5 Things You Can do to Avoid Losing Your Staff

Oct 31, 2022

High employee turnover can cost businesses much more than just money. So how can you ensure you don’t lose valuable staff members? It starts with creating a positive work culture where your team members can grow and develop their careers.

Why is Technician Retention Important?

During the height of coronavirus, we saw the Great Resignation with a record number of people leaving their jobs. This was a time of mass uncertainty on a global scale and gave people a lot of time to reflect and gain perspective on their day-to-day lives. Because of this, many people felt the need for change, with the top three motivators for leaving a job being an increase in pay, general fulfillment within a role and the freedom for the employee to be themselves. Living in a post-pandemic world, staff retention is more crucial than ever. Namely, hiring new staff is costly and can negatively impact team morale if not done well.

When hiring new field service staff members, the costs quickly mount. You’ve got to think about recruitment agencies or advertising on job sites before you even get someone through the door, as well as training resources and equipment costs. If a business is implementing a field service management solution with external software, there may be additional license costs, office equipment, annual salaries, bonuses and pension funds to consider.

In addition to the cost implications, high turnover can negatively impact existing staff and lower team morale. Staff may begin to talk amongst themselves and draw their own conclusions as to why team members are leaving.

5 Things You Can do to Avoid Losing Valuable Team Members

1. Support staff development

It’s a common misconception that supporting staff training and upskilling will prompt employees to search for greener pastures. While this may be true for some employees, staff members who feel secure and happy in their position will ultimately choose to stay and contribute those skills to your business. Quite simply, when you invest in your employees by supporting their development, you invest in your business.

2. Create a positive work environment

We all spend a lot of time in the workplace, in fact on average we spend more than 84,000 hours of our lifetime working. Ensuring your company provides a positive and supportive environment for your employees is key to keeping them engaged with work. Dissatisfied and unhappy employees are more likely to leave a company for a different opportunity.

Here are some popular ways to make work environments more engaging:

• Celebrate birthdays
• Organize staff activity days
• Treat your team with something sweet or an off-topic quiz during work hours
• Make yourself available to staff members when they need to talk through challenges

3. Be upfront about your expectations

Is miscommunication about expectations causing headaches in your business? It’s important to remember that your employees may not always know what you expect of them, which can cause issues with their performance and behavior. Clearly defined expectations are key to retaining valuable employees and ensuring everyone is on the same page. While expectations should be defined at the beginning of employment, this communication should continue throughout employment to ensure your staff stay on track.

4. Provide your team with the right technology for the job

Inefficiencies in field service operations can be frustrating for staff. That’s why, just like it’s important to keep your team equipped with the right tools for the job, it’s important to ensure your processes and systems are up-to-date with the latest technology. A total business management software such as simPRO can help your business increase workflow efficiency and limit frustrations caused by a lack of communication. Just imagine being able to manage scheduling and invoicing from your office while also having your technicians update the status of jobs in the field.

5. Match staff to jobs that maximize their skillset

Miscommunication and job scheduling mismanagement can cause staff members to feel underutilized or out of their depth. Matching staff to jobs which maximize their skillset can greatly improve their productivity and positivity. But, with so many moving parts in a business, it can be tricky to keep track of your staff member’s movements and availability. Job management software such as simPRO allows complete visibility of job details and technician scheduling, so you can choose the right person for the job.

Summary

By investing in your team and supporting staff development you’ll retain staff easily.

Our first three tips may require you to take a look at your internal workings and environment as a company. However, what can you do about tips #4 and #5? Are your manual spreadsheets and calendars confusing your staff? Are you accidentally sending staff to jobs where they can’t complete the tasks or double booking staff? There is a solution that can take care of those inefficiencies for you so you can focus on the other parts of improving your staff’s experience at work. Visit simprogroup.com today to get yourself into one, staff-friendly software that easily communicates information from the field to the office. Investing in an efficient software solution is an investment in your staff.

Learn more here.