Why Loyal Employees Rarely Leave the Best Places to Work
By Ryan Walsh
This article is the February installment of a monthly column that explores what it means to be one of The Best Places to Work.
Step one: recruit and hire talent… Check.
Step two: keep them around… Where to begin?
As any employer or business owner knows, employee retention is as important, if not more so, than recruiting and hiring practices. In fact, it has been shown repeatedly that it is more expensive for businesses to hire anew than it is to retain an employee. According to a study done by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employee attrition costs U.S. companies about $1 trillion annually.
Thankfully, there is much that can be done to increase a business’s retention rate. Greater Gainesville’s Best Places to Work companies know this well. One in particular, Kinetix Physical Therapy, is especially adept in these practices.
“[At Kinetix] we love each other like family, celebrate one another, and lift each other up when needed,” said Dr. Melissa Cere, PT, DPT and co-founder of Kinetix Physical Therapy.
The company, started in 2008 by Cere and her husband, Dr. Tony Cere, PT, DPT, specializes in orthopedic physical therapy. Over the last fifteen years, Kinetix has implemented several techniques to keep its employees engaged and satisfied.
Rally the Troops
First, they focus on involvement. Employees who feel that what they do and say makes a difference to leadership and the company will want to stick around.
“A few years ago, we sat down with our employees and talked about how we wanted to update our company’s mission and core values,” Cere said. “When we face big decisions (and even little ones) as a company, we always bring discussion back to how can we implement these core values in our every day at Kinetix.”
Team TLC
Secondly, it is about dedicated attention to each employee’s needs. A company is not a monolith but is made up of many individuals with distinct ideas, skills and abilities.
“We have a member of our management team meet quarterly with each employee individually,” Cere said. “This one-on-one rounding time allows employees to feel comfortable bringing up concerns or questions that might otherwise not surface in a larger team meeting.”
Perks and Pay
Lastly, it is about fair compensation and benefits. Employees want to stay where it makes fiscal sense to be.
“Our strong benefits program includes perks such as 401(k) plan with company match, continuing education funding and a generous paid time off plan,” Cere said. She believes that investments like these in their employees pay off for everyone in the long run.
With all these factors, the results are clear. Over 25% (eight of 31) of Kinetix’s employees have been with the company for five years or longer. Three of them have been with the company for more than 10 years.
A culture of care and empathy rounds out Kinetix’s winning formula. Between monthly company-wide charity events, approachable and transparent leadership and team input in the company’s future, it is easy to see how Kinetix became one of Gainesville’s Best Places to Work.
When it comes to employee retention, Kinetix’s methods have proven to be very effective. By following this model, any company can begin to make gains toward increasing their employee retention.
