Written by Sandra Reder
Health Bridge HR

Employee retention is one of the most important components of running a successful practice. With branded terms like quiet quitting circulating the internet, employers need to step up their game to ensure the term does not turn into real quitting.

You want to ensure your employees are satisfied, likely to stay with you, and working at their optimal efficiency. For most busy practice owners checking in with your team regularly can fall to the way side, but setting up a few simple systems may ensure this doesn’t move to the bottom of your to do list.

Clear Job Roles

One of the most important elements of retention is ensuring job descriptions are written carefully, starting with knowing what the ideal candidate looks like. From there, we suggest managing with clear guidance, regular check-ins, and offering opportunities for growth. Check-in with the individual, where do they want to grow within the role they’ve been given, and how can you help them succeed in the position.

Know Your Company’s Value

There is a misconception that better pay is the driving factor for all employees who resign and make the switch, but a positive office culture, that holds true to its value can sometimes outweigh the pay cheque. Employees rarely leave a workplace that has a solid engagement and recognition plan along with a healthy culture and strong values. People want to feel like they are heard, belong, and are respected, and that they are fairly compensated for their work.

Who Are You?

Get to know your employees as individuals – what is important to them outside of work, what do they love to do, what are their goals? Employees will find it hard to leave a manager who they know genuinely cares about them and their wellbeing. For example, a little birthday acknowledgement can go a long way to making someone feel welcome. 

Stay in Touch

If employees do decide to leave then wish them well and keep in touch with them. We had a client with fantastic managers who lost two team members last year as the employees desired a change. Within 6 months of leaving, both previous employees had reached out to that manager and asked them to return to their previous roles. The grass is not always greener on the other side, but sometimes you need to try it out.

Water the Seed

Is your team growing? Are their skills expanding and enhancing? And how are you supporting them in making this happen? Employers that offer professional development with a designated budget available, and easily accessible, help to make their team feel valued, heard and desired. You can do this through repeat offerings, adding it to your check-ins, or incentivizing the team to take advantage of the budget you have allocated for their enhancement.

Talk as a Unit

Communication often falls to the way side. Open up the door, create an environment where anyone can propose questions to others in the workplace, for example, an anonymous question submission box to provide a safe place to ask questions.

You have probably heard the phrase before “no question is a dumb question”? Hold true to this statement. Allow people to ask questions when in need of help or guidance, open the door to conversation and support to let your talent shine. They will feel more heard this way and you will have a better employee retention rate because of it.

At the end of the day, we all want to feel welcome, heard, respected, and valued in our place of work. It is your job as an employer to take these feelings into consideration in order to increase your employee retention rate and provide the support your team needs.