No-Cost Ways to Retain Your People

You know what it takes to retain good employees. We all have our own personal stories, and you do too. When we take care of our employees well, they'll take care of us, too. Below are some quick, easy (and free) tips for things you can do (and can avoid) to demonstrate genuine care and appreciation to your people.

To Do: Show You Care

According to GoRemotely.com, about 8 in 10 employees (79%) quit if they don't feel appreciated! One of the most underleveraged ways to show appreciation is by making time to pause and recognize individual and collective team efforts.

More specifically, some actionable ways include:

Sending a heartfelt email or handwritten note to let someone know you "see" them and their efforts.

The more specific you can be with your expressed appreciation, the better. Instead of expressing a generic thank you, you can highlight the person's specific behavior or attitude and the positive impact it had on the team. For example, instead of "thanks for the great job" you can say "When you stayed positive during that set-back, it helped the team bounce back quickly and refocus on progressing towards our collective goals."

Prioritizing celebration of big (and small) wins in team meetings.

Take the first few minutes of each team meeting to celebrate 2-3 "wins." This is another way you can remind the team of the progress they're making and how you're noticing their hard work and collective efforts. Be mindful of which individuals prefer public shout-outs versus those who prefer a private pat on the back. Everyone has different preferences for acknowledgments, based on their personality, upbringing and culture. If you're not sure, simply ask them directly to find out.

Investing in their growth and learning opportunities.

Yes, you need to budget and invest in formal team and leadership development opportunities like team retreats, coaching, and pursuit of certifications to help your team grow their knowledge and skills. Plan to offer these on a regular basis, but don't forget to also facilitate other kinds of development that don't cost you a thing -- including directing cross training efforts, providing stretch assignments and encouraging team collaboration that broadens people's understanding of their roles, your overall mission, and how the business operates. 

To Avoid: Common Pitfalls and Oversights

Be mindful to avoid certain actions, like:

Forgetting their birthday or work anniversary.

If you haven't already, have a process for collecting and tracking these milestone dates. For new employees you can build this into the onboarding process, and ask them to put these special dates on a shared team calendar. And in their initial onboarding meetings you can ask them how they prefer to celebrate their birthday at work. Some will want to take the day off or not celebrate at work at all. Others will appreciate a lunch outing with the team or a 1-hour virtual gathering. You won't know until you ask.

Disrespecting boundaries by reaching out to them on their day off.

Don't be that boss or teammate that emails or calls or texts them with requests or even "just FYIs" when they're out of the office. Discipline yourself to resist the urge and show them that you respect their need to fully disconnect.

Giving people a hard time when they need a mental health break.

People are struggling. They're suffering from trauma, a medical diagnosis, loss, grief, burnout, chronic stress, etc. Be serious about helping people take breaks when needed. I'll never forget about the woman who told me why she decided to leave her organization after 10 years. It was the week after her mom had suddenly passed away. She returned to work and no one (not her boss, co-workers, anyone at work) gave her a card, words of comfort, nothing...Today she's a senior leader at a top company doing well, but her former organization lost a real gem by not showing acts of kindness during that difficult time.