Tips from a Recruiter: Employee Retention Strategies
Employee engagement and turnover is a clear challenge. With unemployment declining and more jobs coming on the market, people have more choices. If you don’t treat your employees well, you are at risk of losing them. The cost of recruiting a new employee over keeping a productive employee is one of a company’s greatest expenses.
According to a SHRM survey on employee engagement, 47% of HR professionals said retention was the top talent management challenge, followed by recruitment at 36%.
Retaining your employees involves several factors – salary, flexible work arrangements, professional development and advancement, culture, benefits, and more.
Here are some tips on how to address some of these issues and hopefully keep your employees.
Professional Development: LinkedIn’s annual Workplace Learning Survey indicated 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if they invested in their professional development. It is much easier to offer internal training to “upskill” existing employees that are motivated and ambitious than to lose them and start from scratch. An effective learning and development program is essential.
Good Managers Make a Difference: Everyone has probably heard the phrase, “People leave managers, not companies” and there is truth to that. A manager can greatly affect an employee’s engagement and performance. The best leaders regularly collect feedback from their teams and really listen to their needs. They remove roadblocks, provide resources, and make people feel valued without feeling overworked or overwhelmed.
Appreciation & Recognition: Employee appreciation should be sincere and consistent. A once-a-year “pat on the back” doesn’t cut it. Creating a culture of recognition, both as a company and on your team, is essential. Simple things like personal notes thanking them for work on a project can go a long way. Also, ensuring your employees are paid properly and staying in tune with the market rates is critical.
Create More Opportunities: Most employees want to advance their career and are interested in promotions and more challenging work. If companies create a dual track for promotion – one management, one non-management – employees have more opportunities to advance and remain engaged. They can mentor without managing, or if supervisory roles open, they can be considered.
Overall, retaining high-quality employees (and keeping them happy) is important for any organization because having them leave will cost you much more in the end.