10 Strategies to Improve Employee Retention

Having a strong workforce, especially with employees who are content with their team, position, and earnings, is crucial for a robust business. Retaining these employees relies on their current job satisfaction and understanding why they might consider looking for a new opportunity. According to Rober Half’s Job Optimism Survey, which evaluated more than 2,500 professionals, 46% of respondents were looking or planning on looking for a new role in the first half of 2023.

Why Are Workers Leaving?

Exit interviews are a great resource to gain insight into the perspectives of your employees and the aspects of your business that are either working or need improvement.

Typically, employees give the following reasons for leaving:

• Inadequate salary (According to Robert Half, 61% of workers reported that a salary boost was their main reason for leaving)
• A perks and benefits package that isn’t competitive
• Feeling overworked and/or undersupported
• Limited career advancement
• A need for better work-life balance
• Lack of recognition
• Boredom
• Unhappiness with management
• Concerns about the company’s direction or financial health
• Dissatisfaction with the company culture
• The desire to make a change
• More compelling job opportunities at other companies

However, all of these reasons are both avoidable and modifiable. It’s essential to listen to your employees and review with them to ensure they are happy in their position. Plus, fostering open communication with your team and ensuring that they have a voice for change in their company can go a long way.

10 Ways to Boost Employee Retention

1. Onboarding and Orientation

There’s nothing scarier than being in open waters with no direction on where to go. Giving employees a clear understanding of their position and setting them up for success is fundamental. When onboarding, teach them about their duties and include the company culture and how they can contribute and thrive within it. Providing support from day one, whether in person or online, can help set the path for the employee’s entire tenure at your company.

2. Training and Development

Training is an essential part of the onboarding process and throughout an employee’s tenure with your company. This can include courses from compliance training, such as harassment training or mandated reporter training, to position-specific classes. A learning management system (LMS) can help you implement that training effectively. In addition to delivering information in an easy-to-absorb manner, you can also track your employees' progress easily to ensure they’re on the right track.

3. Mentorship Programs

Pairing employees with a mentor is a great way to extend your onboarding process and support new team members throughout it, especially in an online environment. Mentors help introduce and welcome new hires to the company, offer guidance, and answer questions. This doesn’t just apply to onboarding, however. Overall, employee retention can benefit from mentor-mentee relationships.

4. Employee Compensation

Offering competitive compensation by regularly evaluating and adjusting your team’s salaries can also boost retention. Even if it might not be the appropriate time to increase pay, there are other ways to provide compensation, such as re-evaluating the benefits your company offers. For example, expanding health care offerings or retirement contributions can also help to increase employee retention and satisfaction.

5. Perks

Many companies are focusing on perks to stand out from other companies. Ronstad’s Workmonitor Pulse Survey, which gauged the sentiments of more than 7,500 workers in five markets around the world, found that two-fifths of blue-collar workers (42%) and close to half of gray-collar workers (48%) consider job flexibility as or more important than pay, a portion nearly as high as white-collar counterparts (54%).

6. Wellness Offerings

In addition to perks, keeping your employees healthy both physically and mentally can help out a lot as well. According to a study conducted by Zippia, 52% of U.S. companies offered wellness programs, and 72% of employers saw a reduction in healthcare costs after implementing a wellness program. Not only can this help your company reduce costs, but it can also help improve employee acquisition, with 87% of employees considering health and wellness when looking for a new job.

7. Communication

Having clear and transparent communication with your employees makes them feel more confident in their position. Plus, it’s more likely that they will be open to coming to you with more ideas, questions, or concerns they may have. As a leader, ensuring you have a comprehensive view of how your company is running is crucial. Consistent and scheduled reviews with each employee can help address anything that may become an issue for you or the team.

8. Feedback

Annual feedback reviews have become a thing of the past, with only 1 in 4 North American companies reporting that they were effective, according to SHRM. Most companies are opting for more frequent meetings with team members where they discuss short and long-term professional goals, deliver constructive feedback, and help visualize their future within the company.

9. Recognition and Reward Systems

Every employee should feel appreciated and recognized for the work they do, and sometimes simple thanks also go a long way. During reviews or outside of them, explaining how their hard work helps the organization will help them feel integral to the team and that they’re making a difference. Many companies set up formal rewards programs that incentivize great ideas and innovation.

10. Work-Life Balance

A healthy work-life balance not only helps with job satisfaction but can also reduce the stress that work can put on employees. Maintaining a balance between work and life can be challenging, especially when working from home. Encouraging employees to take time for themselves and use vacation time when needed can help solve this. If some employees stay late to finish projects, consider giving them extra time off to compensate.

As you implement new employee retention strategies, reevaluate your efforts regularly. Some employees will leave your company sooner than you may like, but by practicing these strategies, you can make their decision to go more challenging. Plus, if they feel valued, supported, and heard, they will pass on the good word about your organization and inspire others to take their position. Happy hiring!