If it is not possible to raise wages, one can try to make the wages go further. Agencies have arranged for partnerships that provide perks for staff, including discounts on tires, dry cleaning, paint and building supplies, restaurants or groceries. Also common are family passes to sporting or cultural events, museums, amusement parks and leisure centres. The issues that ultimately lead to turnover have already started to become apparent to the new employee by the end of the first month. A positive working environment is one of the major contributors to retention at agencies with low turnover.
People stay when they love the work they are doing and the people with whom they work.
Front line work has the potential to be very rewarding. Supervisors who are unhelpful add to staff stress and turnover. Therefore, it pays to invest in training and mentoring new supervisors in supervision skills. Supervisors who are unavailable when needed also add to staff stress and turnover. With more support workers providing services on their own in the community, access to supervisors or other support is a greater challenge.