Employee Retention: Don’t Push Your Loyal Employees to the Point Where They Don’t Care

Most people start their new job full of hope and excitement. Whether it’s a week or a month, during this ‘honeymoon phase’, these new team members see the company with starry eyes and are so driven that they’re willing to give their best at everything. It is usually at this time when employers let their guards down, deluded by the thought that this employee can run perpetually at 110%. Like any relationship, the period of infatuation will, unfortunately, end at some point. That means once the honeymoon is over, whatever efforts you put into making your employees happy and motivated will essentially determine whether or not they will stick around.

A Sense of Trust Goes a Long Way

Being micromanaged and breathed over every fifteen minutes just to ‘check-in’ is every adult’s worst nightmare. Mature working professionals merely want to be trusted to do the job. With work-from-home being more commonplace these days, research also discovered that the lack of autonomy can lead to outcomes of employee burnout and disengagement. At the end of the day, if you can’t trust your team to work efficiently no matter where they are, why hire them in the first place?

Be Fair & Be Square

Imagine giving your all and being rewarded the same as someone who puts in only half of the effort. After all the recent spotlights surrounding the topics of equality and inclusivity, most would expect to see improvements in the workplace on promoting fair treatments. Unfortunately, bias isn’t so easy to get rid of especially if it happens subconsciously. In fact, over 50% of executives have admitted to favouring candidates when making internal promotion decisions. Playing favourites is a sure way to destroy employee morale, and worse – create unnecessary tension within the team.

Unlock Full Potential with Greater Goals

It’s easy to inadvertently take advantage of teams who are always at the top of their game and constantly aiming to achieve higher for the benefit of the company. But say, if the leaders themselves don’t notice (or worse, don’t care) and have no intention to further grow their business, then why should they? Young talents crave meaningful work and opportunities for growth. Therefore, the lack of ambition from those they look up to can break their spirit and cause them to perform poorly. When the goals of an organization go stagnant, it leaves employees with no choice but to seek alternatives that can satisfy their sense of purpose.

You can have all the perks and benefits, but if you can’t treat your employees right, no amount of free food will make them stay. Don’t push your loyal employees to the point where they no longer care. If you care about them and they see your passion, they’ll 110% return the favour.