8 Strategies to Improve Employee Retention
Retaining employees is an important issue for organizations worried about the cost of hiring and training new employees.
Considering the reasons why skilled employees resign can be beneficial to businesses when considering future hiring processes. Furthermore, business owners can consider key aspects of retention and the changes needed to reduce attrition in the future.
You can improve your retention rates with the eight simple employee retention strategies in this guide.
First off, why do you need to implement these strategies?
Why Use Employee Retention Strategies? 🤔
Employee turnover happens in any business. It’s natural. The average employee turnover for your business depends on the industry you work in.
According to Gallup, the cost of replacing a churned employee can range between 0.5 and 2x the employee’s annual salary. It pays to keep employees in their role, which benefits your business in the long run.
Source: Gallup
What’s more, a team member leaving is a downer for the rest of your employees. Investing in a thriving workplace culture where employees are happy and stay longer benefits everyone.
Fortunately, it’s easy to keep employees in their job if you’re willing to put in some time and effort. Although some employee churn is inevitable, these eight strategies will help you reduce it to only the most necessary resignations.
1. Offer Competitive Salaries 💰
A key reason employees resign is insufficient compensation and benefits. According to Business News Daily, poor salaries and benefits drive employees to seek other opportunities.
Rewarding high-performing employees with competitive salaries and other benefits helps to keep them on the payroll. Plus, competitive salaries can increase productivity and engagement.
When setting a competitive salary, consider the cost of living in your area. At the very least, you should offer employees a living wage so that they do not feel stressed about paying rent. This way, they can focus on their job and bring their best ideas to work.
Next, analyze the salaries set by your competitors. You can reduce high turnover by matching or exceeding the salaries offered by others in your industry. If you’re a small business, focus on the living wage and then provide additional benefits to attract the top talent.
2. Prioritize Career Development and Growth 📈
Employees often cite limited opportunities for growth as another key reason for resignation. Business News Daily reports that 26% of survey respondents would leave a job if there were no career opportunities.
Offering personal development programs to improve the skills and training of employees is a valuable investment. By providing opportunities for upskilling or mentoring, employees will boost their capabilities and stick around. Make it clear during the onboarding process that your company offers growth opportunities. Later down the line, encourage employees to apply for management positions later down the line.
Saying there are opportunities is one thing, but sticking by your word is another.
94% of employees say they would stay in their role if their role if their company invested in helping them learn. As a result, giving employees a path to improve their skills and grow in their career means they will stick around much longer.
Source: LinkedIn
3. Skilled Managers 👩💼
Managers play a key role in retention, especially in organizations with several layers of management. If employees think their bosses micro-manage or have poor people skills, they are more likely to resign. Training and mentorship of managers are crucial to employee retention.
It takes money to invest in training employees, but it’s worth it. When your managers are competent and helpful, it will boost employees’ confidence in their role. As a result, they can be more productive. Plus, they will lead in your management as head of the company.
4. Broad Benefits 🎟
While salary is an important factor in retention, many employees feel more strongly connected to their employer when given benefits. These include flexible working arrangements, entertainment vouchers, or employee events.
Flexible working arrangements, such as remote work, are a key factor in employee happiness. According to Upwork’s “Future Workplace” report, over 40 million Americans will work from home by 2025. Plus, during the Great Resignation, flexible working
There are plenty of ways to reward employees. From access to mental health apps like Calm to vouchers as a reward for good work, consider what your employees enjoy. Survey them to see what kind of benefits they would prefer.
Showing your employees that you value them is an easy way to reduce turnover rates. While praise is one thing, benefits are a tangible way to express appreciation.
5. Employee Engagement 😊
Employees who are engaged and connected with their colleagues are more likely to stay in their job. Employers should develop engagement initiatives and programs to build a sense of community.
Programs could include team building, rewards, or coffee and cake mornings. Welcoming new employees into this friendly environment is a crucial part of retention.
All of your team members should feel connected and comfortable at work. This starts with a leadership example, so lead from the front by making your workplace a welcoming environment to be in.
6. Be a Leader, Not a Boss 🧠
Leading a team is about connecting hearts and minds. Paying attention to the happiness and culture of the organization or team is a powerful way to improve retention. When employees feel connected to their team and valued by their manager, they are more likely to be resourceful and efficient.
Here are three characteristics of strong leadership which employers can consider utilizing:
1️⃣ Motivation: Motivate your employees to challenge themselves and consistently strive for improvement.
2️⃣ Resilience: Show resilience during difficult times to inspire your employees, solving problems creatively to lead by example.
3️⃣ Open-mindedness: Accept opinions and suggestions from employees to show a strength of character and confidence in your team.
7. Encourage Independence 👏🏻
Empowering employees to lead can significantly improve retention. By rewarding their ideas, solutions, and problem-solving skills, you can show them that you value them.
When employees feel valued for their ideas and effort, creativity can flourish. Furthermore, employees will want to stay long-term if they feel that they have space to share their ideas. Crucially, you must listen to their ideas and implement them, giving credit where it’s due.
8. Maintain a Healthy Working Environment 🍎
The working environment plays a key role in retaining employees. Create a company culture that’s healthy and safe. Specifically, pay attention to workplace relationships and workload, preventing toxic situations that may arise.
Especially in creative industries, flexible schedules are important. Creativity cannot be controlled; sparks of inspiration may come at random times. Giving employees a chance to work on their own time can benefit the company as a whole. Offering working from home opportunities for just a day or two per week gives employees the flexibility they desire.
Furthermore, managing workload distribution can create a shared sense of responsibility. It’s vital to implement a healthy work-life balance so that your employees have time to rest. Part of this comes from distributing work evenly, so that everybody gets time off.
Keep Your Employees with Tommy 🐶
Retaining employees plays a key role in the profitability of your business. Attrition can cause issues with culture and increase the costs of hiring and training new employees.
By considering issues like compensation, career development, management skills, engagement, culture, and leadership styles, employers can improve retention and create a strong workforce. These strategies for employee retention can help you foster a positive working environment.
Tommy can help you with some of these strategies. Namely, scheduling your employee’s workload to ensure time off and breaks is something Tommy excels at. Check it out today on your quest for better retention.
- 8 Strategies to Improve Employee Retention
- Why Use Employee Retention Strategies?
- 1. Offer Competitive Salaries
- 2. Prioritize Career Development And Growth
- 3. Skilled Managers
- 4. Broad Benefits
- 5. Employee Engagement
- 6. Be A Leader, Not A Boss
- 7. Encourage Independence
- 8. Maintain A Healthy Working Environment
- Keep Your Employees With Tommy
USA 
USA 
AU 
UK 
ES 
FR 
BR 
TH 
IN 
USA 
USA 
AU 
UK 
ES 
FR 
BR 
TH 
IN