Replacing staff is expensive. So after you’ve sought and signed up a qualified, motivated employee, you want to hold on to them for as long as you can. mice.net asks five of the business event industry’s leading lights to share their top five tips on retaining employees in today’s competitive working environment.
 1. Show respect – Treat your staff with the same level of respect you’d expect to receive yourself. Acknowledge and speak to everyone in the organisation, regardless of position. Remember that everyone is part of the team.
2. Encourage communication – We’re experiencing some of the most advanced communication technology the world has ever seen, but it seems we’re losing the simple art of talking in the process. Talk with your staff, encourage communication and share information.
3. Reward success – Recognise success and, if appropriate, reward through promotion or performance incentive. A simple “thank you” can work wonders, however a pay increase tied into accomplishments, including bonus schemes, is the ultimate way to reward outstanding contribution.
4. Develop with the right tools – Provide the right tools and the right training for your staff to do the job. Failure to do so will inhibit staff development and company growth.
5. Recognise skills – Utilise the skills and experience staff demonstrate. Experienced staff can make a substantial contribution to the success of your organisation. Provide motivated staff who are willing to learn and grow with new opportunities to encourage them to stay longer.
 1. Communicate goals – From the CEO to frontline associates there needs to be a clear vision and goals. Employees all need to know the direction of the company.
2. Reward star performers – Never take outstanding performance for granted. Invite top performers and managers to celebrate personal successes on a regular basis. Reward positive work behaviours with public recognition and, in some cases, tangible rewards.
3. Offer development opportunities – You succeed as a company only when each of your employees succeeds. Offer associates dozens of training courses and developmental opportunities. Initiate a mentor program where staff work with senior management to develop and work towards set goals with leaders in the company, or from within the industry.
4. Train your staff – An induction program for all new associates should be completed. Also relevant training can be made available throughout the year to staff for further development.
5. Celebrate and have fun – Take the time to have fun and celebrate your company and personal results with regular team dinners with partners, going to concerts and the occasional competitive bowling match. Different social and team-building activities work for different work cultures.
 1. Give staff your time – Treat your employees like you treat your valuable clients. Different strategies are required for each individual person. It’s much more cost effective to keep valuable staff than to hire and train new ones.
2. Pay attention – Get to know your staff. Understand their expectations, long-term goals in the workplace and in their personal life to better meet their needs. Let them know you care. Establishing expectations within a structured working environment also helps staff stay focused.
3. Motivate and empower – Intrinsic motivation is the key to building high performance. Empower employees to make decisions that allow them to expedite their service and satisfaction. You want to retain staff that can handle challenging situations as they arise.
4. Reward and recognise – Almost everyone seeks some type of reward, recognition or gratitude for a job well done. The passion and energy levels of those acknowledged for their work efforts is far greater than those who receive none. It also gives employees a greater sense of appreciation.
5. Give feedback – Provide employees with a periodic performance update and a comprehensive evaluation. This will give them a clear direction of their role moving forward.
 1. Outline expectations – It’s important that staff have a clear vision for what the company does and what is expected of them. Have employees take ownership of their place within the organisation. Give them responsibilities in line with their work and make them answerable for their performance.
2. Quality of supervision – Senior staff without proper skills in people management won’t be able to get the best out of staff. Ensure employees get immediate constructive feedback when they excel and also immediate feedback when they don’t.
3. Value employees – Employees should feel valued and part of the company. Reward staff in line with their performance, not only financially but emotionally. Ensure they feel part of the team and appreciated for their contributions.
4. Open communication – Staff should feel they can go to their manager with their issues, and managers need to have the confidence of staff to know that all discussions will be kept confidential.
5. Opportunities for developing – Create avenues for staff to improve skills either through further training or through working experience. Employees should be made aware of the opportunities for development, and that access to development is not too difficult to achieve.
 1. Positive workplace – Ensure that the workplace is user-friendly, meaning the team you have all get on well, and that the actual physical office environment is pleasant to look at and is technically set-up. The team should love coming to work.
2. Boost communication – Ensure that your team communicates with you about the projects they’re working on, giving you their feedback regularly. Your team should feel like family.
3. Value time out – If staff are working on projects/events for long hours, make sure they get enough time out after the event/project is complete, even if it’s a day or a long weekend from a conference. Sometimes they could stay on at the venue with their families for a little holiday.
4. Promote ownership – Instil confidence in your staff so they are able to grow and absorb what our exciting industry has to offer.
5. Provide perks – Offer your staff a little something extra to keep them going. This could be anything from money to more tangible things like spa treatments, vouchers, or presents for their kids, which could be offered after an event or project is completed.
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