What is an employee retention strategy?
An employee retention strategy is a plan to reduce employee turnover. It consists of different policies and programs that make people want to stay with the company. This is important for business as a high turnover rate means more money spent on hiring new employees. Also, if workers are unsatisfied at work, they have low morale, which makes them not want to work as hard. By implementing a few employee retention strategies, you can save your company money.
10 employee retention strategies
Having a good strategy for retaining employees is a key component of any well-run business. Here are ten strategies you can implement to retain good employees.
1. Focus on your hiring practices
The best way to retain employees is by hiring the best fit for the job in the first place. Start off your search with a detailed description of the job and what skills candidates would need in order to be successful in that position. Make sure that your hiring managers are clear on what type of person they are seeking for the job so that employee retention does not become an issue. Related article: How to Find Good Employees
2. Offer a competitive salary and benefits
One of the biggest reasons people leave a job is that they do not feel valued for the work they do. Make sure that your employees feel their compensation is in line with industry standards so that they have higher job satisfaction. If you’re unable to offer competitive salaries, try to offer a benefits package that compensates for the lower salary. Employees will often stay at a job when their benefits offer such things as dental care, eye care, drug plans and good pensions. The better the benefits program, the better the chances of retaining good employees.
3. Offer additional incentives
Offering such things as professional development opportunities and career advancement is a great way to retain employees. People want to advance in their career, so by providing staff with the opportunity to do so, they’re less likely to want to leave your company.
4. Train effective managers/leaders
Most workers spend a lot of time interacting with management, so having effective leadership can improve employee retention. People want to work with managers that are good communicators and effective leaders, so take some time to train and invest in management. Related article: 7 Effective Skills to Help You Become a Better Leader
5. Encourage open communication
Issues will always come up in an organization, but what matters is how you deal with them. Make sure that workers feel comfortable bringing up issues with management so that when problems arise, they are solved quickly. By having an open-door policy, staff will feel supported by management, making them more likely to stay with the company.
6. Create clear work objectives
Setting goals can be a great way to motivate staff, increase productivity and show that you care about their achievements. When employees are celebrated for their achievements in a workplace, you create a supportive environment where people feel appreciated. Having a supportive environment for staff will keep them happy, which in turn will help you retain good employees.
7. Understand why people leave/stay
A successful strategy for retaining employees is to understand why people leave. If you conduct an exit interview for anyone leaving the company, you will have a better idea of why people might leave, which will give you an idea of how to improve your employee retention rates. Another vital resource when it comes to employee retention is employee satisfaction surveys. By conducting blind surveys of your staff, you can see what improvements might need to be made in order to keep staff happy. Related article: 8 Exit Interview Questions that You Should Ask
8. Encourage professional relationships
Having good relationships between workers is an effective way to increase morale. By organizing social events or outings, you foster a friendly environment. When workers feel more relaxed at work, they become more productive, and work becomes a place where they actually want to be. Creating community in a workplace can be a great way to retain good employees.
9. Value a work/life balance
When work becomes too demanding, workers become unhappy. Being less rigid about the number of hours worked can go a long way towards increasing staff morale, making it more likely they will stay with the company. Being able to balance family commitments and work life is very important for most employees, so allowing staff to work around their home schedule can be key when trying to retain employees. &
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10. Hybrid workplace
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most offices were shut down and workers learned how to work from home. Working from home has become the new normal and a lot of workers are now reluctant to go back to working out of an office full time. Also, with views about large crowds and the potential of passing on germs, workers might feel safer with fewer people in the office. To make this a viable option, employers are now offering hybrid offices, where some work is done in the office and some at home. For example, staff might go on rotating schedules so that half the time they are required to be at the office and half the time they can work from home. Whatever form they might take, it is clear that hybrid workplaces are here to stay and will be a factor when choosing what company to work with. To retain employees, companies should consider their possibilities to offer a hybrid workplace.
