The first article http://guides.wsj.com/management/recruiting-hiring-and-firing/how-to-reduce-employee-turnover/ comes from The Wall Street Journal.
How to Reduce Employee Turnover:
1. We've mentioned this before -- hire the people, not the skills. The skills can be taught, or honed. You MUST hire the right people for the job. You MUST hire the person who will best fit with your company's work environment and values. You MUST hire the person who will be best for the job. You have a need, they have a want; you need a position filled and a job done, they want a job (maybe even to work for you).
Yes, it is great to have an employee who has turned over a failing business, but, if that person did so in a way that is not in line with your business' ethics, morals, or policies, they will not be good for your business.
This tip is the most important because it falls on you. Employees can quit with the rest of the tips, but, this is the one where you may have to fire them. If you want a good business and want to retain your employees, you MUST hire good people, not JUST people who need a job, not just people who have a list of accomplishments, but, people who want to work for YOU.
We have linked to another article before regarding having somebody undercover interview the person, giving them a tour of the building, to see what comes out to somebody they think is just an average employee.
2. Do what you must to keep them -- they need to earn a livable wage AND have a work/life balance. As great as a job is, if they are overworked and severely underpaid, they will not be able to stay with your business.
This one is tough, maybe they thought the business would grow, maybe they thought any job is better than no job, but, from experience, it is not.
Employees need to make ends meet. If the job is fantastic and the money is decent and livable, an employee may stay; if the income is less than expenses, an employee cannot stay.
IF you really value that employee, you MUST be able to compensate them fairly. ESPECIALLY if they are going above and beyond for you. Which brings us to the work/life balance. IF the employee finds his (her) job particularly satisfying, you will be able to get more from them, both in hours and production -- they will not regard more time at work as throwing their work/life, "balance," off, but, you MUST recognize their engagement and accomplishments in order to have them enjoy work. If they have been with you a while &/or have proved themselves, give them some slack in regards to needing time off of work.
3. Be part of their work life and make sure their position and work matters. You MUST not disengage or be aloof (or completely unavailable) to your employees. If you are unapproachable or unavailable, a couple things could happen:
--Your employees wont know what the actual goal is.
--Your employees wont care what the actual goal is.
They will do what they want as they want. You MUST be available for your team and express what you expect
4. They must have a positive work environment. If you have hired a great team (see Tip 1), you MUST let them interact with each other. The building (lighting, infrastructure, plumbing) should be as non-stressful as possible. If you have a great team, don't make them dread coming in to work.
It is important to acknowledge the great works and accomplishments of your employees, but, it is better if you also mention these to their other superiors.
You DO NOT want to be the jerk manager mentioned on YouTube.
5. Be clear about their jobs and your expectations. Make sure everybody is on the same page so that the narrative can continue. If an employee is a faceless paper pusher to you, s/he can be a faceless paper pusher to a competitor. If there is no opportunity to move up, let them know that. Let them know where they can improve.
~Cheers!
