Employee retention describes the ongoing task of keeping employees on staff and reducing “churn”. Though recruiting exceptional talent is important, it won’t be an effective use of resources without a solid retention strategy.
What is an employee retention strategy?
A retention strategy is a plan organizations create and implement to reduce employee turnover, keep retention rates high, and build upon employee engagement. Churn is often inevitable, but a retention strategy can save organizations time, money, and other resources, especially considering that it’s often less expensive to train and promote existing talent than to continuously hire new people.
What are the benefits of employee retention?
Better workplace culture
Employee retention can improve the business’s workplace culture. When employers show they value their employees enough to help them grow and be successful, workers are happier, more productive, and often more loyal to the organization.
Contributes to company’s bottom line
A healthy workplace culture can improve the company’s bottom line. When employees are happier, they may experience less work-related stress, which can lead to employees needing to take extra sick days or delay projects.
Protect the business’s reputation
When a business experiences a lot of employee churn, candidates may feel less inclined to apply for positions. Conversely, a business with strong employee retention can signify to professionals that it’s a great place to work.
How can companies boost employee retention?
Improving employee retention won’t look the same for every company, but there are several areas businesses can address to keep employees on board:
- Healthy work-life balance
- More job satisfaction (professional learning opportunities, promotions, relevant projects, etc.)
- Work flexibility
- Strong company culture
- Competitive or above average pay
- Defined career paths
- Benefits such as dental insurance, gym membership, meal compensation, etc.
Employers looking to retain talent will also want to focus on making sure employees feel valued, hire management who are aligned with the organization’s values, keep company activities transparent, and prevent burnout.
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