Top 10 employee retention strategies

Most companies want to retain their employees, but they don't always know how to do it. Often, the idea of retaining staff is simply a matter of making sure that your employees are happy, but there's more to it than that. 

A comprehensive retention strategy will include employee engagement, training opportunities, and clear career paths so that your employees know where they're headed in their careers with your company. If you can keep these things in mind and implement them into your business operations then you'll see a huge improvement in your employee retention rates!

Asking employees why they are leaving can provide you with valuable insights into their motivations, which in turn can help you assess whether there are issues that you can address to reduce turnover and retain your top talent. 

Poor pay and benefits (including retirement plans) are among the most common reasons for employee turnover, even though this is an issue that’s more easily addressed than other types of employee attrition. 

Dead-end job opportunities are another big motivator for leaving a job; it's important that a candidate being interviewed understands exactly how far they could advance within your organization before accepting an offer.

Other common reasons for employees to leave a company are among the following:

• Lack of flexibility (remote work, WFH etc.)

• Lack of employer branding 

• Bad onboarding experience 

• Poor communication

• Lack of diversity

• Burnout

• No physical or mental health perks

• No connection with management or colleagues

• Lack or dislike of company culture

Employee retention is the process of keeping good employees by showing them that the company cares about them and their well-being. The cost of turnover in terms of time, money, and productivity can be immense—especially for small businesses. 

A recent article by PeopleKeep suggests that the average cost of losing an employee can be thousands of dollars. In fact, some studies predict that replacing an employee can cost 6 to 9 months of their salary, depending on their role and wage. That's a huge amount! Companies also lose revenue when they have to hire new people and retrain them - not to mention the fact that they might not be as good as the old one.

So what can you do to avoid this? The first step is making sure that you hire people who are a good fit for your company. This means not only ensuring that they have the right skills and experience but also making sure that they share your core values. Once you've made that decision, it's time to make them feel valued as an employee.

Retaining top talent is crucial for your company's success. That's because it's not just about you; keeping great employees can improve your bottom line, company culture, reputation, ability to attract new talent, and morale.

When people leave your team without notice or warning because they were dissatisfied with something about your business—whether it's pay, management style, or benefits—it creates a negative perception among other employees.

Employee retention is also important to your bottom line. On average, a company will spend 6 to 12 months training its new hires before they hit the ground running. In addition, turnover costs can be extremely high, which can be especially detrimental to small companies and startups. 

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to employee retention is that no two companies are exactly alike. Every company is different, with its own unique culture and vision, so there's no one-size-fits-all solution. 

However, there are some general best practices for retaining top talent.

1. Have a good employer brand

Your employees want to work at a place they can be proud of, and they want other people to respect you as an employer. This is why it’s important that you put effort into building and maintaining your employer brand – it will help keep your employees engaged, committed and happy with working for you.

2. Create a culture that people want to be part of

Being able to attract talent is great, but getting them past the interview stage is only half the battle! You need to make sure that once people join your company they feel valued, appreciated, and supported in order for them to stay long-term.

If there are problems or issues within the workplace culture then these should be addressed immediately – otherwise this could lead down an irreversible path towards employee disengagement which ultimately results in high turnover rates.

3. Create opportunities for employees to develop

One of the biggest reasons why people stay with an employer is because they are able to grow and develop within their role. By giving your employees an opportunity to learn more about their job and industry as well as providing them with training courses, mentorship opportunities, or even self-development books, you will help keep them engaged in their work which will ultimately reduce turnover rates.

4. Provide a flexible work environment

A flexible work environment can be beneficial to both the employee and employer. Employees feel more fulfilled at work when they have control over their schedule. Employers benefit from this as well, because employees are more likely to be productive and happy in their roles. Offer flex-time options such as work from home, hybrid models, or a fully remote work environment.

5. Offer compelling perks and benefits 

Perks and benefits are a great way to show your employees that you value them. They can be offered in a variety of ways, such as:

• Individualized perks, like flexible work hours or a more relaxed dress code

• Group activities, like company picnics or social outings

• Paid time off, health insurance, and profit sharing plans

• Training offers and paid education

• Mental health support 

• Physical well-being offers such as gym memberships 

• Discounted memberships and loyalty programs 

• Sabbaticals 

• etc.

6. Show appreciation and provide valuable feedback

Employee appreciation is also a great way to show your employees that they’re valued members of your team. The best way to do this is by giving them positive feedback on the work they do and how it impacts the company as a whole, as well as ways they can improve in order to reach their full potential.

7. Offer a competitive salary package

It's very important to offer a competitive salary package. You can't expect your best employees to stick around if you're paying them significantly less than their peers at other companies. Make sure you're paying them enough to make them feel valued, and to be competitive within your industry. 

8. Develop a comprehensive onboarding strategy

Onboarding is an important element of employee retention because it helps to ensure that new hires feel welcome and appreciated by the company they work for.

The first step in developing a comprehensive onboarding strategy is to define what onboarding means. Onboarding is the process by which new employees become familiar with their new working environment, the organization, and its culture—which includes getting to know other team members and managers.

During this initial period, employers should make sure that all new employees receive:

• A training plan for learning about specific job duties as well as other aspects of their role within the organization;

• An explanation of benefits packages available to them;

• Information about company policies and procedures; and

• Guidance on how best to communicate effectively with colleagues on different teams or departments within an organization

9. Conduct regular check ins and reviews

One of the best ways to keep employees happy and engaged is to ensure that they are meeting their goals. This is why it's important to conduct regular check-ins, which can happen in intervals of one week or less, depending on your company's size. Make sure you're listening closely when they speak with you during these meetings; if they seem dissatisfied with the work environment or feel like they're not being challenged enough, it's likely that this will lead them to leave your firm for greener pastures.

For managers looking for ways to improve employee retention rates within their departments: consider implementing regular performance reviews as part of your company's annual review process. By conducting reviews every six months instead of once per year (and making sure that each one is evaluated by multiple people), managers can ensure that their employees receive feedback about how well they've done on projects over time instead of just at a year’s end.

10. Emphasise work-life-balance

One of the most effective ways to retain your employees is by giving them the tools they need to balance their work and home life. If you're looking for ways to help your employees achieve this, consider implementing policies like flexible work hours, telecommuting options, predictable schedules, and paid time off for vacation. These items should be available no matter what position an employee holds in the company.

But don't stop there! Work-life balance also includes parental leave benefits. Parents should have access to maternity or paternity leave without fear or judgement from their employers so they can do what's best for themselves and their families when it comes time to welcome new members into the world.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve found this list of employee retention strategies helpful. If you don’t already have a plan in place, we encourage you to start with one of our suggestions as soon as possible. Remember that there are many factors that go into retaining employees and each strategy will work differently for different people. The best thing is to experiment with different approaches until one sticks!