How you can retain your employees

Employee retention is a hot business topic today. No longer do people stay at the same company for 25 years and collect the gold watch like in years past.

In fact, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the average worker will have 12 jobs from age 18 to 48. It’s a shocking statistic. That alone should tell managers that all the time they put into hiring, training and promoting may just be preparation for the employee’s next job — and chances are it will be somewhere else.

Employees have more bargaining power than ever before. Unemployment is relatively low, and social media makes a company’s employee retention information public knowledge.

Factor in that a recent Gallup Poll shows that only 31 percent of employees are engaged at work, 51 percent are disengaged and 17.5 percent are actively disengaged. Translation: Less than onethird of employees are excited about their jobs. Glassdoor, a website where employees and former employees anonymously review companies and their management, says that the average employee gives their company a C plus (3.1 out of 5) when asked whether they would recommend their company to a friend.

Then there is the collateral damage. Customers have an uncanny talent for picking up on dissatisfaction, and that can damage the bottom line. Can your company afford that?

Mackay’s Moral: Solving employee turnover is easier when they own a piece of the pie.