While you’re likely hiring people to grow your teams and your ability to take on more jobs, don’t overlook the importance of retaining the people already on your crew. This is especially important as the labor shortage continues to be a challenge for contractors while the industry keeps growing. Here is our advice for retaining the people on your teams.

1. Recognize That Different People Want Different Things Out of Their Careers

Younger team members often place a higher priority on having a diversity of work to give them exposure to different roles, location flexibility and jobs that will increase their income. On the flip side, someone who has been in the industry for more than a decade may be more focused on finding stability, settling down in an area for the long term and looking for a better work-life balance. Understanding what each member of your team wants in their jobs and supporting them accordingly can go a long way to boosting their morale.

2. Help Your People Master Their Craft

From project management to skills-specific training, the benefits of providing ongoing education and professional development will often produce cross-trained people and better leaders, which ultimately deepens the strength of your team and sets your business up for more success. As people are learning new skills — and potentially making mistakes — make sure you’re patient and understand this is a part of the process and coach them to get better.

3. Encourage Your Team Members to Share Ideas

Give your team the freedom to think creatively, be innovative and identify opportunities that ultimately benefit your business. Roofing distributor ABC Supply promotes “entrepreneurial spirit” as one of its core values, and through it challenges its associates to continuously improve by taking actions that benefit their customers and their branches.

4. Listen to Your Team

Taking the time to listen to your team’s ideas and using their input to create change when possible is so important. Even if you don’t agree with the idea or can’t make change, demonstrating your open-mindedness to at least hearing what the person thinks can go a long way toward creating a better working environment.

5. Give Frequent Feedback

Those on your team — especially millennials — value honest, frequent feedback. They want to know how they’re doing, where can they improve and what their path is within the company. While annual evaluations are always a natural moment to discuss performance, some team members might prefer real-time feedback instead of waiting months to discuss it in a formal meeting.

6. Discuss Growth Opportunities

Giving feedback to your team not only helps them improve in the short term but also opens the door to conversations about how they can continue growing with your company in the long term. Growth opportunities play a major role for younger generations. According to Forbes, focusing on professional development is key to attracting and keeping a quality associate because it shows you’re invested in them.

7. If Someone Leaves, Have an Exit Interview

You may not know the reasons people choose to leave, so sitting down with them to talk about their employment experiences often results in straight, truthful feedback about what is or isn’t working on your crew. These honest conversations can help you identify the changes you need to make to prevent others from seeking new forms of employment. If the person leaving was a great asset to your team, leave the door open for them to return in the future.

Placing importance on employee satisfaction will help not only you, but your business. Having an open dialogue is a simple tactic to keep your crew members on board and content with their roles.

Visit ABC Supply’s blog at www.abcsupply.com/blog for more advice on how to successfully run your business.