Prevent your new employee from leaving within a year

Just hired a new employee at work? Job done, you might think. But when you bring in good employees, you also want to keep them. And the tight labour market makes this difficult. Other businesses may offer better financial conditions, for example. Or even approach your employees with an offer. How do you make sure your staff stay with you?

“Of all employees, half will have doubts within the first year and a large proportion of them apply for a job with another employer,” says Heleen Mes. She is the founder of HXWork and an expert on employee experience. “If, after starting at a new employer, you do not find what you came for, you will be gone very quickly. So, make sure the job description matches the truth. Be honest about the company culture and the role someone will get. Often people leave quickly because their expectations are not met, or they were not onboarded properly.”

Getting started

Mes: “Make sure things get off to a good start. And look beyond the first month. After that, employees are quickly thrown into the deep end. And that is too bad. If an employee is not properly introduced to the business and its activities, they are more likely to leave suddenly for another offer. So help your employee get started during the first 6 months and regularly ask how things are going and whether the job is as they expected. If necessary, you can adjust things.

Talk with employees regularly

Even if your employees have been with you for a longer time, you want to know whether they are still doing all right. Judith le Fèvre is the owner of the water treatment company Ferr-Tech. She speaks to each employee regularly. “This sounds very logical, but not every employer does it. While this is an obvious positive for job satisfaction and company culture. We consider continuous learning and development important. This is also part of the growth phase of our business as a scale-up. We always ask for the opinions of employees. For instance, via scheduled meetings, so-called dialogue sessions. Employees can also submit an idea for improvement, which we call a ‘Ferr-Tech Improvement Report’. We learn from this, act, and share this again with employees so they know we are really listening to them.”

This is why you do it

“Make an employee feel that your business wants to make a difference. This is how you keep an employee involved in your mission. And therefore, with your business. It can be done very simply,” Heleen Mes says. “When you run a restaurant, you can let your employees taste the new menu. Do you sell products such as bicycle lights? Then give a set to your staff so that they know how the product works.”

Bar at the Zwarte Cross festival

Encouraging strong mutual bonding also helps to keep staff loyal to you. “Because an employee's team and immediate colleagues are the most important factors whether someone stays or not,” says Mes. Le Fèvre also recognises this and is committed to an open and free culture. “We do a lot of fun things with the team. Soon, for example, we will run a bar at the Zwarte Cross festival. This builds bonds now, and memories for the future.”

Avoid these pitfalls

Keeping staff engaged in your business also has pitfalls. Mes has tips to avoid them:

1. Assign a buddy

Mes supports assigning a buddy when an employee is new. But this only works when the chosen buddy is eager to do so. “That person must enjoy mentoring a new colleague and be given time to do it.” 

2. Allow space for mistakes

“Staff stay longer when they can grow and develop. And that comes with making mistakes. Do not punish mistakes but let them contribute to development and give your employees the benefit of the doubt.” Getting opportunities creates confidence in your employees. Give constructive feedback where necessary so they learn what they can improve. That way, they grow with your business and your mission.

3. Let employees feel seen and heard

According to Mes, one of the reasons why employees leave, get burnout, or fall ill is a lack of appreciation. “Prevent your staff from feeling unseen or unappreciated. On a personal level, you can think about greeting each other in the corridor and asking how things are going at home. On a business level, it is important to give compliments and a reward.” This does not have to be a pay rise. It is usually about the gesture.