The biggest concern for many organizations today is how to retain their good employees. Direct replacement costs can be as high as 50% of the employee’s yearly salary. Employee retention helps cut training costs and avoid loss of organizational knowledge and talent.

The Michael Page Singapore Employee Intentions Report for 2015 holds financial rewards and efficient managers as the top reasons why employees stick to an organization. Training and workplace flexibility are other important parameters. Here are 5 effective tips on employee retention.

Get the right managers

It is often said that employees quit because of managers. Efficient managers can form healthy relationship with employees. They will need to understand every employee’s requirements and work with them accordingly. Employee grievances must be taken seriously. Put in place a system for performance management and appraisal, coordinated by an HR manager.
When you rent training room for employee training, be sure to conduct manager training as well. This should include both, technical aspects of their job and soft skills.

Give them the right metrics

Surveys and research have confirmed repeatedly that appreciation and feedback is highly important for employee retention. The argument stems from the fact that employees need to feel connected and responsible to the organization. Make sure that the feedback you give is specific and not a vague appreciation.

Employees actually want to see what positive results have come of their efforts. Managers have to be aware of their subordinates’ progress. Depending on how they are doing, due attention must be given to their learning process.

Provide a healthy work-life balance

Millennials consider a healthy work-life balance more important than anything for sticking to an organization. Employee fatigue and monotony are challenges to employee retention and hence the management has to be always on guard. Time clock software can help avoid overworked employees. Long offs are just as important.

Workplace flexibility is gaining momentum in Singapore. Organizations that allow employees flexible timings or a work-from-home arrangement, tend to retain more employees. Group activities are an interesting work to integrate life with work.

Offer different kinds of training

Employees seek expansion of their knowledge. You training sessions should not be just about increasing performance. Rent training room with the right facilities and make sure it is easily accessible. Employees, especially new hiring, should look forward to training sessions. Ask your seminar room rental company for restroom and refreshment facilities.

Offer mentorship programs and cross-departmental training. Bring in experts from outside the company to counsel employees about subjects related to aspects of their own lives. Continuous revision of the training curriculum is important.

Establish multiple compensation avenues

It could also include something not necessarily monetary, like an ‘Employee of the Month’ program. You could also be conservative and award pay raises based on performance. Money is not the reason behind employees leaving organizations.

A flexible employee benefits system can help deal with a changing workforce. Companies offer a number of modes for compensation, including stocks, childcare/eldercare, memberships of clubs, employee assistance programs, shopping discounts and so on.

Often, companies invest a lot of time, money, and effort in employee training and yet cannot get the desired results. Studies show that millennials prefer working for a company that offer consider training opportunities. Therefore, companies should have a system in place for training their employees.

It is also essential to keep revising your training systems. When you rent training rooms, consider whether they are distraction free. It also pays to invest in a good evaluation program at the end of the course. Read here about 5 common corporate training mistakes.

Overloading on information

Information overload is worse than no information at all. It gets difficult for existing employees to clear their schedules for intensive training spread over a number of days. This could force them to put in overtime and stress. Overtraining refers also to stuffing employees with irrelevant information.
Break your training down into smaller sessions and focus on one thing at a time. Instead of making employees cram information, train them to access it using manuals, databases, and checklists.

Providing irrelevant training

Not only can irrelevant training backfire, it can prove to be monotonous and uninspiring. Heed to the requirements of your employees and try multiple training pathways, including the auditory and visual modes. This the reason why training should also be conducted on-job.
Conduct an intensive analysis for training needs. You need to define the objectives of the program beforehand. Business objectives must be linked with employee behavior. This should be followed by an evaluation of trainable competencies and so on. Get the vendors to customize the course material for your specific requirements.

Inconvenient training facilities

Distractions or inconvenience during training sessions can dilute the lesson. Make sure when you rent training room that the provider offers data projector and smart boards for presentations. It should also have 24X7 internet connectivity if your course material requires it.
Sufficient electrical outlets and air conditioning for Singapore’s humid climate are a must. Proper restroom facilities and a coffee vending machine are indispensable to ensure comfort. Make sure your training room venue is easily accessible by public transport.

Getting the wrong people to train

When you rent classroom, make sure your trainer is as good. You can either get someone from inside the organization, with prior training experience, or hire a professional. You can also ask seniors from different departments to come up for different phases of training. Make sure such trainers are technology savvy.

An inexperienced or untrained instructor might not address the problems of the employees well. Good trainers need to have strong language skills and an outgoing personality.

Forgetting to follow up

Following up should be done after training, not only for clients but also for employees. This is because skills decay is a major roadblock to corporate training. It could be that some of your employees might have had unanswered questions at the end of the program. Assessment for skills decay should be done throughout the year. During the course of the program, offer both appreciation and constructive criticism. Conduct surveys on the effectiveness of the program. Periodic assignments are also crucial.

Training new employees is never easy. If you hire experienced professionals, they may find it difficult to cope with your work process. On the other hand, fresh graduates need to be trained from the beginning. Studies say that making new employees feel at home is crucial to successfully train them. Fun socialization sessions and early appreciation is an integral part of the on-boarding process.

Training room rental should be chosen keeping in mind the skill levels and receptivity of your employees. Here are some tips on training new employees.

Provide them direct training

In order to build a solid foundation for growth of your employees’ knowledge, provide direct training. Follow it up by introducing other experts with different training approaches. This is also known as cross-training. Doing this helps to combine different experiences and reinforce what your employees have learned. This can be concluded with a mini-quiz when the program ends.

Try to optimize their strengths

Hire a general trainer and training room rental for the initial training period. Employees in this stage will be trained on general aspects of work. The subsequent sessions will be on specialized job roles. This is especially important for an emerging organization, where the ability to fit into multiple roles is required. Such an approach also instills solidarity within the group.

Employ an e-learning program

E-learning platforms have been successfully helping create employee training courses. In fact, every company should invest in e-learning, besides classroom rental for presentation-based training.

The course usually provides general industry insights, culture, vision and message of the company and role-specific information. The content types will include videos, blanks to be filled, multiple choice questions, puzzles, and so on.

Follow the program up with a task

On-job-training is a practical way to assimilate your new employees into the rest of the workforce. Firstly, it lets you have an output at the end of the program. Secondly, it lets them utilize the follow-up training in the best possible way.

Have existing employees train them

Involve seniors and colleagues in the training program. Giving every new employee attention on a one-on-one basis can get difficult. Instead, rope in trusted staff members to hold training sessions for smaller training tasks. Hire training room rental keeping this in mind. Having coworkers train new employees is also important for establishing solid peer relationships. This also empowers existing employees.

Make sure the facilities are up to the mark

Choose your classroom rental company carefully. Employees should not have to travel too much. Lack of proper restroom and convenience facilities could distract them and end up offsetting the desired result of the training program. Make sure that there are sufficient electrical outlets to plug devices. Hire a professional trainer or someone with in-house expertise. Making the program accessible is important.

Give regular feedback

Constructive criticism is as important as appreciation and praise. More importantly, feedback should be given regularly during the course of a training program. Put in place “practice sessions” where new employees should be free to fail. Encourage them to experiment with new approaches. In the process, you should also be able to gather feedback about the quality and effectiveness of the program.

Knowledge sharing at the workplace helps enhance the skills of any individual. A focused training session can not only empower the employees, but increases productivity at the workplace. When you do a training room rental, make sure to have necessary facilities for the comfort of your attendees. Avoiding distraction and making the most of technology is important. Here are some tips on making the most of your training time.

Get the right facilities

Trainers should be familiar with any new tools that they are going to use in the session. Use your own devices or those that you have worked earlier with. This is true for both trainers and attendees. The same goes for operating systems; use one that you have been using for a long time. Have programs installed well in advance to ensure no time is wasted. If you are going to use accessories like headphones, power cords or drives, reach early and get them connected.

Take notes

Taking notes is important to mark out important concepts for later. It also helps reinforce what you learned. Physical transcription of these concepts helps remind your brain about their importance. For kinesthetic learners, interesting ways to take notes are via scribbling in a notepad, highlighting or doodling. Inform your trainer of your methods in advance.

Keep your mind off distractions

That your classroom rental company provides free Wi-Fi should not be a cause for distraction. Switch off your phones and log out of social media. Except for the necessary browser windows, close everything else, including email. You need to focus well while training. It is important to have a full breakfast so that you feel energized. Sleeping well is necessary too, because lack of sleep can hinder your attention. As a company, you should a classroom rental company that provides convenient restroom access.

Organize your things

You could have reference material around the very topic you learned about in the training session. Sort these all out and organize them under categories. Label the spine of the binder file where you’re keeping them. If you have returned from the conference with brochures, pens, sticky notes or random papers, organize them. Throw them away if you don’t need them to focus better on the subject matter of the conference.

Ask questions for clarification

No matter how visual and lucid the presentation, there could still be doubts. Classroom rental companies provide projection facilities and presentations with info-graphics and visual illustrations can complicate the discussion. Do not wait until you get home to look it up on the internet. Asking questions is the only way you can clarify any doubts. Even if you do understand certain tough concepts, it is helpful to confirm with the trainer. If you have difficulty seeing the board clearly, sit in the front.

Develop an action plan

Revising the topics afterwards is necessary for developing an action plan. Try to make relevant connections between what you learned and the nature of your work. Record your insights from the training program. You will need to account for any obstacles that you might face, too. Get back to your trainer regarding strategies to counter these obstacles.