Employees need to know that they can approach leadership when a problem arises. When staff is intentionally separated from leadership, a culture of distrust can arise. Leadership should be holding regular staff meetings for check-ins and making rounds to personally check in with employees. This not only humanizes the administrative team but also leads to good communication and empowerment of employees.
Do not wait for an exit interview to learn how your employees feel about the workplace. Check-in often with employees and see how they are feeling about work. Ask them what is going right. Ask them what is going wrong and address the problem immediately. Find solutions for your employees and let them know that their issues are not falling on deaf ears. It is important that your employees feel heard and cared about and checking in often is the perfect way to achieve this.
Find the pressure points in your facility and work to make things better for employees. Have a shortage of something? Work on a plan to alleviate the shortage. Showing employees that you care will build a culture of trust and will lead to greater employee empowerment and satisfaction.
The stigma that HR is not your friend does not have to be true. If employees have a distrust in the HR department, then they are less likely to report issues in the workplace. They are also less likely to approach HR about career growth which often leads to the employee exiting the company. HR should be in regular contact with employees and should work to remove the negative image that HR can have among employees.
These steps lead to a culture of trust, communication, and consistency, which are the critical themes of keeping great employees in your facility. Let your employees know that they can trust you and can approach you when necessary. Open lines of communication for employees to air grievances. Try to fix those grievances whenever you can and let your employees know that they are valued. Most importantly, be consistent in what you do. Do not offer these engagement opportunities just once and then forget about them. Constantly engage your employees in a consistent way.
