We moved far too quickly from the “Great Resignation” to the era of mass layoffs and it seems that employee retention strategies were lost in the transition somewhere in between. While organizations are busy trying to redefine their goals and re-establish themselves in their industries, employees have been somewhat forgotten as collateral, forced to adapt quickly to the swaying whims of their companies. While things have begun to settle down, employee retention plans are gaining momentum again as companies who have laid off parts of their workforce now need to ensure the rest volunteer to stay. Even for those who have not had to succumb to layoffs, employee engagement and retention have returned as a deciding factor in how their workforce approaches their roles. This is why we need to return to devising creative ways to retain employees to ensure organizations stay whole.
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Employee Retention Strategies Cannot Be Skin-Deep
Employees who don’t feel valued at work will not remain with a company for long. There are always other jobs that skilled employees can find without too much of a struggle even in a cooling job market that appears dry of opportunity. Employees, especially those who know their work and have a touch of an entrepreneurial expert in them, can move to freelance part-time roles if their organization is truly a terrible place to work. We all know at least one person who chose to quit a well-paying job even after being advised against it, all because they could not agree with their company’s practices. These sorts of employees may not be in large numbers, but they make a considerable impact when they walk out.
Is Employee Retention Important Even When Employees Aren’t Quitting?
Even when employees do remain under unsatisfactory work conditions, it won’t be out of loyalty to the company, but instead a lack of opportunity to move on to a company that treats them better. From “quiet quitting” we seem to have moved to a less popular term but equally popular trend—the big stay, or more aptly, grumpy staying. Employees who have seen the number of jobs dwindling and the number of layoffs increasing might convince themselves to hold on to their jobs, but they will continue to struggle to find the energy to do these jobs well.
Reporting data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Insider stated that only 3.4 million people resigned in December, dropping to a four-year low that suggested that workers were afraid of being unable to find alternate employment if they did quit their organization. You might think, “No need for employee retention strategies if employees aren’t going anywhere right?” That assumption would be incorrect. Employees who stay due to a lack of choice will only remain employed on paper—mentally they will have quit. Such employees will do the bare minimum to ensure they are not fired, but there will be no initiative, interest, or creativity from them. Poor employee engagement and retention will only hurt your business and if the tides turn again suddenly, you might just see the Great Resignation 2.0 unfold and struggle with retention again.
What Is Employee Retention?
Employee retention refers to the phenomenon of employees continuing at an organization instead of quitting and finding another job. Suppose too many employees become unsatisfied with their jobs and leave. In that case, the employee turnover numbers might become really high and organizations will have to work overtime to fill those roles and maintain baseline levels of work. The cost of rehiring and replacing an employee is also quite high. Repeated rounds of hiring and onboarding will leave your existing employees exhausted by the change and your new hires struggling to fit in.
A good employee retention plan can ensure that the talent you hire stays with you despite the ups and downs that the organization faces. There are creative ways to retain employees that employers need to explore in order to make the most of the skillsets their current workforce possesses and create a space where these workers are motivated to work.
Top Employee Retention Strategies to Try Out in 2024
One of the most effective employee retention strategy examples is to offer competitive salaries and benefits that attract talent towards your organization. Companies with some of the best benefit packages have potential candidates competing fiercely to secure a role with them, and doing their best to hold on to that position by proving themselves through their work. Employers and employees are likely already aware of the power of a good salary, but considering the work climate today, maybe there is no room to accommodate this strategy right now. Depending on what employee retention is for your organization and what accommodations you are willing to make, you might benefit from employee retention programs to improve the work done in your organization.
Improve Work Culture and Management
One of the best employee retention strategies is to create a workplace where employees want to work. There are many reasons why an employee might want to quit but a dislike for the work culture and work ethic of an organization usually tops the list. Review company policies and ensure they meet the standards of the industry. Simultaneously train HR professionals and managers on these policies to ensure they are able to enforce these regulations and provide employees with the support they need.
Explore Mentorship Programs As Part of Your Employee Retention Plan
Experienced seniors at your organization are vast untapped resources who can contribute to your company through their work as well as their knowledge. Structure mentorship plans as part of your employee retention programs to encourage them to learn from their mentors and make the most of their expertise. Ensure this doesn’t overburden your mentors either, as it could be counterproductive and convince them to leave instead. It should be a fulfilling and worthwhile experience for everyone involved for it to be truly successful. Identify mentors who are willing and able to take up the role, create a structure for the internship plan, and then get started with assigning mentors to those who are open to such programs first.
Appropriate Leadership Training Can Be the Turning Point For Your Employee Retention Strategies
When employees don’t trust leaders to make the right decisions, every move made by the company can seem like the wrong one for them. This leaves them constantly on the edge and unable to commit to their work, hurting both them and the company. Effective leaders can instill confidence among employees and show them the way forward. Even during difficult times, a company with a strong leadership team will find its employees more willing to tough it out to the other side rather than abandon ship to protect themselves. This is why leadership training is important for seniors in an organization. The fact that the leaders also come out of the training more confident and effective as decision-makers also helps the cause.
Survey Employees and Ask For Their Input
Employee retention strategies are futile if they mean nothing to your employees. Communicate with employees regularly to understand what struggles they are facing and what they would like done differently. It might give you some insight into the primary issues within the organization, as well as allow the employees to feel heard. Instead of employee retention as an abstract concept, you can then work towards retaining your employees in particular. Create an environment of communication and address your employees’ concerns instead of leaving them room to overthink the situation them and make matters worse.
Conduct Regular Performance Assessments
While this will likely scare your employees to a degree, performance assessments can be another way of understanding your employees rather than writing them off as bad workers. Each employee likely has strengths that can be optimized and weaknesses that can be worked around with a little effort. One of the most creative ways to retain employees can be to consider them as valuable assets to your organization rather than replaceable ones. Depending on each individual’s performance assessments and work reviews consider helping them fit into the organization a little bit better by designing a plan that caters to them.
Again, employees who see this positive approach will also be more motivated to improve their performance and meet the standards set by their employer instead of feeling alienated from the company.
Conduct Exit Interviews as Part of the Employee Retention Plan
Exit interviews can give you a lot of information about your company and the feedback here is often more unfiltered than you would get otherwise. Employees who have moved on from your company probably spent enough time there to get a good idea of how things work and what needs to improve for the workplace to become a more desirable organization. Create a list of questions that cover important areas of work and give them room to add their own feedback in the end from any aspect of the organization.
It’s best not to let the outgoing employee’s recommendation letters and additional documents depend on what feedback they provide in the exit interview as that will compromise the kind of information you can gather.
There are many employee retention strategy examples you can gather from these conversations so the most crucial aspect of your planning should be centered around talking to your employees regularly. Offering unique benefits, providing flexible work schedules, providing rewards for meeting targets, increasing networking opportunities, prioritizing work-life balance, and encouraging work connections and conversations are other employee retention strategies you can consider in your overall plan.