The great resignation had many industries worried about the future of workplace culture and how the changing workplace priorities are making employee retention difficult. When TikTok users coined quiet quitting, companies were left scrambled to improve employee retention with whatever option possible.
Whether a small business or multinational organization, knowledge of increasing employee retention can help build a formidable workforce. If you want your employees to stay in their jobs and remain committed to the organization, here are 20 practical ways to increase employee retention.
Table of Contents
20 Ways to Improve Employee Retention in Organization
1. Implement effective onboarding and orientation
Setting the tone right from the beginning is a crucial step that must be considered. With effective onboarding and orientation, you can improve an employee’s experience and make their journey within the organization comfortable.
It starts with structured training, introducing employees to the company policies, culture, and job-specific tasks. You can pair new employees with experienced colleagues so they do not feel alienated during the transition. Effective onboarding is not only about job roles and responsibilities; it’s also about letting new hires understand the company’s values and mission.
Additionally, there must be a feedback loop to ensure that you promptly address any challenges or concerns new employees might face.
2. Conduct mentorship programs
Mentorship programs can improve employee turnover by allowing employees to find guidance with experienced employees. It provides the opportunity to grow within the organization by providing a solid sense of belonging, guidance, and support.
Ensure your mentorship programs create structured employee pairing based on experience, job role, or specific goals. Set up regular check-ins to evaluate the growth and progress. With mentorship, you can accelerate the employees’ professional development and keep them oriented toward the organization’s goals.
3. Offer fair employee compensation
You can only expect to improve employee retention by offering competitive compensation. Employers should regularly evaluate and adjust salaries, ensuring fair and competitive compensation packages are provided.
It will motivate employees to stay and perform at their best. HR is responsible for doing market research and reviewing compensation, ensuring it meets industry standards.
Pay attention to the importance of performance-based incentives. As long as your employees feel valued and recognized for their hard work, they will consistently try to excel in their roles.
Additional benefits, such as healthcare, retirement plans, and other perks, can significantly increase employee retention.
4. Wellness offerings
Employee well-being encompasses their mental, physical, and financial health. Your workforce’s fitness level directly impacts their productivity. It would help if you create wellness programs that make them healthier and happier. The easiest is to take health initiatives that promote their physical well-being, such as gym memberships and offering healthy food options.
Growing concerns about the mental health of workers must also be addressed. Offer your employees access to counseling and stress management programs to help them cope with stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Allowing flexible work schedules and paid time off will encourage work-life balance.
5. Offer perks & employee benefits
Perks and benefits go beyond salary. Offering bonuses can significantly boost your workforce’s overall job satisfaction if you seek ways to increase employee retention.
Start by providing a robust healthcare plan that includes medical, dental, and vision expenses. Retirement plans like 401(k) plans help employees see their financial security with your organization in the long run.
You can stand out from other companies by providing generous paid time off to workers so they can enjoy quality time with their families. It makes them happier and recharges them mentally to be more productive at work.
6. Maintain proper communication
Effective communication is the first step towards creating a healthy work environment and resolving conflicts. One of the ways to improve employee retention is to foster trust, transparency, and a sense of belonging among employees.
Create an open-door policy at the workplace, allowing employees to approach their managers or HR with their concerns or suggestions. When their voices are heard, workers feel valued and not ignored. Furthermore, the organization’s communication flow must be two-way and not just top-down.
Managers should communicate with the employees what’s expected of them so they understand their roles and responsibilities. Also, keep employees informed about company updates such as strategic changes and successes.
7. Provide performance feedback
Poor performance can leave your workers demotivated and can result in employee turnover. That’s why your employees must be provided regular and constructive feedback on their performance.
Help employees understand their shortcomings with regular performance reviews or one-on-one meetings. Always acknowledge and appreciate good work, publicly recognizing their achievements can boost employee morale. It will motivate them to stay and excel.
8. Offer flexible work options
Flexible work options make your company friendly for diverse employees with varying needs and preferences. You can consider job rotation, allowing employees to experience different roles.
Part-time work options suit employees seeking reduced hours or those transitioning back into the workforce. Some industries, like HVAC maintenance, can allow seasonal scheduling, allowing employees to work intensely during peak seasons and take extended breaks in the off-season.
At the same time, IT companies can consider project-based roles, which can offer flexibility and diversity to employees.
9. Provide training & career development
Do you know that 86% of millennials can be kept from leaving their jobs if provided appropriate training? Not only millennials but most employees seek growth and advancement opportunities within an organization.
You must invest in their ongoing training and development programs to improve employee retention. Tie up with upskilling companies to provide your employees access to online courses, workshops, and mentorship.
Additionally, give employees with potential growth preferences. Also, cross-training can help workers gain experience in different roles or departments, broadening their skill sets.
10. Act on exit survey insights
It would be ignorant to assume that your employees will stay in the company. However, when they go, provide them the opportunity to share their feedback on the experience with the company via exit interviews.
Organizations can gain valuable insights through exit interviews and identify areas of improvement to increase employee retention. Ask departing employees why they’re leaving and listen to what they suggest to improve the company.
11. Make flexible work arrangements
According to a study, employees believe remote work improves morale and work-life balance. It may not be possible for industries like construction and manufacturing to offer remote options, but they can offer flexible work arrangements.
When you create flexible schedules, employees have time to attend to personal or family commitments without losing pay or asking for time off. Some companies practice job sharing and alternative workweeks to offer flexible work arrangements for work-life balance and job satisfaction.
12. Encourage teamwork
Encouraging teamwork in the workplace is essential and can improve employee retention by fostering a sense of belonging. Collaboration is not just about team-building activities outside the work environment but can be achieved through cross-functional projects.
Organizations can create opportunities for employees from different departments to collaborate. It will encourage a sense of unity and shared goals. Managers should ensure that meetings are inclusive and promote participation from all team members for open dialogue and idea sharing.
To encourage teamwork, leaders should lead by example, demonstrating teamwork and collaboration in their interactions.
13. Practice effective change management
During COVID, it was made abundantly clear that change – good or bad – is inevitable in the workplace. However, employee retention depends on how such changes are managed.
Open and transparent communication is mandatory during a change. When you communicate the reasons behind the change with employees, they know the anticipated outcomes and how it will impact them. It prevents anxiety and addresses concerns and questions openly.
Companies should include employees in the change process. It will give them a sense of ownership and reduce resistance to change.
14. Show employees how their work benefits the customer
One of the excellent ways to increase employee retention is to let them experience how their work impacts customers. You can share positive customer feedback and case studies with employees to showcase how their efforts have changed customers’ lives and businesses.
Companies can also use key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics to demonstrate the impact of individual contributions on customer outcomes. Create communication channels for employees to interact directly with customers or clients. A personal connection can motivate employees to take pride in their work.
15. Build employee engagement
Disengaged employees have low morale and are most likely to leave. That’s why employee engagement is a critical factor in retention. If you want your employees to stay and contribute to the organization’s success, you must improve their work engagement.
Allowing employees to take on meaningful responsibilities can give them a sense of ownership by empowering them to make decisions. Create feedback channels so employees can share their opinions with management.
It will let them know that their opinions matter. Skill development can create an engaged workforce as they see a future within the organization.
16. Reduce employee burnout
Another way to improve employee retention is to prevent employee burnout. If you are continuously exhausting the employees with workload or repetitive tasks, they are most likely to quit. Workload management is essential. Monitor and manage employee workloads to prevent excessive stress.
Use software like Asana to ensure that tasks are distributed fairly. Flexible work arrangements will also help employees maintain work-life balance. Another way to ensure employee burnout is not affecting retention is by offering resources and support for mental health, such as counseling services or stress management programs.
17. Integrate technology at the workplace
Modern workplaces thrive on technology; selecting the right tools can help improve employee retention. Be it work scheduling or time off management, with the right solution, you can increase workplace efficiency and job satisfaction.
Shift scheduling software like Truein can significantly improve work-life balance, allowing managers to track employee hours and monitor work. This data could be further utilized to identify overworked/undeworked staff and take appropriate actions.
Truein is a cloud-based time and attendance management software featuring robust shift scheduling features. It allows managers to monitor workers’ attendance and productivity to identify pain points. It helps streamline and optimize daily tasks and processes to ensure employees can manage their workloads effectively.
You should provide employees with the right tools for the job, such as project management software, communication tools, or industry-specific software. Additionally constantly upskilling your employees via online courses is a great way to keep them motivated It helps them perform more efficiently and improves their overall productivity and well-being.
18. Hire for the cultural fit
If you hire employees whose values do not align with the organization’s values, beliefs, and expectations, you will have difficulty retaining them. That’s why we always hire for the cultural fit. Hiring managers must understand company culture and values and know what kind of employees would thrive within this culture.
Assess candidates for cultural fit during interviews, asking about their values and experiences. Emphasize the company’s culture during onboarding and tell employees how to contribute. Hiring for cultural fit doesn’t mean you can ignore diversity and inclusion.
A diverse workforce can bring new perspectives and ideas to the table and hence, must be considered.
19. Encourage employee creativity
Encouraging employee creativity is one way to improve employee retention. No one appreciates the monotonous work culture, so creativity is essential. A creative workforce drives innovation and problem-solving.
Companies should create an atmosphere where employees feel safe and encouraged to share ideas. Also, innovative ideas that impact an organization positively should be acknowledged and rewarded.
One of the best ways to promote employee creativity is to encourage cross-functional collaborations. When employees from different departments collaborate, they bring diverse perspectives, often leading to more creative solutions.
20. Foster respect for team members
A positive work environment is a fundamental requirement for retaining employees. Your organization must implement inclusive practices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is every employer’s responsibility to ensure that every employee feels valued and respected.
Managers should be trained and provided resources for conflict resolution to handle interpersonal issues constructively. Implementing strict anti-harassment policies and providing channels for reporting concerns will make employees feel respected and safe.
Conclusion
When an organization is struggling with employee turnover, it’s often internal issues that go unnoticed. Creating a work environment conducive to employee satisfaction, development, and long-term commitment is essential to improve employee retention. The strategies shared can help companies improve employee turnover and ensure success and stability.
FAQs
1. How do you calculate the employee retention rate?
The simple formula for employee retention rate calculation is:
Retention Rate = [(Number of Employees at the Start of a Period – Number of Employees Who Left During the Period) / Number of Employees at the Start of the Period] x 100
2. Why do employees leave an organization?
There can be several reasons why an organization has high employee turnover. Lack of career growth opportunities, insufficient compensation or benefits, poor work-life balance, inadequate recognition, burnout, and lack of job satisfaction and engagement are common reasons.
