14 Effective Employee Retention Strategies

When employees resign, it creates a mountain of work, not just finding and training a replacement, but also increased workload until you have a replacement. Not to mention every time an employee leaves, it makes your current employees consider if there are better opportunities out there. Employee retention should be a priority for all organizations.

Recruiting for a position can cost up to 2.5 times the role’s salary in addition to training costs, loss of productivity and decreased engagement. Employers should be proactive in their employee retention plans.

Why Is Employee Retention Important?

High employee turnover can be very costly to the business. Here are the costs that businesses that don’t make employee retention a priority will face:

• Recruitment
• Cultural impact
• Training
• Decreased employee engagement
• Reduced productivity
• Decreased employee morale
• Loss of talent

What Is a Good Employee Retention Rate?

The average turnover rate in 2017, according to LinkedIn, was 10.9% worldwide. However, each industry has its own turnover rate. A number of factors can cause certain industries to have a higher turnover. These may be the skill-level required for the job, the culture of the industry, or even compensation.

How Can I Improve Employee Retention?

To create an employee retention plan, you need to think like your employees. What attracts them to a job, what makes them feel appreciated, how do your benefits programs and compensation compare to other companies? If you truly understand your employees, you can implement programs and policies that will keep them loyal.

Employee retention starts from recruitment; your recruiters should look for employees who fit in with the company culture and who have stayed at previous jobs for a long time. These employees are more likely to stay in your company for years provided they are a good fit.

Acknowledging Achievements

Celebrate all achievements, big or small. It will help your employees to feel appreciated and motivate them to work harder to get good results. This could be overdelivering on a deadline, or even completing work under budget.

Encourage Teamwork

Create a workplace where everyone contributes and shares ideas. This will help your company to innovate and increase employee engagement.

Deal Well With Change

Change will occur in your workplace, and it is important to show your employees that you manage change well. Communicate with your employees to help them feel safe and avoid the rumor mill. Ensure there are channels for communication so employees can discuss their concern and seek answers to their questions.

Allow Flexible Working

Giving employees options for flexible working can increase employee loyalty and happiness. It will also allow you to retain new parents who might seek options like flexible hours, telecommuting, or part-time hours.

Encourage a Work-Life Balance

With unprecedented connectivity, many employees struggle to set a good work-life balance. Employees often stay late to complete projects and check and answer emails at home, some even answering emails in the middle of the night. Many supervisors encourage this type of around the clock availability and leave employees susceptible to burnout. A good work-life balance is key to healthy and happy employees. Discourage checking or answering emails outside of work hours and calling employees on their day off. Encourage staff to take vacation time and to leave work on time; employees will become resentful if they spend too much of their time at work. Ensure the workload of an employee is appropriate for their workday and that their time is not being occupied by unnecessary meetings.

Rewards systems

Ensure you recognize when your employees go above and beyond their duties. Many companies use sales incentives, but consider rewarding employees who display your company’s values.

Training and Staff Development

By assisting your employees to develop professionally, you gain more skilled employees and prevent them from looking for development opportunities elsewhere. Some companies set aside a yearly training budget for their employees that can be used towards courses, seminars, and workshops. A training and development program is great for staff retention but is also a good incentive for hiring new talent.

Regular Performance Reviews

Set and stick to regular performance reviews with your employees. This will help check up on your employee’s job satisfaction and short and long-term goals. It will also help you to understand their big picture view on their position in the company and their ideal career path. By understanding these things about your employees, you will be able to use their talents well and help them achieve their goals.

Communication

Keeping two-way communication with your employees helps them to feel like they have a voice in the company. Your employees should feel comfortable talking to someone about their ideas, concerns, and questions. This also allows you to give ongoing feedback to employees and tell them what they do well and where they need to improve. Employees should not be surprised by anything that is mentioned in an annual performance review; they should receive regular feedback from their supervisors.

Employee Wellness

Your employee’s overall wellness can affect your business. By ensuring your employees are fit, healthy, happy, and financially secure, you can increase your company’s profits. There will be a reduction in benefits claims and sick leave and an increase in productivity and job satisfaction. Employers report positive results when they implement mental wellness programs, financial resources, and gym access.

Perks

Job perks can really help an employee to feel connected to the workplace. The perks you choose to offer will depend on your company and its values. You might offer group discounts, free coffee and lunches, or paid-time-off to volunteer.

Compensation

While many employees want to feel passionate about their work, at the end of the day, everybody works for the paycheck. You need to ensure your compensation packages are competitive for your industry. If your competitors offer better salaries, retirement plans, or more paid time off, then employees might look to jump ship.

Mentorship Programs

As part of the onboarding process, consider pairing new recruits with a mentor. This will help your new employees to feel more welcome and to learn the ropes. Your mentors gain some of the new employee excitement and get fresh perspectives. You might even consider doing this for promotions into new roles or departments as well to ensure the transition goes smoothly. Direct supervisors and management should never be mentors.

Orientation

The orientation and onboarding process is key for creating a good impression of the company. It will help new recruits to understand the company culture and how they contribute to the company’s success.

Final Thoughts

Your employee retention strategy should evolve and change to keep up with current technology, industry practices, and benefits and salary changes. By updating your policy regularly, you can keep your staff happy and engaged.