The importance of employee retention in today’s working world.

Three years ago, it was predicted that using benefits to retain employees will be 51% more important by 2022. That was before the Covid pandemic, so it’s easy to understand what the true value of those benefits actually are now.

The truth is that employers must meet fresh demands set by their own workforce. If you want your team to be productive, they must be happy, and that starts with the environment where they will spend so much of their time.

What does employee retention look like today?

Here in the UK employee retention is far from a huge problem for employers but failing to implement precautionary measures could mean it turns into one quite quickly.

It is thought that employee retention rates above 90% per year is good, but we are slowly sliding towards an average turnover rate of 15% nationwide. That would suggest that companies aren’t quite doing enough to keep their staff happy.

Coupled with a candidate driven market that makes job hunting a lot easier than it used to be, bosses need to arrest the decline before the point of no return. It only takes one team member to start a domino effect where more and more believe the grass is greener elsewhere.

It would be tricky to argue you weren’t warned, either. 1 in 5 staff members currently hold a negative opinion towards either their boss or company, or both.

The cost of high turnover.

There are lots of reasons to be concerned if your staff turnover is high. And it all filters back to cost.

The cost of replacing an employee can range from 50% to 400% of their annual salary. Once you’ve factored in the time and effort it takes (in addition to cost) to find someone, it all adds up.

Additionally, there are costs that you can’t see. There’s team disruption, lost productivity and employee wellness might suffer in the wake of an employee having to take on extra responsibilities whilst a replacement is found.

The last thing you want to do is face the idea that more staff may leave because of this.

The overall cost of this can put a real dent in your company’s overall bottom line.

The value of wellness initiatives for employee retention.

If you take the time to filter employee retention down to the smallest detail, you’ll probably realise how simple it can be to improve it.

If employees are happy in their place of work, they’ll be far more inclined to stay. This starts from the top, which is why the old saying goes that “you don’t leave a company, you leave a boss.”

Now more than ever, whether or not a person accepts or stays in a job isn’t just to do with salary and pay rises. It’s more to do with the overall company culture and whether it prioritises the happiness and wellness of its staff.

We will spend an average of 90,000 hours of our life at work, so employees are wanting the boundaries to be more blurred between their personal and professional lives.

Why can’t we enjoy coming into work with our colleagues?

Your employee benefits or perks, which will form part of wellness initiatives, will arguably make or break this. 78% of employees reported that they are more likely to stay with an employer because of their benefits programme.

We cannot stress enough how important it is to communicate with your staff here. It’s no good spending time and money on facilities that won’t add any value. After all, it is your team that will (or won’t) benefit from them.

How refreshments can drive employee retention.

What works for your team and business will vary, but we do believe in our own vending and refreshment services as being a valuable representation of meaningful employee perks.

Tea, coffee, and refreshments are a key part of anyone’s working day, with four in ten staff saying they missed the tea break with colleagues when working from home. Meanwhile, 52% of employees suggested a coffee break is an important part of British culture.

Our services upgrade your facilities for the benefit of your staff.

Tabletop coffee machines with fresh bean and even fresh milk coffee bring the taste of the coffee shop to your business, whilst our floorstanding models are better suited to higher usage.

We also supply snacks, cold drinks, and water coolers in addition to our own fresh food service, whilst we can operate all floorstanding equipment to remove all the hassle from your end.

This equipment is great on its own, utilising all the latest technology and payment facilities to deliver a variety of refreshments in less than 30 seconds. Vending is the perfect upgrade to the kettle or addition to your canteen.

Our recent projects have seen vending form part of a grand breakout and recreational areas, equipped with comfy seating and all the mod cons. There is a lot that is possible for your business to explore here.

With cost-effective rental plans available, boosting employee retention through refreshments is more affordable than you think. Contact us today for more information.