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Many companies are so used to high staff turnover that it has just become the norm – and to some degree, that will always be the case. Too many industries will just never learn to appreciate and properly value their employees, no matter how many benefits they learn about. But the fact remains that employee turnover negatively impacts the majority of businesses, especially if that turnover is frequent. Here are a few reasons why keeping those staff happily in your business is so important. Why Is Staff Retention So Important? Firstly, every time a member of your team leaves, you lose a lot. You lose not only the person who knows your business inside and out, who you can rely upon to do their job correctly, with little-to-no-need to monitor their performance, and who can probably fill in for any number of other team members during periods of absence, but you are also losing the time you invested in them, the training they went through, and the costs that went into all of that. Secondly, losing team members also tends to encourage others to jump ship, too. After all, if Sandra finds that the grass is greener on the other side, why won’t Mike? Mike may very well be tempted to at least find out if it’s true for him, too. Thirdly, and similarly, when employees leave, others often lose a friend in the workplace which can be really disheartening. Hopefully your team members enjoy their job on its own merit, but many people simply get by in a much better mood at work due to getting on with the other workers there. When a popular team member leaves, that can leave a dent in morale. Finally, on a less likely but still important note, outsiders will notice if they are always dealing with someone different at your company, and they will make conclusions based on that fact. Businesses that can’t keep anyone longer than six months don’t look good, not only in terms of how they must treat their employees, but there could easily be an inference that there may be poor quality everything behind the scenes. This may lead to a drop in business. So, Why Do Employees Leave A Business? There could be many reasons for high turnover in a workplace but essentially, these reasons can typically be boiled down to: Low pay Bad workplace relationships Poor work/life balance How To Stop Employees From Leaving A Job Occasionally you may get someone who has decided on a complete career change, or wants to move to Australia, or maybe will be going on maternity leave and as yet has no plans to return – and these types of reasons for leaving are out of your control. The best thing you can do is look at the reasons that are in your control and try to mitigate them where possible to help retain the other team members, whose reasons for leaving could be negotiated against. Can you pay more? Can you cut back hours? Can you move schedules around? Can you address poor behaviour coming from one employee to another? How To Retain Staff Members Finally, if you’d like to increase your changes of retaining those new staff members who are to replace the ones who have left: Hire strategically – ask interview candidates about their dream job, work out the career trajectory they’re on, try and guess if they are the type of person who will voice frustrations before handing in their notice. If you know what type of team member you’re hiring upfront, you’ll be able to communicate with them far more easily about any challenges they may be having in your business. Incorporate feedback – when team members complain, do listen. If one of your team is struggling with fatigue lately, take note and ask them if they’re okay – they may be dealing with illness or have something else going on that is impacting their ability to rest and recharge. If an employee tells you that they are being harassed, record the report and treat it seriously. If a worker tells you that your communication style is off-putting and intimidating, take the honesty in your stride and see if you can make changes. Use exit interviews to your advantage – employees bare their soul in exit interviews. They let out all the problems they’ve faced, all the resentments they’ve built up, and all the little things that you ignored because they were little (but they weren’t so little to your team member who is now leaving!). Listen to everything they have to say. This will help you to see patterns in the business that can easily be changed, and perhaps save another future team member from leaving too soon. Get In Touch It’s always hard to lose a team member, and even harder to replace them. Fortunately, that’s where we come in. For help and advice on recruiting the best candidates, and keeping them, drop us a line today. We’ll be glad to help!

It’s no secret that work/life balance hasn’t flourished in the way that our parent’s generation predicted it would. The rise of tech has, in some ways, increased our work instead of reduced it. So with expectations on workers being higher than ever, how can you keep your staff motivated? 1. Hold Staff Meetings, Little And Often No more meetings that take the shape of 2-hour-long Friday afternoon-ers for your team – if you want to increase motivation, you might accidentally achieve the opposite. Hold short meetings that are more regular, maybe a couple of times a week instead. No one will fall asleep, and you won’t feel the need to provide biscuits. Meetings help everyone to feel like part of the team, which could help them to feel valued and, in turn, motivated to work harder and achieve their job goals. Keeping the lines of communication open could make all the difference. 2. Value Your Employees’ Health And Wellbeing Many businesses talk a good game when it comes to self-care, mental health and wellness matters, but few actually put their money where their mouth is. Mental health accounts for a significant chunk of, not only staff absences, but poor morale and low productivity. It’s important that your team members feel able to talk to you about how they’re feeling, both at work, and at home which could have a knock-on effect on how they behave when on the job. In those little and often meetings we mentioned, touch on the topic of wellbeing and tell your team that your door is always open. This lets them know that you really do care. Putting it on the table is half the battle – if your team were going to open up to you, now it’ll be that much easier. This will help them connect with you, as their leader, and may increase their desire to perform well in their role. 3. Have 1 To 1 Catch Ups Every Week Once a week, take ten minutes, grab a coffee for you and one for your team members, and pop outside for some fresh air and a chat. This is the perfect opportunity for them to relax and fill you in on how their work week has been going – and the casual nature of the meeting might make them feel better about asking things or reporting on issues that they might struggle to bring up with in front of their colleagues. Additionally, you can use this little session to feed back to them on their performance, especially in areas that they are doing well. Positive and affirming feedback can turn a person’s day around, and employees who never receive feedback, or only receive criticism, can easily start to drag their heels and begin to dread coming into work. Stop that problem before it starts by seriously implementing that open door policy in this very way. 4. Be Open To Flexible Working It’s a bit late in the day to be bringing this up – after all, most businesses that were ever going to shift to flexible working did so during the pandemic. But there are just as many businesses hanging on for dear life to the old ways, out of a fear of the unknown.  Flexible working can make all the difference in a struggling team member’s life. For those who would be better off getting a slightly earlier train and shifting their hours back by an hour for an overall happier day, anyone who would like to leave a bit earlier than usual to sort out problems at home, or the thousands of other reasons that the classic 9-5 just may not be working very well and causing staff to put out feelings for new, better opportunities, flexible working can be the answer. Flexible working does not mean less hours – it means hours shifted around to suit the individual. Employees who may need to start a little late, for example, will make up the difference in the evening on another day. They may even want to pay a little interest on that flexibility and put in a bit of extra time as a thank you. If you’ve never tried it before because you’re worried about losing control of your team, that says more about your trust in your team than anything. 5. Otherwise – You Don’t Know Until You Try. Last but not least – give everyone a say As a business manager, decisions are ultimately in your control, but it never hurts to hear what everyone you employ has to say. After all, decisions that affect the business are likely to affect your team, either for better or for worse. Allow your staff the sense of input into the business, its direction and its future. The more involved your team feel, the more they will want to feel involved, and the more likely they are to work harder for your company. Secret 6th tip – Invest In An Air Conditioning Unit Because no one can feel motivated when they’re all sweaty and uncomfortable in a stale, muggy office. It’s just not possible. Contact Us So there you have it – 5 tips on keeping staff motivated, even in this latest heatwave! If you’d like to find out more about what we have to say about giving your staff that “get up and go”, please feel free to get in touch. A member of our friendly team will be happy to help. Image source: Unsplash

Finding the perfect recruitment agency in the UK can be a challenge, but don’t worry – with these five simple tips from Headway Recruitment you’ll be on the path to building your dream team in no time! Let’s dive in… 1. Choose An REC Member Look for a recruitment agency that are a member of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). Agencies with an REC membership are obligated to pass compliance tests in order to obtain membership, as well as then continuing to strictly adhere to a number of standards and obligations to retain said membership. This means that all REC members are certified and reliable, and therefore the safer option when choosing a recruitment agency. 2. Consider The Industry Some recruitment agencies specialise in specific sectors such as Construction or IT, which is great if your business is within those industries, as those specialist agencies will have additional expertise in what those sector-specific employers are looking for. However, specialist employment agencies are less likely to have much expert knowledge on industries outside of their realm, which could make it harder for them to find you suitable candidates for your company in a short amount of time. 3. Don’t Be Swayed By The Lowest Prices The cheapest services you find on Google may be the most tempting, but they are likely to be cheap for a reason, and probably not a good reason. Cheaper prices typically translate to corners having been cut somewhere – maybe a cheap recruitment agency has skipped one or two of their accreditation renewals, or are failing to pay out their fair share in other obligations. In the long run, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, money, and headaches by going for a decently priced mid-range option that is also transparent about their qualifications. You’re also far less likely to avoid the stress and disruption of having to find a new candidate to replace the previous one, and train them all over again. 4. Check For Testimonials When choosing a good recruitment agency in the UK, look at their past and existing clients if you are able to. An agency’s success stories can tell you a lot about how they operate, what sort of companies they work with, and what their recruitment process is really like. If you can see a number of positive campaigns on their website for their clients, then they may be a good option for your business. 5. Experience Matters Every recruitment agency starts out somewhere, but the more experience, the better. Have a careful look through their website and try to find out what experience they have not only as recruiters in general, but also in helping others in your particular industry. Avoid recruitment agencies that have no testimonials as that indicates not enough experience to have built a client portfolio – and they may be a fly-by-night company, too. Have a look at the recruitment agency’s LinkedIn and other social media accounts to also get a general sense of their experience and how many years they’ve been in the business. Contact Us Headway Recruitment can match you up with your perfect candidate. For more guidance on how we can get you started, please contact our friendly expert team today. Image Source: Unsplash