Employee retention in higher ed starts early and you must be proactive. Why is employee retention important to the success of your college or university? Hiring a talented and dedicated staff, and then retaining them, is essential to running a successful college or university, and the key to retaining them is to start early in the process.
What many institutions fail to do is retain good staff, and one reason for that is that they fail to invest in retention efforts. The best way to retain staff—from the up-and-coming hotshots to the solid employees who hold the organization together—is to work on retaining them the moment they’re hired. Your employees should want to stay at your organization from the moment they walk in the door, and research clearly says that employees who get a positive initial impression of your organization are more likely to stick around for long and fruitful careers. Read on to find out the Dos and Don’ts of employee retention.
Do’s and Don’ts of Employee Retention in Higher Ed
• DO hire people who are enthusiastic about your company and make it clear that they want to be there. They will be much more likely to stick around.
• DON’T wait until it has come to your attention that an employee is looking for other jobs. When your employees are submitting job applications or meeting with you to resign, they’ve already made up their minds that they are not in the right place or with the right manager.
• DO make sure that employees are in positions that best utilize their skill sets. They should be able to clearly visualize a track for themselves within the organization that includes greater responsibility and greater pay, and if you don’t make the path toward advancement completely clear, employees are likely to assume they’re at a dead-end job.
• DON’T automatically blame a resignation on problems with their manager (but in many cases, it is just that). Many employees quit because efforts were not made to retain them early enough and/or they don’t see a path forward within that organization. This leads us to the last point.
• DO be proactive about retention. Make it a specific part of your job to measure, improve, and maintain ongoing retention efforts.
Finding a last-minute replacement for a competent, hard-working employee is the last thing you want on your to-do list. Invest time and energy in employee retention early (and be sure to include specific leadership training for managers . . . but more on that later). The cost of employee turnover is more likely higher than you think.
The Change Leader & Your Employee Retention in Higher Ed Institutions
The Change Leader improves the way your institution functions with holistic approaches to employee engagement, productivity, and profitability. Whether you’re looking to improve retention or enhance business strategies to increase revenue, The Change Leader is at your service. For more information, visit our Consulting Services page or contact us today.
