Certain companies just seem to have a knack for keeping their employees happy. They have extremely low staff turnover, and not coincidentally, they are also among the leading firms in their fields. What’s their secret?

There is no secret, of course. It’s not rocket science to expect your staff to stay by your side if they enjoy their work, and they’ll enjoy their work if you treat them right.

Here are five great techniques for keeping workers happy that those engaged in staff recruitment in Northern Ireland ignore at their peril.

1. Make your staff your biggest priority

The customer always comes first, right? That’s not quite the view of many of the most successful organisations. Certain employers are increasingly cottoning onto the idea that if it is, instead, their staff that they make number one, these staff will in turn look after their customers.

Talk about a situation where everyone wins. When your staff are heavily invested in and loyal to you, they will naturally want to do everything they can to keep your customers on board.

2. Recruit for attitude over technical skills

Of course, the right technical skills are important, but how useful are well-skilled employees if they don’t buy into your company’s vision?

In contrast, while those with little more than the right attitude may require a bit more training, that superior attitude also keeps them useful to your firm long after their training is complete. They will be more motivated to develop such skills and put them to use for you, too.

3. Give lots of opportunities to grow

Hiring the right staff isn’t the end of the process – you will also need to give your employees a feeling of constant progress when surrounded by your four walls.

Employees who feel that there are always ways for them to develop within their present organisation are probably those that have been made aware of clear training and progression opportunities available to them.

4. Care for your employees in both good and bad times

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy – so the saying goes. It is certainly one taken to heart by many of the most successful employers, which place an emphasis on fun in their workplace.

But contented employees aren’t just those that get to throw a party every now and then – they’re also those who are constantly looked after on a personal level, such as if a family member is ill, by a well-developed company support network.

5. Don’t just offer better salary and benefits

Even a good wage offer won’t compensate for a series of other deficiencies in your company’s offering. Employees want to feel meaning in their work, after all.

Never presume, during your staff recruitment in Northern Ireland, that prospective and current staff are solely driven by the size of their pay packet.