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	Client - Good Employer Guide
	Meeting the demands of today's changing business environment requires building and retaining loyal and motivated staff. But finding and keeping quality employees can pose a challenge. Today's workers are no longer inclined to stay at one company for the duration of their careers. The most talented professionals are often courted by other businesses, and the effects of turnover can be costly. The time and money it takes to recruit, re-hire and retain can quickly cut into a firm's bottom line. ARC's 7 Steps to Employee Retention Most employers don’t have to be sold on the need to improve staff retention, so why is employee turnover still so high in many organisations? Many companies are finding that quick fixes just don’t work, and that the solutions are more about how you treat employees than casual dress days and prizes. True solutions require a change in management’s attitudes and behaviour toward employees - and we all know that change is not easy.
	Retention Rule No. 1
	Start off on the right foot - first impressions mean a great deal, and the first few days of employment are critical to long-term retention. Work hard to identify your high-potential employees early on and ensure they are challenged and kept interested. Encourage them to participate and offer new ideas. Invite them into special project teams or planning sessions. Inspire them from the very first day, and you’ve gone a long way towards retaining them.
	Retention Rule No. 2
	Don’t overestimate the power of pay and expected ‘benefits’. Money is still a powerful tool in recruiting employees. However, the power of pay and benefits is strongest during the recruitment stage. Once employees have taken the job, pay and benefits become entitlements to them. To maximise productivity of new recruits, smart employers are wooing workers with non-monetary rewards and unconventional benefits. These add convenience to their daily lives and render them more fulfilling. Here’s a short list of some benefits or ‘perks’ that companies are offering to build strong bonds with their employees: Flexi-time Company-paid gym time, crèche facilities and educational seminars Job sharing Flexible benefits Incentive award trips Recognition programmes Simply put, pay people fairly and you will create a culture that employees want to be a part of.
	Retention Rule No. 3
	Use the two most powerful words in the workplace. What do employees want from their jobs besides a salary? Praise for a job well done and job satisfaction. The most powerful way to praise an employee is also the easiest thing to do. The two most powerful words for retention are simply, thank you. Praising employees for good performance is not a new idea, but it’s an enduring one that is more important than ever. Here are some free and inexpensive ideas you can use to recognise employees: Call employees into your office just to thank them Take an employee to lunch or organise sandwiches for a week Ask your boss or the company’s Managing Director to call an employee to thank them for an outstanding accomplishment When discussing an employee’s or a group’s ideas with peers or higher management, be sure to give appropriate credit Develop a recognition award specifically for support staff From time to time, initiate cash-in-hand incentives to those who excel (e.g. ideas that save the company money) Designate days when workers can arrive later into work, leave early or wear casual clothes to the office Offer employees a bonus if the help recruit employees for the company. There are some simple guidelines you can follow to effectively recognise deserving employees: Match rewards to people. Match rewards to achievements. Be timely and specific.
	Retention Rule No. 4
	Communicate often and learn how to listen! "Not enough, not accurate, not timely." These are the complaints most often heard when employees discuss corporate communication. Open, honest and timely communications cultivate employee involvement and empowerment. Communicate creatively and effectively. If you communicate in a fun and memorable way, you will grab the attention of your audience, engage their interest, and enliven their willingness to act. Communicate the big picture and the little picture. Now companies are sharing business and financial information to help connect employees to the business and give them more specific direction about what they should do and how they should do it. They want to know what their role is - call it the ‘little picture’. If that isn’t clear to each and every person, the whole relationship falls apart. Listen and learn. To be listened to and heard by others is a sign of being respected and valued. Today’s employees want a voice - to state problems, share ideas, and make suggestions. Here are some options: Work side by side with employees. Hold weekly meetings involving all employees in section. Create opportunities for effective listening and employee interaction. Conduct exit interviews.
	Retention Rule No. 5
	Respect the fact that your employees are human beings. With lives. Balance may well become the most sought-after ‘benefit’ for the 21st century. According to numerous surveys, some people aren’t as impressed by money as by balanced lifestyles - the top priority identified by young job seekers. The work/life balance. Today, people have multiple needs and concerns: to support their families financially and emotionally, to build meaningful relationships with others and to develop other interests and hobbies. The biggest driver of employee loyalty is having managers recognise their need to balance work with home life. The more you recognise and address the balancing act that employees experience, the more committed those employees are going to be.
	Retention Rule No. 6
	Help your people grow and succeed. Another key factor in employee retention is providing opportunities for people to develop. Training reimbursement, in-house courses, opportunities for advancement and the forum to develop new skills are huge with today’s key performers.
	Retention Rule No. 7
	Have fun. Recognition is one of the most powerful and underused management tools. When efforts to recognise individuals are mixed with a cocktail of fun, they tend to take on a life of their own and bring about even more positive results. Company outings, team building exercies/nights out, organised games, even impromptu lunches all help to promote team spirit and can be very cost effective.

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