + success. There’s always so much going on in the world + in your business, that you’re so busy looking at what you DON’T have, you sometimes forget to appreciate what you DO have.
Step 1: Internal business audit
Stop + have a really cold, hard look at your business – what are you trying to achieve? What sort of business do you have? What is people’s opinion of your business? Are you currently conducting your business in the most efficient way?
Step 2: Team assessment
Next, have a look at your team – how are you engaging with them? What skills does your team possess + are you using them to your advantage? What are the reasons as to why they come to work for you? Something you need to ask yourself is – do you have the right dynamic within your team? Having the right mix of people is crucial, e.g. people who can push the business forward, people who have great attention to detail, those who create a sense of wellbeing in the business etc.
Step 3: Take a look at your work environment
It’s not just the physical work environment, but also the emotional environment, that plays a part in your team’s performance + willingness to stay with your business.
Physical: are your facilities clean and tidy? Do you have the right set up for your office?
Emotional: your people want to be acknowledged + valued. What attitude are you + your leaders bringing to the workplace – positive, can-do, or negative + overwhelming? Mutual respect in business is super important + you can tell when businesses have this – it prevents people being taken advantage of.
Step 4: Identify and manage your employee’s expectations
Psychological contract: what do they expect from the workplace? What are they wanting out of their career?
Physical contract: your employee provides a service for you + they expect (well, are entitled!) to be paid or remunerated. This is where you need to be clear about the terms of payment – it is super important to building that trusting relationship. You need to make sure you are paying people properly + on time.
Now, how to retain people?
Take a good look within + see how you can better value those employees who have been loyal to you. A pay rise is nice, but it isn’t always the answer. Every business is different + things that may work for some, may not work for others. Here are some examples of small changes you may be able to make:
Paid birthday off
RDO’s
Flexibility with the roster to accommodate different lifestyles
Extra leave days
Before implementing anything, you need to make sure you’ve clearly identified your non-negotiables. You need to think about your business outcomes + how you’re going to achieve them, what do you need to do to make sure you’re providing your customers with what they need?
The wrap-up tip
Invest in your people + invest in yourself as an individual. Your people are your point of difference, tune into them + you’ll see the benefits. Investing in yourself is saying “I’m worth it + I am investing in my future”. Do these things + you will take control over your future + the future of your business.
Maree is a wealth of information! Make sure you check out our previous podcasts featuring this dynamic woman:
👉 https://www.rebelnation.au/podcast/building-a-strong-and-compelling-brand