By Neal Glatt

Taco Bell has decided to attract talent by paying managers $100,000 per year, nearly 70% more than the average wage for fast food managers.  Here’s how you can make sure your employees don’t leave your company for a pay increase.

Most employers think that pay increase is the only factor that employees consider when selecting a new job.  Research in this area proves otherwise.  While important, there are three factors that score more important than pay when employees are considering a new organization, according to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace.  Here are the three areas where contractors can win and retain talent.

Ability to Do What They Do Best.  Employees want to experience success by utilizing their natural talents, education, and experience.  Finding the right role for each employee is a very difficult challenge.  Many managers are promoted because of their tenure or experience in sales or operations, not their managerial expertise or passion.  No wonder so many fail.  The good news for contractors is that the solution to this problem is very easy - simply ask employees, “What do you feel you do best?” and then find ways for them to do more of it.  Revisit this regularly, and employees will feel so fulfilled they won’t want to leave.

Greater Work-Life Balance and Personal Well-Being.  When is the last time you asked employees about their personal life and well-being?  I doubt many employees feel that their workplace helps them find balance for their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.  How can contractors do better in this area?  It can be as simple as sharing ideas from thought leaders like those at Thrive Global (like this blog post) and having conversations about how work impacts well-being.  Managers should be open to suggestions and accommodations employees request, like taking true breaks from work for lunch or a special weekend when work emails are allowed to be ignored.  

Greater Stability and Job Security.  What does job security and stability look like?  Companies that have professional reputations, a solid foundation, and consistent growth are a great start.  Paired with a solid vision for the future which includes specifics about the employee’s career path are essential.  Contractors should leverage state and national industry organizations to build momentum around the benefits of staying in the industry.  Most of all, employers need to help their employees envision a better tomorrow for themselves.

If you’re struggling to get the buy in you need to prevent costly turnover, consider helping employees grow through the education here on GrowTheBench.  They need to learn what you already know and unless you are taking the time to teach them the content in the hundreds of videos we have here, you’re robbing them of growth and creating flight risks.  If you haven’t experienced what we have to offer, I’ll help you out with a free month of our all-access pass.  To get started, click here add the All-Access Pass to your cart and apply the discount code TACOBELL at checkout.  It’s time to get serious about retention and growth.