Employee retention is a significant issue for many organizations. For some reason, Employee turnover costs the U.S. economy $240 billion each year in direct costs of recruiting, hiring, and training, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other studies have shown that replacing an employee costs as much as 20% of that employee’s annual salary. It’s also been estimated that turnover can cost an organization as much as 50% of the affected employee’s annual salary should that person be difficult to replace.
Sometimes, losing top talent seems like an unavoidable and expensive part of doing business. But there’s a lot you can do to ensure that your good employees remain with your company when it’s time for them to make a life-changing career move.
To stay ahead, you’ll need to look beyond the obvious. ‘Big changes don’t always yield significant results. But small changes to your employee retention strategy can make a big difference, especially when you’re a small business.
The best practices are right in front of you: Retaining employees is easier if you focus on addressing these employee retention triggers.
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Employee Retention: What Is It And Why Is It Important In Your Business?
Employee retention rate is a metric used to measure the attrition rate of employees in a business. It is generally expressed as the percentage of employees who have been with the firm for at least 12 months.
With studies showing only one-third of workers stay with a company for more than three years, employee retention is quickly becoming one of the top challenges for businesses in the current global economy. Businesses now have a more significant obstacle in keeping valuable employees happy and engaged, especially in this era where millennials are currently making up half the workforce, and they have very different expectations about how you should model work.
Employees quit when they don’t feel they’re growing in their jobs. One way to avoid turnover is to make sure your employees know what they’re doing right, where they need to improve, and what they can do to climb the ladder. To increase employee retention rates in your business, you’ll have to develop a retention plan focused on why employees leave their jobs.
The first step in making your plan is to participate in all aspects of your employee’s life to ensure they feel connected to the organization.
Employee Retention Strategies for Job Satisfaction
Working to live versus living to work is no longer considered a cliché; this statement has become the core belief of most people in today’s society. However, communicating your company’s vision to your employees and helping them achieve job satisfaction can be a difficult, time-consuming task.
Even though you’re their manager, you can’t force anyone to be enthusiastic about their work. Here are a few effective ways to boost employee engagement and keep motivation high.
Onboarding and Orientation
Much of the discussion around onboarding tends to involve user experience or company culture. However, it would be best if you built employee onboarding around the need to ensure a great “first day.” Onboarding should be strategic, not just a touch of training here and there. An onboarding program needs to include key components like:
- A welcome presentation
- Encouraging participation by training facilitators,
- A virtual guide so associates can search for information
- An orientation manual.
Getting this first step right and initiating a smooth onboarding process might be all you need to retain a talented employee.
Positive Working Environment
Much of the discussion around onboarding tends to involve user experience or company culture. However, it would be best if you built employee onboarding around the need to ensure a great “first day.” Onboarding should be strategic, not just a touch of training here and there. An onboarding program needs to include key components like:
- A welcome presentation
- Encouraging participation by training facilitators,
- A virtual guide so associates can search for information
- An orientation manual.
Getting this first step right and initiating a smooth onboarding process might be all you need to retain a talented employee.
Recognition and Award System
For small businesses and organizations to achieve their goals, a strong culture of productivity and recognition is essential. A well-designed reward and recognition program can be a valuable tool to instill a culture of success where achievement is rewarded and fairly distributed.
Businesses implementing such programs have reported immediate increases in teamwork and productivity, resulting in a strong sense of community and connection. It tends to improve morale and align with having a happy, healthy, and productive workforce.
Good Conflict Resolution
Conflict happens in every workplace, and too often, it goes unresolved. Workplace conflicts can take the shape of personality conflicts, communication or process failures, or issues that deal with race, maturity level, or gender. However, conflicts are predictable and reasonably easy to understand.
The difficulty is leading an employee to a solution rather than resolving yourself. Hastily resolving conflicts in the workplace never works; it causes bad blood between co-workers. To retain top talents, it’s essential that you develop skills to resolve conflict.
Improve Employment Engagement Strategy
Employee engagement has become a buzzword in the business world as organizations of all kinds realize that their success and the success of their employees are increasingly intertwined.
Whether you’re leading a team, department, or organization, you’re more than likely familiar with the consistent employee engagement results showing that two-thirds of employees are disengaged at work. You may not be aware that your ability to impact your employees’ work culture directly will lead to the ultimate decision of whether or not someone chooses to be a part of your team.
Promote Workspace Flexibility
When you offer employees flexible work options and work-life balance initiatives, you increase their level of engagement. Research from Harvard Business School shows that flexible work options can positively impact employees’ work-related engagement, satisfaction, and psychological well-being.
Set Minimum Standards for Employee
According to the Harvard Business Review, clear-cut guidelines help persuade workers that your company is committed to an upward career track—and it may convince the top talent you want to keep to stay on board.
Health Benefits for Employees
In today’s economy of healthcare reform and job uncertainty, offering health insurance to employees is increasingly viewed as a brilliant idea. Employers have realized that keeping their workers healthy – both mentally and physically – is a great way to increase productivity, quality of services, reduce stress and promote employee retention.
Regular Team Bonding Activities
A successful team is the backbone of any organization. Business owners and managers must ensure that their teams are operating at peak efficiency to increase morale, productivity, and overall performance. Make your workplace more productive, efficient, and motivated with a Team Building activity. Inspire and encourage each other to do more by creating a collective spirit.
Companies can essentially counteract the effects of an aging workforce and increase their ability to maintain profitability over time with the right employee retention strategies.
