Employee Retention Strategy Basics

High turnover is expensive. According to a study from the Center for American Progress, the typical cost of employee turnover in a position paying $30,000 or less is about 16% of the employee’s salary. Turnover in higher paid positions costs substantially more. Companies with high turnover suffer unnecessary losses; managing employee retention can benefit companies financially as well as in other ways.

Start With a Plan

Meet with your management team to develop a cohesive employee retention plan. Include managers from all areas of the company to solicit input and ensure that you have their buy-in. Put the plan in writing and review it regularly with management to track progress. Schedule periodic evaluations of the plan and make changes as needed.

Hire the Best

Ensure that you have a plan in place to attract the best candidates to your organization and hire candidates who display exceptional levels of integrity, stability and honesty. Consider the work history of each candidate, including position longevity. When hiring someone who has moved frequently from one position to another, make sure you dig into the reasons for the changes.

Develop an Onboarding Program

Start your employees off right from the very beginning. Develop an onboarding program that orients your employees to your company culture and values. Include information about growth opportunities within the company, training opportunities, and resources to use when questions arise.

Start a Mentorship Program

Mentorship programs help employees cultivate professional relationships within your organization. Many employees even use mentorship programs as a stepping-stone to higher positions within the organization. Pairing employees with mentors can deepen an employee’s investment in your company, and can prevent them from looking outside the organization for future jobs.

Develop A Recognition Program

In general, people like to be appreciated and recognized for their contributions. Employees who feel as if they’re successful in their positions are less likely to look for other jobs. Developing a successful recognition program can incentivize your employees to work harder and achieve success within your organization.

Compensate Generously

Employees who feel they aren’t fairly compensated will eventually leave their jobs. One of the best ways to improve employee retention is to compensate your employees fairly and generously. Ensure your HR team has performed a labor market analysis to find out how much people typically get paid for comparable jobs in your area. Paying employees fair and generous wages compared to other companies can make your organization more competitive.

Encourage Work/Life Balance

Employee burnout is a common reason that people leave their jobs. Encouraging work/life balance can prevent burnout and improve employee retention. There are many ways to encourage work/life balance, including:

• Provide on-site childcare and exercise facilities.
• Permit flexible work schedules.
• Offer paid time off for major life events.
• Implement “use it or lose it” vacation policies, to encourage employees to take vacations.
• Start a telecommuting policy.

Putting these easy steps in place, can improve employee retention while also making your company a better place to work. Happy employees are more productive, so when your organization makes these improvements, everyone wins.