How To Improve Employee Retention - 6 Actionable Strategies

Post-Covid Retention

The recent covid pandemic has shifted office culture drastically. It has shown remote working and flexible office schedules are very much possible and effective for many cases. Moreover, most employees are not ready to give up this freedom.

Additionally, many employees have seen employers doubt their employees with unsupervised work schedules. Also, some employers were less than cooperative during those difficult times. So when these employers call for post-covid economic recovery, many employees choose to find new jobs with trusting leaders over doubtful bosses.

High employee turnover is unwelcome for any workplace. After the pandemic, companies cannot afford such turnover. So, companies should strategize how they can reduce employee turnover and retain employees. 

Companies should offer flexibility to employees to reduce employee turnover. It can either be workplace flexibility or work schedule flexibility. A hybrid workplace is a great idea to implement for retaining existing employees.

Keep tabs on your top-performing employees as they will be harder to replace once they quit their job. Make sure they are getting enough growth opportunities and appreciation for their work.

Implementing 6 Actionable Strategies to Improve Employee Retention

1. Figuring out Why Employees are Leaving

If your company is experiencing a high turnover rate, some issues with your company policy and office culture must be addressed. No matter who quits from their job, the company should investigate the reasons behind quitting. It is the first step for building a better workplace culture.

Asking the employees about why they are leaving is the quickest way to determine the reasons behind employee turnover. Despite the uncomfortable situation, that employee is leaving your company. So, not asking them about the reasons they are quitting is a missed opportunity.

Ask leaving employees for their honest feedback. Also, get feedback from your existing employees, especially from those who worked closely with the departing employees. It can either be their manager, teammates, or the friends they made in their workplaces.

Other than that, review any recent employee turnover to see if there is a pattern. Find out what incidents trigger their turnover. Also, keep track of where your employees are going to work after they quit. What do those companies offer that you lack? After taking this feedback,  reform your office culture to make your employees stay and attract new talents.

2. Figure out Each Employee’s Appreciation Criteria

High salary and attractive benefits are not always enough to keep your employees satisfied. Around 60% of employees now value being appreciated by their managers. Recognition and appreciation play a crucial role in employee retention and satisfaction. 

Appreciation gives employees a sense of safety and security which compensation cannot ensure often. It also allows your employees to get engaged and be loyal to the company. 

However, as a manager, you will need to tailor this appreciation according to the employee’s individual needs. Without properly expressing appreciation for your employees, it will not be effective, and you cannot reduce the employee turnover rate.

Figure out what kind of appreciation your employees crave. Then fashion your recognition program according to your employees’ desires and your company goals. It will be very effective in increasing employee retention.

3. Retention Starts at the Time of Hiring

It is known to most employers that recruitment and retention in the workplace are correlated. One cannot discuss one without the other. For the best results, companies need to hire the right people and hold onto them.

Losing an employee can cost an organization 33% to 200% of that person’s annual salary. Additionally, training new employees, paying for talent search, onboarding process, the lost time between hiring new employees and settling them in their respective roles only adds to the cost.

The longer employees stay within your company, the more invested they get in upholding office culture and with their colleagues. This increases their productivity and becomes indispensable. 

Proper onboarding of your employees is crucial for any company. As per Harvard Business Review, an employee needs eight months to reach their peak productivity. For optimum results, onboarding should last at least one year with frequent feedback and check-ins.

Offering flexibility is another important aspect of increasing employee retention. It can bring a significant difference to your competitors and your company. This should be established as a policy for your organization for all employees.

Other than that, supporting the interest of your existing employees should be a general practice. You start building trust with your employees when you start recruiting them. Keep up this practice throughout their office career to build support and keep them committed to your organization.

4. Improve Job Satisfaction

Employee dissatisfaction is the underlying reason for most employee turnovers. Employees tend to stay with the company when it focuses on ways to satisfy employees. It also helps in maintaining a motivated and stable workplace.

For improving employee satisfaction, you will need to set clear expectations and recognize their good work. Also, good communication between employees and employers goes a long way in increasing employee satisfaction. 

Companies that care about the well-being of their employees can keep the employees satisfied and engaged. Also, giving employees the opportunity to learn and utilize their potential keeps them committed to the organization and reduces employee turnover rate.

5. Educate and Train Employees Regularly

Educating and training employees to reach their full potential in their respective fields are very helpful in reducing employee turnover. A 2019 report has shown, 90% of employees agree or strongly agree that training and development programs can improve their job performance. 

Whenever employees are offered job security and substantial potential for growth, they are willing to stay with the company rather than changing jobs often. Offering employees training and education is a way for the company to fulfill those promises.

The most available training programs for employees are the following:

• Management training
• New employee training
• Monitoring program
• Sales training
• Apprenticeships

Other than these, most modern workplaces offer specialized training for employees to excel at their job. Companies can offer in-person or online training programs for their employees. They can deliver this training through in-house experts or bring in a third party.

6. Evaluate Remote Working Capabilities

Remote working has become a global phenomenon right now. Previously, many organizations were skeptical of this strategy. However, during the COVID pandemic, it has proved its efficiency. Many workplaces are now transforming into “hybrid workplaces” and giving employees opportunities to work remotely.

Remote work allows employees to have a better work-life balance. With remote working facilities, employees can now work from any convenient place they want. It has improved their productivity significantly as well.

Employees with children or leave far from their workplaces can now perform their domestic tasks before starting to work for their organization. Many organizations are now offering their employees certain days in a week to work from home. Therefore, the hybrid workplace has become very popular.

Remote workplaces give employees enough flexibility to shuffle their work and social life. As a result, companies offering remote working facilities have an improved staff retention rate.

Invested Employees are Assets to the Company

Employees are the primary workforce of an organization. Their work keeps the company afloat. However, for optimum success and growth, a company needs to keep its employees engaged.

Better employee engagement increases efficiency in the workplace. As the employees work simultaneously for the betterment of the company, mishaps and loss of resources are significantly reduced.

Additionally, your employees are the face of your company. If you lose an employee, you are losing several clients that your previous employee used to handle. Therefore, to improve the retention rate, you will need to invest in employee engagement.

Offering financial and health benefits, community outreach, travel, and training opportunities can significantly improve employee engagement. The more your employees are engaged with your organization, the less employee turnover you can expect.

Takeaway

It is evident from the above discussion that no organization cannot afford a high employee turnover rate. The more turnover rate a company experiences, the less progress it can make. So, every company should implicate appropriate strategies to retain employees.

All the strategies mentioned above work flawlessly to improve employee retention. However, implementing all these strategies at once may seem overwhelming at times.

In such cases, you can easily take the aid of online recognition platforms. These platforms gather data from your organization and can detect possible lackings and reasons for employee turnover. Thus, you can take necessary measures to reduce turnovers and improve the retention rate.