Retaining your best employees

WITH A STATEWIDE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF JUST 3.2 PERCENT AS OF DECEMBER 2015 (LOWER THAN THE FIVE PERCENT NATIONAL AVERAGE),

IT’S A JOB-SEEKER’S MARKET. Hawai‘i businesses are finding it difficult to recruit and retain qualified workers for their myriad needs. This lack of available and qualified workers provides a fertile environment for employee poaching and opportunities for your team members to job hop to greener pastures.

Now more than ever, it’s critical to invest in your employees and your organizational climate to ensure that your best employees stay. While a meaningful retention program takes time to build, it’s never too late to start.

The following are immediate steps you can take to retain your best employees.

FIRST, REVIEW YOUR COMPANY’S VALUES AND CULTURE. Are the values and goals of your business clearly defined?

Without clear direction and leadership from the top, it’s hard to guide your business into the future.

NEXT, ASSESS YOUR CURRENT STAFFING CAPABILITY.

Ask yourself, as a company, are we achieving our business goals with our current staff? Are we retaining employees? Are we providing employees the resources they need to be effective and succeed? Take an honest look at the abilities of the people you have, not those you wish you had, and ensure that you’re capitalizing and maximizing on these abilities.

FINALLY, EXAMINE YOUR CURRENT LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE FROM THE TOP DOWN.

Does your current chain of command work?

If not, what can you improve? Having strong, capable leaders and managers supporting the goals and values of your business is critical to success. Conversely, bad managers can cause high turnover and cost you good employees.

After conducting this internal evaluation of your current capacity and operations, look at your employee benefits. Aside from salary, do the perks and benefits make your business an attractive place to work? Offering rewards to your employees for meeting a high standard of performance will make them more satisfied and productive. In return, a motivated workforce means better business performance.

Mastering these basics in retaining your best employees will build a strong foundation for success and open up your workforce for expansion. Although Hawai‘i is currently considered a job- seeker’s market, providing an organizational climate where your current employees are happy and fulfilled by their jobs will help you retain your best workers and make your company appear that much more attractive to future employees.