How to retain employees with on-site fitness facilities

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Employee retention should be a priority for businesses regardless of their size. If you’re regularly having to replace and train new staff, then you’re committing resources that could otherwise be focused elsewhere. There are varying reasons why an employee may want to leave. However, there are many actions a business can take in an effort to reduce the likelihood of staff turnover. We’ll be looking into the reasons why, what a business can do and how on-site fitness facilities can help to solve part of the problem.

What is employee retention?

Employee retention is all about keeping team members employed. Companies should have an employee retention strategy that offers things such as bonus packages, staff benefits and perks in a bid to reduce staff turnover. Understanding why it happens, how you can combat it and measuring the rate at which your staff leave the company can offer an insight into employee satisfaction. In a nutshell, if you’re looking to operate a successful business, then you should aim for high employee retention or low staff turnover.

Why is employee retention important?

Employee retention is particularly important due to the cost implications and the business risk involved. Here are some of the key reasons businesses should take employee retention seriously:

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1. On average, the cost to replace an employee is equal to 50% - 150% of their salary. This is due to the time it takes to find them, the processing involved and training them to a similar skill level.
2. Replacing an employee isn’t instantaneous. It can take a long time to prepare a job description, interview potential candidates and then find one that is suitable for the role.
3. Losing an employee who is exceptionally talented or who brought a lot of value to your business cannot always be replaced.
4. Employees fill important gaps in your business that are needed for it to operate smoothly. If someone leaves, then until you find a suitable replacement that is trained to the same degree, the pressure may fall to other staff or put your business at risk.
5. You’re losing an employee with in-depth knowledge about your business. Even if you were to replace them quickly, it would take time before they have the same level of understanding as to the employee who left.
6. Your customers and stakeholders will be dealing with and building relationships with your staff daily. Losing a valuable employee means that new relationships will need to be made, which may not always work as smoothly as the previous one.
7. Around 75% of employers have stated that they find it challenging to recruit the talent they need for their business. So, once you have found someone who is an asset for your business, every effort should be made to retain them.

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Why do employees leave?

Although the reasons why an employee leaves can be extremely personal and sometimes hard to predict, the following issues are a common occurrence amongst job leavers

1. Mental illness - employees suffering from mental health, such as stress, depression or anxiety, can often result in them leaving their place of work.
2. Job dissatisfaction - employees need to feel that their job is fulfilling particular personal needs. If they’re not happy with the work they’re doing daily, either the quality of their work will suffer or they’ll leave the company.
3. Lack of employee benefits - many companies offer competitive advantages to their staff just for working there. These can be in the form of discounts, freebies or staff rewards. 
4. Poor work facilities - If you’re staff are working in sub-par facilities, it can severely affect the enjoyment of their job. 
5. Negative company culture - Your company culture, that being the behaviours and values of your business, may not align with the personal values of your employees. As an example, if you’re not operating any recycling schemes, you may have a member of staff who feels strongly about this.
6. Breakdown in relationships - disagreements are commonplace in business, but if they’re allowed to go far enough that there is a serious issue between staff, it can be the deciding factor for someone to leave. It’s not only the fact that this situation exists, but also how a company handles it.
7. Work-life balance - some employees may be complete workaholics who want to spend every waking hour progressing their skills and working hard. However, for many people, there needs to be a balance between personal and professional life. This could be things such as spending too much time at work, not having the option to work from home, bringing the stressors of work home etc.

Attracting new employees

If you have a strategy in place for employee retention, then you’ll be inadvertently increasing the attractiveness of your business to potential employees. All of this comes down to what you can offer staff, both existing and new. Although something such as an on-site fitness facility can increase the wellbeing of your current employees, it can also give you the competitive edge if a top candidate is considering their options for employment.

"68% of job seekers will choose a role that offers an attractive employee package over their other options"

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Talent retention solutions

After understanding why it’s important to your business and the reasons staff turnover exists, the next step is to develop a strategy that improves your employee retention.

Employee rewards

Employee rewards do not have to be in the form of cash bonuses or expensive outsets for your business. They can simply be things that employees benefit from for being part of your company. This can come in the form of subsidised costs for local leisure memberships, quality on-site facilities and even something such as an extra days holiday can help employees feel valued.

Personal development

As an employer, you’re likely to run into different types of employees. Some will be happy to come to work and do their job and return home to their own lives. Others will feel like they need to be continuously developing to feel satisfied with their job. Development of your employees can be through internal training, but it can also mean satisfying their personal goals. Maybe there’s a location they want to visit, a fitness goal they want to reach or a qualification they deem to be needed. Speak to them, understand what it is they want and act accordingly.

Support a healthy work-life balance

There has been a focus recently on the balance between working and personal life. Some studies believe an imbalance is leading to mental health issues and employee dissatisfaction. It’s up to you as an employer to give your staff the opportunity to balance their life, if that’s what they need. For example, working from home days, the option to purchase or earn more holiday or providing them with high-quality facilities.

On-site fitness facilities and employee retention

We recommend that any business considers the benefits of an on-site fitness facility such as a gym. They can be a great way to retain and attract new employees. Many people engage in fitness in their personal lives at their own expense, so offering this to your employees can help them in the following ways:

1. A workplace gym will encourage and make it more accessible for your employees to live a healthier lifestyle. There are many benefits of exercising that correlate to the performance of your staff, such as their energy levels, ability to focus and overall well being.
2. They are a great staff benefit. If your employees enjoy the place they work and have access to great facilities, they’ll be happier attending their place of work every day and feel like they’re being rewarded simply for being an employee.
3. It can save your staff money. If they’re already paying for gym memberships and having to travel to another fitness facility, you’ll be saving them money out of their paycheck every month.
4. Supports a healthy work-life balance. An on-site facility means that your employees won’t need to travel and spend time at another gym. It gives them the chance to go on their lunch break or immediately after finishing their shift.
5. Group activities and icebreakers. Having a workplace gym can open up opportunities to group exercise classes. They can be great to break down barriers and get your team in an informal environment without taking them off-site.

Reinvent Lifestyle’s solution

We see the benefits of corporate gym design and installation projects from our past work. They’re a fantastic way to tick many of the boxes that could otherwise lead to disengaged employees. Understanding how fitness and associated activities can benefit both a business and its staff are at the forefront of what we do.

With the given space, we’ll carefully design a solution that is cost-effective for your company while ensuring your staff will be excited to use it. The benefits are there to be seen; exercise will increase the productivity, engagement and happiness of your staff, which is a key factor in the wellbeing of your staff. We also offer ongoing management services, such as digital gym programs and fitness staff. This can help to make sure your team is utilising the equipment correctly and benefiting from the new facilities as much as possible. Get in touch if you’re considering a corporate gym or have any questions, and we’d be happy to advise you.