How To Improve Employee Retention
Do your employees stick around? Keep in mind that it can be harder to keep employees than to hire them, at times. However, employees are an expensive (and valuable) investment in your company’s future.
To build a successful business, you need to hire the right people and keep them for a long time.
The Importance of Employee Retention
Companies in the United States spend $1 trillion annually on turnover. It’s true. This is one trillion dollars’ worth of reasons why companies should prioritize employee retention.
Why is the price so high? There are multiple costs associated with an employee’s departure from a company, including:
- The cost of replacing an employee (including recruiting and onboarding new employees)
- Those left behind have a lower morale
- Reduced productivity during onboarding and hiring
- Loss of company expertise and knowledge
Replacement of an employee can cost as much as half to twice the employee’s annual salary. Those companies that retain their employees longer, however, enjoy benefits beyond the cost of hiring and training.
Retention of employees results in:
- Improved customer experiences
- Consistency and momentum throughout the organization and across teams
- Engaged employees due to a strong company culture
The right talent can more easily be attracted when turnover is low and engagement is high. Taking care of your employees, and finding ways to boost retention and engagement, is in your company’s best interest.
Retention Strategies for Employees
What are the best ways to reduce employee turnover? There is no single solution. To build employee engagement and boost retention gradually, you will need a multi-faceted approach. Consider these five strategies for getting started.
Make sure the right people are hired.
The recruiting and training costs are significant for just a few months of work. Because of this, companies need to invest in hiring the right people from the beginning. You should be clear about your expectations and pay attention to possible differences in skill sets and responsibilities.
Provide an optimal onboarding experience.
After you are confident you have found the right employee, the onboarding and training process begins. Onboarding is about much more than signing contracts, taking tours of the offices, and setting up new employees’ desks.
In order to ensure high employee retention, your onboarding process should probably last at least one year.
Several goals should be addressed during the onboarding process:
- Ensure there is a positive first impression.
- Be clear about what is expected of employees and their future with the company.
- Provide an overview of what to expect the first week.
- Build relationships with new hires and help them blend into the team.
- New hires should have structured opportunities to offer feedback regarding their job, company processes, and company culture.
- Plan for the long-term development and future of new hires at the company.
Embrace a culture of feedback and recognition.
A feeling of value and appreciation is important to employees. By creating a culture of feedback and employee recognition, employees will feel more valued and will be less inclined to look to other sources of validation.
There are several ways you can integrate recognition and feedback into the culture of your company:
- Practice continuous listening – use annual and pulse surveys to get feedback from employees.
- Hold regular one-on-ones with your employees – discuss career development, offer feedback, and review performance regularly.
- Create an employee recognition program – increase your company’s culture of recognition by appreciating each other, publicly praising managers, and acknowledging employees with awards or shout-outs.
Invest in developing your employees.
The employees of your company want to know that they have a future with you. They’ll look elsewhere if they don’t see it.
It is imperative for businesses to invest in employee development to engage and retain top talent.
- When possible, give priority to internal promotions and hires
- Mentorship and coaching opportunities should be provided
- Be sure to discuss long-term goals and employee development with your employees on a regular basis
Your employees need to understand your expectations for their development so you can communicate with them. Where would they like to be in five years? Would they like to gain new skills or experience? Provide them with information about the resources available to them, such as training programs, mentorship programs, and educational support.
Take advantage of exit survey insights.
There will always be some employee turnover. You can gain valuable insights from employees leaving regardless of whether you have a high turnover rate or low turnover rate.
Your soon-to-be ex-employees can provide valuable feedback about their reasons for leaving and suggestions for improving your organization through exit surveys. It might surprise you what you discover.
It’s not easy to attract and retain top talent. The cost of one is definitely greater than the cost of the other. Learn how to increase employee retention with Quantum Workplace.