5 Sure-Fire Ways to Boost Your Employee Retention Rates
A JOLTS survey indicated that approximately 3 to 4.5 million employees quit their jobs monthly, while one-third of new workers exit their companies after six months. Indeed, high employee turnover rates can be devastating to your business. First, your business finances will deteriorate due to high hiring and training expenses, decreased productivity, and sales loss. Moreover, your remaining workers would have to deal with the excess workload, leading to low morale and decreased productivity. You also risk losing business credibility, along with customer loyalty and patronage. Worse, top talents would not be attracted to your business. Therefore, promoting employee retention makes sense. So how do you achieve this? Here are some things to consider.
- Create a positive, inclusive work culture
A TeamStage survey indicates that 86% of job seekers avoid companies with a poor reputation. Worse, 65% of employees leave their existing jobs if the company is known for its negative company culture. More shocking is that only 28% of executives understand their company culture. Improving work culture is essential for many reasons. It increases employee loyalty and reduces negative behaviors, but it also encourages them to put their best effort into pushing your business forward. Additionally, it promotes your employees’ well-being, so keep this in mind.
How can you create a positive work culture? Begin by setting precise organizational values and promoting free communication. Also, ensure that you have an inclusive work environment to ensure that your employees feel welcome. A toxic environment can prevent your team from performing optimally, so ensure that you deal with this. That said, ensure that there are sanctions for bad behavior and make it easy for your staff to interact with you.
- Create room for development
Another effective way to promote employee retention is to create the right atmosphere for employee development. It keeps your workers relevant, increasing satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty. Likewise, it enables them to improve their existing knowledge and skills and helps them to perform optimally. Increased employee loyalty and retention also means you don’t spend on hiring and training new candidates. A Zavvy survey indicates that 94% of employees will stay longer with an organization that offers learning and development opportunities, so keep this in mind.
It’s important to create a regular training timetable to promote consistency. For instance, you can designate one weekday for training purposes. Consequently, invest in mentoring programs to prepare your employees for leadership positions. Offering online courses to enhance personalized skill development is helpful, so keep this in mind. It’s not uncommon for workers to become bored with their daily tasks. Fortunately, you can prevent this by promoting cross-department training to prepare them for new tasks. It’s also helpful to send your staff to webinars, seminars, and other industry events to promote excitement and curiosity.
- Hire the right people
CBNC research reveals that approximately 50% of people wish to change their careers. Indeed, an employee who isn’t a right fit for your business will have a higher tendency to leave for other opportunities. Therefore, paying attention to the people you hire is expedient to remove the stress and costs of rehiring and training. Moreover, the right employees will preserve your business efficiency, reduce turnover rates, and maintain your brand’s credibility. But, how can you hire the right candidates? Fortunately, you can achieve this with the right steps. First, you can begin by determining what you desire in your ideal candidate, making the screening process easier.
You also want to ensure that your job description is precise and clear to enable potential candidates to understand what they are applying for. A Jobvite study stated that 30% of workers left their jobs within 90 days. 43% of them stated that their job role wasn’t what they were made to believe. Therefore, ensure that you’re honest about the job roles and compensation to help potential candidates make a more informed decision. As a tip, work with credible recruiters for the best results.
- Show regular appreciation for your employees
Appreciation and recognition are excellent ways to boost your workers’ morale and increase work productivity. Moreover, a happy employee is likelier to stay engaged and dedicated to your business, so keep this in mind. Additionally, you have a better chance of attracting and retaining top talents to your business if you have the habit of treating them right. A OnePoll survey showed that 63% of workers don’t feel appreciated by their bosses daily. Other surveys also revealed that 49% quit their jobs because they were not recognized for their efforts. These statistics reiterate the need to appreciate your employees regularly. Therefore, you want to practice it if you haven’t already.
Fortunately, you don’t have to incur costs to achieve this. Acknowledging your staff for their efforts and good work will make them feel valued, so keep this in mind. Also, don’t be shy to publicly thank your workers for their accomplishments and send personalized thank-you notes or emails. While mistakes are inevitable, how you handle them will determine if your staff will stay loyal to you or quit when a better offer presents itself. Therefore, refrain from degrading them, and instead, offer constructive criticisms and allow them to try again.
- Promote a healthy work-life balance
According to Statista, 79% of US workers consider work-life balance when looking for a job for good reasons. However, a Work-life balance survey revealed that 77% of Americans who have full-time jobs experienced burnout. Admittedly, burnout can cause your employees to perform dismally at work. Worse, you risk recording high employee absenteeism and turnover rates. This, in turn, will cost your business top talents, money, and credibility. Therefore, prioritizing a healthy work-life balance becomes essential, so keep this in mind.
You can achieve this by offering flexible and remote working options for those who find it challenging to be productive in the traditional office setting. It’s also prudent to encourage frequent rest breaks and reduce your employees’ workloads. Offering support roles for working parents is also helpful, so keep this in mind. For instance, you can encourage them to work part-time or split their shifts to help them spend more time with their kids.
