The importance of investing in employees has never been more important. With millions of people quitting their jobs after the pandemic, companies that don’t invest in their employees are playing a dangerous game. If you’re looking to keep your business’s costs down and reduce the amount of time spent on recruitment, employee retention is key. Don’t forget:

Here are six ways to invest in your employees and allow them thrive within work and also in life.

1. Offer mental health support 

Every week, 500,000 people are unable to work due to poor mental health, costing workforces an annual total in the billions. 

If you want to prevent this loss in revenue and support your employees, you need to consider their mental health too. 

Your duty of care to your staff means that you’re required to:

• ensure the working environment is safe

• protect your staff from harassment and discrimination

• allow your staff to take rest breaks

• give staff time off to attend appointments

• be open, friendly and supportive to your employees

• encourage and organise regular MH-focused training sessions.

At Podia, our workspaces prioritise the user thanks to our Rise wellbeing platform. By combining ergonomic furniture with faultless software and comprehensive tech support, you can enhance employee wellbeing and make your work environment a better, more comfortable place to be.

2. Invest in quality technology to promote remote and hybrid communication

Investing in communication technology  will help your employees to thrive, whether they’re working from home or the office.

Different platforms are suited to certain kinds of communication. So creating multiple ways for your workers to connect will help make them feel more connected and engaged in the workplace.

And, of course, a highly engaged employee will always outperform a poorly engaged employee.

3. Support employees at every stage, from onboarding to professional development

From onboarding to future years, it’s important to invest in your employees at every stage of the process.

New starters at your company will want to fit in and get integrated into the community. You should facilitate this by giving them a mentor and personally introducing them to the team. That said, try not to overload them with too much work and information on day one. Strike a balance.

Consider implementing IDPs for each employee (Individual Development Plans). This approach will encourage them to work towards both short and long-term goals. You can then follow these up with monthly check-ins to keep things on track.

4. Host regular team building activities 

If you get team building wrong, it can be considered a bit of a cliché. However, if you get it right, you can encourage conversation, break the ice and promote teamwork. In achieving this, you’ll find that:

• productivity levels increase

• performance improves

• healthy competition is encouraged

• wins are celebrated

• innovation and creativity are encouraged

• communication improves.

Again, fit-for-purpose tech makes this much easier for hybrid workforces.

5. Acknowledge employee success 

Acknowledging when your employees succeed is massively important for morale. If people feel appreciated, they’re far more likely to stay at the company for longer. Recognise success by:

• giving spontaneous positive feedback 

• giving out prizes

• handing out an ‘Employee of the Month’ award

• offering fun opportunities in reward for professional achievement

• encouraging peer-to-peer recognition. 

6. Promote and support work/life balance 

An employer that allows and encourages employees to have a good work/life balance is an employer that will develop a strong reputation and enjoy high staff retention rates.

It’s easy to neglect staff priorities in favour of performance. But in doing so, their performance will take a dip. 

Encourage work/life balance in your workplace by:

• asking employees to stick to set working hours

• providing examples of how to set healthy boundaries 

• making the workplace a positive, happy place to be

• making yourself approachable to employees with queries/questions/concerns.