Roughly 4 million Americans quit their jobs every month, with almost a third quitting within the first six months. So it should come as no surprise that many organizations are looking for solutions around how to increase employee retention.
Globally, more than half of organizations find retaining their most valuable employee groups hard. Replacing highly trained employees can cost over 200% of the person’s annual salary.
Improving employee retention can reduce these huge costs. Plus, it helps retain internal knowledge that can take new hires months to learn, risking slowing down productivity and output. Of course, this learning curve is inevitable when you hire new employees.
What isn’t inevitable is losing a third of new hires within six months.
So, let’s look at some ideas for how to increase employee retention and save yourself thousands per team member.
Offer remote/flexible working
Remote and flexible working options are a must-have for many employees. This is true despite the mass return to office push that’s been happening since last year.
Plus, this office-based work obsession doesn’t consider how exclusionary such a policy is.
You can’t have a diverse business without offering remote work.
Remote work supports employees with disabilities, working parents, and those from less privileged backgrounds. It also saves employees money on their daily commutes. For many employees, these things are make-or-break.
Eliminating remote work means you risk losing 2/3 of your workforce. 64% of employees would consider leaving if their employer took their ability to work remotely away.
Is it really worth forcing employees back into the office when you factor in the cost of re-hiring that much of your workforce? Especially when that will likely also include a significant portion of your recruitment team?
It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress when remote work is good for employees.
If you really want people back in the office, why not try a hybrid work model ? That way, you and your employees get the best of both worlds, and you can worry less about how to increase employee retention.
Provide more opportunities for development
Employees want to grow. It helps them future-proof their careers, keeps their roles fresh, makes them more productive, and gives them a mood boost.
Employees want to grow so badly that 86% would change jobs if another company offered them more professional development opportunities. A big red flag when thinking about how to increase employee retention.
There are lots of ways to offer training and advancement for team members. They don’t have to be super expensive. Options include:
Pay employees what they deserve
The cost of everything is in flux right now. Generally, employee pay hasn’t kept up with the cost of anything, leaving people with less disposable income than they had 15 years ago.
Paying employees what they deserve ensures they’re financially comfortable, helping reduce their stress levels and improving their performance at work.
Pay is one of the top reasons employees look for new roles right now. And over half of employees feel confident they could find a better-paying position.
So, if you’re not paying employees what they’re worth, you risk losing your top performers to competitors. Fair pay is a key element of how to increase employee retention.
Monitor burnout levels—and do something to prevent it
Burnout is harmful to your business and your employees (and to you). It comes with long- and short-term consequences for everyone.
Unfortunately, 59% of US employees experience at least moderate levels of burnout. It’s on businesses to change this and protect their employees from its detrimental effects. Especially if they’re looking for ideas for how to increase employee retention.
So, what are you doing to protect your employees?
You could:
- Offer coaching to help them identify the signs and deal with workplace stress
- Look at employees’ workloads to ensure they’re not doing the jobs of several people
- Encourage employees not to check in, or do work, outside of working hours
- Implement workplace wellness initiatives, like gym memberships or office yoga
Keep employees engaged
Employee engagement has never been more important.
Employees who are highly engaged are 40% less likely to look for a job than those who are actively disengaged. That doesn’t even consider the difference engagement vs disengagement can make on productivity and morale. Nor its effects on how to increase employee retention.
Collect managerial feedback
Managers make a huge difference on the atmosphere in an office and across a team. So much so that half of employees have left their jobs for a change in management. That says a lot about the effectiveness of some managers. And about how to increase employee retention.
However, with so many managers not getting any feedback when they’re promoted, it should come as no surprise.
Providing managers with training or coaching to help them in their roles—regardless of how long they’ve been a manager—ensures that they can support their employees in the best way possible, continue their own professional development, and stay informed on the latest industry and managerial trends and techniques.
The only way for people to grow is through feedback. Employee surveys are a great way to find out how employees feel about management, what’s working, and what could be improved.
With Workrowd’s help, you can send and analyze employee surveys automatically. Contact us today to find out more.
Connect employees
While employees want the opportunity to work remotely, there’s a fine line. If employees experience low human connection at work, they’re 39% more likely to quit.
So what’s the solution?
Asking employees what working situation works for them.
For many, it’s likely to be hybrid work. This allows for the connection that comes with face-to-face contact and the flexibility that comes from working remotely.
Setting up employee groups also helps people connect with each other and ward off loneliness. They can network with other employees who have similar interests but may not be on the same team. These communities can be a key tool when considering how to increase employee retention.
Workrowd can help you manage your employee groups to get the most out of them. Contact us today to book your free demo.
Conclusion
Employee retention is more important than ever. The keys are to make your employees feel supported and like they belong in the workplace.
How to increase employee retention needs to start with providing training opportunities and listening to what people need from HR and managers.
The more you listen, the more you’ll get from your employees.
If you’re ready to step up your game around how to increase employee retention, Workrowd has the tools you need. WIth employee group management tools, automated feedback surveys, and real-time analytics dashboards, you always know where to focus your efforts.
Ready to learn more? Email us at hello@workrowd.com, or drop by our site for more info.
