- Why Employee Retention Is Important
- Effective Employee Retention Strategies
- Implementing Employee Retention Strategies
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From small businesses to major corporations, the so-called Great Resignation is hitting companies hard. The ravages of COVID-19 mostly affected small traders and labourers. According to Statista, a record 91 million Indians lost their employment in April 2020. Over 119 million Indians lost their jobs including entrepreneurs and salaried workers. It’s creating a massive vacancy in various job fields, and mid-career employees are leading the exodus.
The result? A highly competitive jobs market in which many companies are struggling to retain employees and attract new talent. Data suggests that unlike in 2020 when resignations plummeted amid uncertainty due to the emergence of covid-19 due to drastic changes that were introduced by companies. This trend isn’t slowing down, either. In fact, recent figures show that millions of employees voluntarily quit their current jobs, given in part by the availability of positions and new opportunities opened by the shift to remote work.
The impacts of employee turnover go far beyond temporary disruptions. For one, it’s costly. Replacing an employee costs roughly one-third of their annual salary, according to the Work Institute. And the Houston Chronicle reports that, in addition to those costs, high turnover also impacts the staff that remains—and the business’s customers.
As employees watch their colleagues leave, their workloads often increase. This can lead to a downward spiral of departures and stress. Frustrated, overworked employees are less likely to perform at their peak, meaning the company’s product or service suffers, and customers have more negative interactions with the company. The ramifications are difficult to fully quantify.
Effective Employee Retention Strategies
So how can companies keep employees happy and prevent them from looking for new opportunities elsewhere? These 12 employee retention strategies at your company will put you on the right path.
- Invest In Employees’ Careers
According to LinkedIn, 94% of employees say they would stay with their company longer if it invested in their career development. In today’s economy, employees understand that they need to keep their skills sharp to remain competitive and move up the ladder.
Organizations can tap into their employees’ desire for development by providing structures like mentorship programs and investing in additional education for their employees. Online professional education courses like those Emeritus India offers help organizations reskill and upskill their employees, growing their talent base while increasing employee satisfaction.
- Focus on Managers
Have you ever heard the old line “people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses”? Well, sometimes it’s true. Fortunately, leadership skills can be trained. Companies should ensure performance reviews take management skills into account and offer training and mentorship to managers at all levels, especially if they are first-time supervisors. High-performing managers have a key role to play in driving employee engagement, and companies need to harness this to build a strong culture based on corporate values, According to the Kelly services APAC Workforce Insights survey, 64% of respondents in India said workers favour their manager’s personal values over the broader values of their organizations when it comes to quitting the job.
- Recognize Employees’ Contributions
Everyone likes to feel valued, and that’s especially true in the workplace. In a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey, 68% of HR professionals said that recognition was important for retention, yet many organizations lack formal recognition programs.
Companies should encourage managers to recognize their direct reports’ work. They can also go further to offer division- or company-wide recognition of staff who go the extra mile. During the pandemic, when many employees have been forced to manage difficult circ*mstances amid ever-changing conditions, that recognition is especially important.
- Reassess Compensation
In today’s competitive marketplace, compensation is an essential piece of any company’s retention strategy. No matter how valued an employee may feel, they are likely to look outside their current company if they feel inadequately compensated for their work. Companies that provide transparency around their pay and a clear, simple pay policy are more likely to win over employees, according to Monster.
Regular reassessment of industry compensation standards is important, as is a strategy to financially reward top performers. Spot bonuses and regular wage increases can go a long way toward making an employee feel valued.
Consider Your Benefits Package
A company’s benefits package is the most important non-salary factor they consider when assessing a job. Benefits like lower employee healthcare premiums or increased parental leave can mean the difference between staying in a role or looking for a new one.
Even before COVID-19, flexible workplaces were a major driver of retention. Companies can expect that their willingness to accommodate employees’ needs and preferences will remain a major factor in employee loyalty.
- Prioritize Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance isn’t just a buzzword. While remote work and flexible scheduling policies are important factors in creating work-life balance, they are of little use if employees simply have more work to do than they can reasonably achieve, or if the company culture expects them to check their email well after business hours.
Managers should regularly check in with employees to ensure they don’t have more on their plates than they can handle and to encourage open lines of communication about workloads. Moreover, organizations can reduce the crunch by cutting back on unnecessary meetings and administrative duties that drain time without adding significant value. Ultimately, companies should weigh the cost of adding staff against the cost of increased turnover if workloads become unsustainable.
- Create Pathways for Growth
The world of work is changing fast, and employees know they need to keep moving or risk falling behind. Yet many worry that they lack opportunities for promotion and upward mobility within their current companies. As a result, they look outside the organization for their next step.
Dedicated career pathing can help increase employee engagement and reassure employees that their future with the organization is bright. Career pathing is a process through which employees and their managers work together to identify goals and create a learning and growth action plan to achieve them.
- Improve Organizational Culture
While organizational culture may seem subjective, its impacts on retention can’t be denied. In fact, company culture is one of the key drivers of workplace satisfaction. While the building blocks of a strong culture vary somewhat from one workplace to the next, strong corporate cultures share key traits such as:
- having and carrying out clearly articulated values
- valuing and seeking out employees’ voices
- having strong commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion
- executing supportive leadership
Prioritize Hybrid and Remote Options
In the “new normal,” remote and hybrid working is increasingly seen as the norm. A majority of 64% of employees said that they are more productive and less stressed when working from home.
Since remote is the new normal, the office will become a more occasional meeting place. More than 67% of companies admit that with increased difficulties in the office environment they can’t hire people only with office-talent.
While some roles truly cannot be performed remotely, employers should work to create remote and hybrid options whenever possible. Options like requiring core “in-office days” or recurring in-office meetings can provide the collaborative benefits of a shared workplace without requiring an overly rigid approach.
- Focus on Flexibility
In addition to remote options, employees increasingly prioritize flexibility in their schedules as one of their employee retention strategies. Employees who can flex their hours to accommodate family caregiving, medical needs, or even a simple run to the bank in the middle of the day are likely to feel more in control of their workday and more able to attend to their needs. This is true even if the total number of hours worked remains the same.
Options like a compressed workweek or allowing employees to get their work done on their own schedule (outside of necessary collaboration) can drastically increase satisfaction without impacting output.
- Give Employees the Tools for Success
Dealing with IT issues or an uncomfortable workspace is never good for morale. And for employees already feeling overwhelmed with work, taking time out to deal with a computer that won’t work or dated software can be a major cause of frustration. Employers should work with employees to ensure they have the equipment and productivity tools they need to be as productive as possible. It’s especially important to ensure that remote employees also have the tools they need to work effectively.
- Support Employee Wellbeing
Between the ongoing pandemic and political and economic uncertainties, it’s no wonder that nearly half of employees worldwide report feeling burned out. While ensuring employees have appropriate workloads, clear lines of communication with management, and a positive corporate culture are the most important tools for fighting burnout, employers can also consider taking additional measures to support their employees’ physical and mental health.
Perks like wellness reimbursem*nts for gym memberships or massages, insurance coverage for therapy and mental health treatment, and even access to digital wellness or meditation platforms can all help employees feel more restored.
In today’s tight labour market, the importance of employee retention strategies can’t be overstated. Since a few employees leaving the organization can quickly lead to lost morale and unmanageable workloads, it’s essential to be proactive by implementing effective employee retention strategies such as compensation reviews, recognition programs, and opportunities for upskilling and reskilling.
Employees who feel valued and believe that their companies are invested in their success will be happier, more productive, and more loyal—a win for everyone.
Emeritus India offers a range of online learning courses. You can explore our world-renowned leadership courses to upskill yourself and learn the best leadership strategies we have curated in collaboration with top institutes globally.
