Once you’ve encouraged smart and talented employees to apply for work with your company, your job isn’t over; you still need to get them to accept your offer. And once they accept your offer, don’t put your feet up just yet; you still need to work hard all day, every day, to create meaningful incentives and a positive company culture in order to keep these valuable employees on board. Here are five simple moves that can help you reduce turnover and build loyalty and morale.

Treat Your Employees like the Valuable Assets They Are

The most subtle gestures can often turn a relationship into an adversarial arrangement. If you nickel-and-dime your employees over business expenses or negotiate ferociously over small salary increases, if you try to keep them where they are instead of encouraging them to seek promotions, and if you suspiciously monitor their behavior and refuse to trust them, they’ll leave as soon as they can. If you seize any opportunity to give them less, they’ll seize any opportunity to accept a better job somewhere else.

Envision your Ideal Workplace Culture, then Work Toward That Ideal

What do you consider the perfect workplace culture? Are you imagining a company that’s laid back and fun? Collaborative and trusting? Are your ideal employees committed fully to the company and its goals? Develop a clear vision of what you’d like to see in your workplace culture, then start taking steps to bring that vision to life. Set an example for your managers, and encourage them to set an example for their direct reports.

Act on Reports of Positive and Negative Behavior

If you catch wind of an employee sharing credit for a great idea or picking up the slack for a struggling teammate, don’t just shrug off the story. Track down the person in question, verify the story, and provide them with tangible rewards for their culture-boosting behavior. The same applies to negative behaviors like subtle bullying, unfair management, or credit stealing.

Encourage Referrals

Retain your best employees by bringing their friends and high performing connections on board. Establish a strong referral program and reward your employees for any recommendation who steps in the door and stays for at least a year.

Make Your Workplace Fun

Lighten up a little, and show appreciation for employees who do the same. Anything from casual Fridays to a weekly sponsored happy hour at a local restaurant can elevate the mood and encourage your employees to socialize on their own terms. If your teams form friendships that extend beyond the workplace, they win, and so do you.

For more on how to strengthen your culture and retain your top performers, contact the staffing team at Expert.