Employee Retention Strategies

Figure 01: Employee Retention Strategies

What is Employee Retention

The ability of a business to reduce employee turnover, or the number of workers who quit their jobs either freely or involuntarily, is known as employee retention (Shakeel, et al., 2015). The performance and success of businesses are directly impacted by raising employee retention. In this phenomenon, the employees choose not to leave the current job they are engaged in.

For an example, consider an employee who joined the organization a few years ago and advanced through the ranks swiftly. However, as the work is no longer demanding for them, the employee has recently grown complacent. They might actively seeking employment and may be contacted by a recruiter from another organization. It is feasible to keep employees by monitoring their degree of involvement.

Why are Employees Leaving?

• Feeling overworked and unsupported
• Inadequate Salary
• Lack of Recognition
• Limited Career Advancement
• Internal Conflicts
• Unhappiness with Management
• Dissatisfied with the Company Culture
• The desire to make a Change

Every business wants to hang onto its human capital for as long as possible. As a result, there is an increase in productivity, continuous business flow, and decreased rehire costs. Because of this, most organizations place a high premium on retention. However, keeping employees can frequently be difficult in a market where hiring is competitive (BasuMallick, 2021).

In order to retain top employees and build a devoted, motivated, and goal-oriented team it’s a crucial factor to use the appropriate strategies.

Different Employee Retention Strategies

Onboarding & Orientation

Setting up the new hire for success from the first day onwards with the training and the support.

Mentorship Programs

Pairing a new employee with a mentor in order to guide through the employment journey. Mentor-mentee connections have a substantial positive impact on the current workforce too, which will lead to employee satisfaction and for employee retention (Finkelstein, et al., 2007).

Employee Compensation

Competitive remuneration is a must for businesses, which means wage reviews and adjustments must be made on a regular basis. Raising salaries, offering bonuses or other types of alternative compensation will help in the employee retention. It’s also crucial to enhance retirement and health care benefits, as these can also contribute to an increase in workers' job satisfaction (Michael, et al., 2016) .

Perks

Perks may improve employee morale, re-engage current employees, and distinguish company from the competition for prospective new hires. Flexible work hours and remote work alternatives are some of the benefits that many professionals value most (Half, 2023).

Continuous Feedback on Performance

Discussing both short- and long-term career aspirations with the staff, offering helpful feedback, and assisting them in envisioning their futures with the organization will help in retaining the staff (Holliday, 2021).

Training & Development

Giving employees continuous performance feedback will allow to assist them in identifying areas for professional development, such as the need to pick up new skills. Employee upskilling is crucial in the modern workplace since technology is always changing.

Recognition & Reward Systems

Everyone desires to feel valued for the job they perform. In the modern "anywhere workforce," an employer's appreciation can have a particularly significant influence. Thus, it’s crucial to highlight how the employees’ efforts benefit the company (Akafo, et al., 2015). By appreciating and rewarding them would help the organization to retain the employees. 

Conclusion

The implementation of effective staff retention strategies is vital in cultivating a successful work environment. Through the prioritization of elements like training and development, clear communication, professional growth, and recognition, organizations may foster an environment where staff members feel appreciated, involved, and inspired to give their fullest to the organization. Investing in retention lowers turnover costs, increases employee loyalty, and guarantees long-term viability.

 

References

Akafo, Vera and Boateng & Agyekum, P., 2015. Impact of reward and recognition on job satisfaction and motivation. European Journal of Business and Management, 7(24), pp. 112-124.

BasuMallick, C., 2021. Spiceworks. [Online]
Available at: https://www.spiceworks.com/hr/engagement-retention/articles/what-is-employee-retention/
[Accessed 31 March 2024].

Finkelstein, Lisa M and Poteet & Mark L, 2007. Best practices in workplace formal mentoring programs. The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach, pp. 345-367.

Half, R., 2023. Robert Half. [Online]
Available at: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/management-tips/effective-employee-retention-strategies
[Accessed 01 April 2024].

Holliday, M., 2021. NetSuite. [Online]
Available at: https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/human-resources/employee-retention.shtml
[Accessed 01 April 2024 ].

Michael, Babu and PRINCE, ANDREW FRANKLINE and Chacko & Anney, 2016. IMPACT OF COMPENSATION PACKAGE ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION. CLEAR International Journal of Research in Commerce \& Management, 7(10).

Shakeel, Nausheen and But & Sahar, 2015. Factors influencing employee retention: An integrated perspective. Journal of Resources development and Management, 6(1), pp. 32-49.