Money isn’t everything when it comes to employee retention. In addition to offering a fair salary, there are other things you can do to keep your best employees – and keep them from going to your competitors. Every organization faces the challenge of employee retention. Finding a suitable replacement for any role is not only time-consuming, but it can also cost the organization a lot. At any given time, 51% of employees are actively looking for a new job.
Developing a successful employee retention strategy, however, is not always easy. Employee retention is dependent on a number of factors, such as recognition, organizational culture, and growth opportunities. Here are employee retention ideas that have been tried, tested, and are sure to work with a view to helping you build a great retention program.
Provide Flexible-Hour Alternatives
It was revealed in a Gallup Organization study that the majority of American workers find flexible hours important to their job. Two-thirds of workers reject promotions that would require them to spend less time with their families, while those seeking flexible hours believe they should be considered.
Let Certain Employees Work From Home
Research shows that working from home can increase productivity by as much as 40 percent. It seems that when employees are based out of the house they work at their peak times with fewer interruptions and distractions, have more freedom from peer pressures and productivity norms, spend less time and energy dealing with the hassle of commuting and miss fewer workdays.
Tablets, smartphones, and video chatting tools can be used virtually anywhere, and at a reasonable price.
Invest in Employee Learning & Development
The challenge is not just in hiring the right employees, but in keeping them. It is probably one of the worst ways to lose talent due to lack of learning opportunities. In other words, these are the people who are curious – curious about learning new technologies, techniques, processes, etc. – and curious individuals often make the best employees. Generally, these are employees who are eager to tackle new challenges and come up with creative solutions.
Keeping employees motivated and equipped with the latest trends and technologies in the market is the key to preventing them from leaving. A LinkedIn study found 94% of employees are likely to stay with a company if it invests in their professional development. By allocating special funds for online courses, providing tuition reimbursement whenever possible, and attending industry events, webinars, and conferences, employers can invest in employees’ professional growth.
Encourage Physical Fitness
A corporation’s worst enemies are high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Keeping your employees healthy should be a top priority. Businesses often pay for their employees’ health club memberships, offer rewards for quitting smoking, and hold aerobic classes during work hours. Taking part in wellness programs and creating new incentives has drastically changed the business landscape, making wellness a good investment for corporations and their employees.
Encourage Workplace Socialization
The majority of our time is spent at work/working, rather than with our families. Developing strong workplace friendships wouldn’t you say assists in building an organization that is strong, connected, and happy? Friendships at work make coming to work more enjoyable and enjoyable. Gallup reports that people who have a “best friend at work” are 7 times more likely to be engaged at work.
The concept of workplace socialization goes far beyond an evening drink with a colleague or an odd team building event. Compassion and meaningful bonds with coworkers can go a long way in creating a happy, satisfied workforce. Provide your employees with multiple ways to connect – through company events and celebrations, or through powerful communication platforms. Socialization at work plays a key role in employee retention.
Establish Strong Communication
As with a good game of tennis, great communication requires great volleys. The communication process is not the same as it was decades ago, when the management would send out memos or post announcements on notice boards without allowing employees to share their ideas.
During today’s fast-paced world, employees expect to be updated on every development in the company, as well as voice their opinions. The most innovative and successful companies don’t wait until they see disengaged workers with low productivity; they invest in a technology platform that connects employees – no matter where they are, where they are located, or what devices they are using.
Having a digital communication and collaboration platform such as an intranet allows you to experiment with new ways of communicating, such as quick messages from management, brief conversations between managers and team members, or HR announcements or opinion polls. Leaders can use these platforms to stay in touch with all employees, and employees can also communicate their views, ideas, questions, and concerns. As a result, it sends the powerful message that the voice of the employee is crucial to the organization’s success – thus increasing engagement and retention.
Recognize and Reward Regularly
No one dislikes being told how well they have done. Everyone appreciates appreciation! It is for this reason that rewards and recognitions have a large impact on how motivated and engaged employees are – which in turn affects how long they stay with the company. As a result, employees feel that their work is valued and respected by the organization. On top of that, it helps employees find focus and purpose in their day-to-day activities. Research by Bersin & Associates showed that companies with highly effective recognition programs have 31% fewer voluntary turnovers.
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You should always thank your teammates when they go above and beyond, whether it is a simple “thank you” or “kudos” at the weekly meeting, an award at the annual gala, or a gift voucher to show your appreciation. Social recognition is said to be the most powerful form of recognition. An employee of the month recognition or team recognition, birthdays or work anniversaries, and announcements on social intranet platforms not only bring employees together to celebrate but also improve employee morale.
Structured rewards and recognition programs also help to align and reinforce an organization’s values and beliefs. Recognition and rewards within the organization reflect the true culture and values of the organization. Many organizations that are successful also invest in and value the ideas and innovations of their employees. It is also possible to send out wishes to employees on special occasions, such as birthdays, work anniversaries, etc., by investing in a formal platform.
Seek Employee Feedback & Act on it
As a supervisor, you need to be aware of what challenges employees are facing, how exactly employees feel about the work environment, if they need any specific support, etc., since it is extremely hard to retain employees when you have no idea or you are too late in understanding these important factors. The outdated yearly or half-yearly feedbacks are no longer useful – especially with today’s generation – where in addition To be able to voice their opinion instantly, they expect quick responses to their feedback.
A regular feedback process (weekly/monthly) and surveys are the best way to address this problem. Feedback from employees can prove to be an extremely powerful tool in boosting engagement and morale. The empowerment of employees is enhanced by encouraging them to share their ideas, thoughts, and views about the various events within the team or organization.
It can be extremely useful to conduct surveys periodically in order to monitor the pulse of the organization or to get input on specific areas of operation. As part of a lifecycle survey, you can also measure ‘Moments that Matter’ across different stages, such as onboarding, role changes, and celebrating an anniversary.
Value Employee Health and Wellbeing
Few workers are willing to tolerate long working hours and unhealthy work conditions as organizations across the globe emphasize health and wellbeing of employees. Further, research has shown that stressed, overwhelmed, and overworked employees tend to get sick more frequently.
In the long run, overloading employees with work can lead to productivity loss, low morale, and higher turnover.
Conclusion
The challenge of turnover and retention affects every business at some point. It is for this reason that human resource professionals have reported that employee retention is among their biggest challenges. In today’s job market, employees look for more than just monetary benefits. Paying more is no longer a solution to retaining employees.
As a result, it is of utmost importance to have a solid retention strategy in place that not only engages and motivates your employees, but also aligns with your organization’s mission and goals.