In addition to impeccable marketing campaigns and stellar branding efforts, modern companies depend heavily on their internal structure for success. It’s no wonder that employees are considered the very lifeblood of any business, and as such, they are considered a true asset when any brand can discover and retain the most productive and fitting employees. Loyalty is certainly not just an issue that concerns your customers, hence the need to nurture this very bond among your own teams. That will lead to higher retention rates not just for those who shop with you, but with those who work alongside you.

In case you’ve noticed that certain departments need to put in more effort to find employees and keep them interested – here are several strategies you can use to build a stronger relationship with them and harness that bond to grow your brand further.

Start at the beginning: your hiring process

Sometimes it doesn’t boil down to the salary you offer or the benefits that come with the job. In fact, most modern employees have the advantage of choosing among various positions offered by your competitors where they can afford to not prioritize income but other perks. That is why even the ones that are drawn to your competitive monetary compensation might quickly change their mind. That also means they weren’t the best fit to begin with.

In order to prevent mismatching your brand with the wrong candidates, you need to refresh your hiring system altogether. Start from how you define the role for which you’re hiring, as your job description should be as transparent as possible. Move onto expanding your search to freelancers and remote workers, because why not? It’s the perfect way to tap into an entire talent pool despite their location.

Incentivize effort and recognize success

When it comes to incentives, it’s not about the worth of a gift as much as it is about the gesture itself. Whether you work in a laid-back niche or your office is a beehive of stress and chaos, people will appreciate being valued in more ways than just the paycheck. By handing out custom flash drives to hard-working employees who have just wrapped up a project, you’ll let them know you value their time, give them something they’ll actually use, and make them smile in the process with a bit of imagination.

It can also be a funky umbrella or a new mug for their office desk, or a box of chocolates they love. The price tag doesn’t matter as long as they know you’ve put in some thought and effort into picking the right thing for them.

Encourage and enable learning

As the workforce is slowly becoming filled with younger candidates, their preferences and priorities also change. Millennials, for example, are known for their desire to advance in every sphere of their lives, and that includes your office. There’s no room for dead-end jobs with no potential to grow, and fancy titles no longer suffice. They want actual challenges to overcome and real issues to tackle, ones that will give them usable skills and experience.

If you haven’t already, make sure to build an in-house training system for new employees and allow veterans to be mentors. Bring lecturers and organize workshops that will give all of them a chance to get better at something. And above all, encourage them to do the same outside of the office by offering them paid classes you’ll know they’ll enjoy. Not everyone will love the gym package, but some might appreciate the cooking class or the singing lessons!

Flexibility above all

We’ve already mentioned the benefits of hiring freelancers from various locations if they fit your position, however, the perks extend to them as well. Many modern employees don’t crave the nine-to-five stability, but they gladly swap it for a home office or a café work session. They will also gladly work a few hours in the morning and then perhaps a few more at night if the schedule allows it.

Most importantly, from your perspective, you need to let your employees know that this is an option. It will make working with your company all the more appealing, and you’ll let them know that you encourage work-life balance in a way that suits them. Perhaps a single mom will truly appreciate this opportunity, if only she can stay with her toddler instead of hiring a nanny five days per week.

Inspire greater engagement

Finally, studies show that there is an enormous discrepancy between how an employer and their employees may evaluate a situation. For example, 89% of employers are convinced that people leave their posts for more money, while only 12% of those who leave actually do so for salary reasons. Comparatively, workers who are truly engaged at their jobs are 87% less likely to quit, making poor levels of engagement one of the key motivators to start looking for a new job.

You can start with offering and asking for regular feedback, and even more importantly, acting on it. Introduce some fun and simple team-building sessions, and make your employees feel included in relevant decisions for your business. Steps such as these will slowly help your team members feel as part of your brand and decrease turnover rates over time.

The challenge of keeping your employees loyal to your brand will surely persevere no matter what. However, with the right techniques up your sleeve, you can create the right company culture and atmosphere that will naturally inspire people to stay by your side and build your brand together.