Employee Retention

In addition to improved employee screening, what steps should you take to retain employees longer and keep your workers satisfied? Remarkable studies now show that simple atmospheric adjustments to your office can make a tremendous difference in terms of how your employees perceive their jobs. For instance, if you switch out headache-inducing fluorescent lights for warmer halogen lighting, that in and of itself can raise workforce morale.

Of course, this begs the question of which subtle factors make a difference. Will cleaning the carpets every day lead to attentive and meticulous behavior, or will you be stuck with hundreds of dollars of vacuuming bills and nothing to show for your labor? Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy guideline for determining which so-called atmospheric factors make employees happy.

The Keys to Employee Retention

A good rule of thumb, therefore, is to solicit employee feedback and remain attentive to what makes your staff comfortable and uncomfortable. Little things like remembering people's birthdays and opening the windows during nice days can make a world of difference. At the same time, you don't want to lose track of the forest for the trees.

Ultimately, it's difficult to boil down precisely what makes employees loyal. Indeed, perhaps the best procedure is simply to monitor what goes on in your office and to be honest with your workers about your expectations. You should also remember the somewhat counterintuitive idea that the more rigidly you define what constitutes success at the workplace, the more liberated your people will feel.