Did you know that every time an employee leaves, it costs 20% of their salary to replace them? If you have a large organization with employees leaving constantly, that can put a big dent in your bottom line.
Every year, 3 million employees leave their jobs in search of something better. Think about the money spent to replace those employees every year.
Employee retention strategies are necessary to retain good employees. Not only will you keep your best and brightest workers, you’ll also save your company money because you won’t constantly be searching for new hires. Keep reading for 8 retention strategies to incorporate in 2019.
Why is Retention Important?
Employee retention isn’t just important because it saves your firm or company money. High turnover also results in loss of institutional knowledge. A veteran employee knows the internal politics and policies of your organization.
He or she is well-versed in how to work with managers, peers, and others. A new employee has to learn all of this before they can be fully immersed in the organization.
Even if the new candidate has plenty of experience, he or she still needs a few months to really hit their optimal levels of productivity as they have to work to learn the culture and expectations of the company.
High levels of turnover also impact morale. If there are constantly new employees, loyalty to the company is lessened. Employees who job hop often fail to really engage with the company and are loyal only to their own professional success.
Employee Retention Strategies
As an employer, you need to worry about your bottom line but also intangible things, like loyalty, employee morale, and productivity. Failure to retain employees is costly.
The good news is that there are things employers can do to retain good employees to lessen those costs.
1. Compensation Must Be Competitive
Salary is not always the problem, despite what many people think. Employees leave jobs when the salary is not competitive and neither are the benefits. If they are not offered affordable health care, strong retirement plans, and other benefits, employees are more likely to seek out other jobs.
If you can’t afford a higher salary, think about how you can sweeten the benefits package. Offering professional development, more vacation time, a generous maternity and paternity leave policy, bereavement leave, and even pet insurance might entice good employees to stay.
2. Invest in Employee Professional Development
Employees want the opportunity to learn new skills, get new experiences, and increase their professional opportunities. Sending employees to conferences or workshops, providing reimbursement for tuition to get a college or graduate degree, or providing a mentorship program are all options.
Doing these things can go a long way in signaling to your employees that you are dedicated to their career growth. You should also try to promote from within as much as possible.
3. Hire the Right Person
Why would you want to spend the time and money to hire someone who is a bad fit and will likely leave your company or organization within a year? Taking the time to hire the right person right off the bat is much more beneficial for you and your employee.
Be clear about the expectations and responsibilities of the job from the beginning. Make sure potential employees have all the information so they can make an informed decision. Once you have hired them, providing a thorough and effective onboarding process can also help with retention. You want to start off on the right path from day one.
4. Remember: People Don’t Quit Jobs, They Quit Managers
It is often true that employees leave as a result of their manager or direct supervisor. The relationship between an employee and their manager is directly related to their level of job satisfaction. Management training is necessary to ensure that they are not pushing good employees away.
5. Identify and Repair Employee Pain Points
Figure out what your employee pain points are. You can do a formal or informal survey, have conversations, or keep up with the pulse of the organization through your managers. Once you figure out what the pain point is, fix it.
Money might fix the pain point, but it’s not the only thing to alleviate employee pain. Organizational changes might have created pain, even unintentionally. Something that upper management thinks is a good idea or policy might play out negatively among line staff.
6. Make Work-Life Balance a Priority
Work-life balance shouldn’t just be a myth. Giving ample sick time, family leave, and allowing employees to work remotely or have flexible work schedules can promote this.
Understanding that employees have families and obligations outside of work is necessary to really encourage this balance. Your managers should be in tune to this as well. They should be looking out for employees and encouraging (or forcing) employees to unplug and focus on their well-being when that balance is absent.
7. Encourage Open Communication
Giving employees the opportunity to voice any concerns or grievances they have, without fear of repercussions, is a small thing that can go a long way. If an employee has a problem that they feel they can’t discuss or address, they may look for a new job.
An open door is necessary to allow employees to share their concerns. Once they share their concerns, you should also reassure them that you will work to address their issues as best as you can.
8. Identify Why Employees Stay
Most employers conduct exit interviews, but do you know why your employees actually stay? Getting insight from your employees as to what is keeping them with your organization. If you know what keeps them there, you can make sure to keep those policies intact.
The Bottom Line
Employee retention strategies don’t have to cost a lot. Some simple changes to company policies, manager training, and benefits could go a long way to increase the number of employees who stay with your organization.
Our firm can help you and your employees with wealth management, investments, and retirement planning. Contact us today to see how we can serve you.
This material was prepared by an independent third party.
2019-83127 Exp 7/21
