Staff retention strategies that actually work

June 8 2019 - Employee retention is one of the most crucial, and often overlooked, parts of running a successful company. Research into the topic has consistently found that retaining good quality talent is essential when it comes to maintaining high morale, institutional knowledge, sales growth and satisfied customers. But, in stark contrast, high employee turnover is often a drain on both the company's financial and staff resources.

Losing key employees often limits others' productivity levels, damage workplace morale and cost as much, or even more than, the leaving employee's salary during the lengthy process of finding and training their replacement.

Whilst a lot of managers tend to assume that employees are likely to leave their role because of inadequate salaries, the harsh reality is that there are a number of reasons which contribute to employee turnover rates. Inadequate management, lack of advancement opportunities, feeling unappreciated and being overworked are just a few, so this means that implementing a staff retention strategy which actually works is critical when it comes to retaining the employees you already have.

Establish Clear-Cut Policies and Expectations

When you have employees who don't feel as though they have a clear understanding of their duties, the company policies and performance metrics by which they will be evaluated, then it can be hugely frustrating and damage their morale to the point where they may look for employment elsewhere. Thankfully, there is a simple solution for this. Work on communicating with your employees to ensure that they have a perfectly clear understanding of their job duties and company policies and provide them with regular feedback so that they know just how they are being evaluated. Be sure that your company policies are fairly employed to minimise the risk of any backfiring.

Invest In Your Employees' Professional Development

When employers invest in their employees by offering them opportunities to develop and learn new skills and knowledge, it provides clear signals in their present and future career and professional growth. Around 42% of employees feel as though their job satisfaction balances on having opportunities for development within their career. Whether you pay for employees to attend workshops or conferences, offer tuition or creating a mentoring programme, it's important to promote these whenever possible.

Create A Work Culture Of Open Communication

Team morale can improve significantly when team members feel as though they are free to speak their minds, address conflicts, share their ideas and bring up any grievances. Make sure that your managers are willing and committed to receiving and giving open, respectful and transparent communication and encourage this to all members of your team. An added bonus of implementing these practices is that they will have an enhancement in trust within your senior management team, which is another key factor when it comes to maintaining satisfied and happy employees.

Offer A Benefits Package Which Is Actually Beneficial

Benefits packages should ideally include, but not be limited to, things such as affordable and high-quality health insurance, sick-leave allowances, holiday pay and a pension plan. As well as these staples, companies should also consider what would truly benefit and serve the needs of their employees. Flexible working schedules, gym memberships, performance bonuses and child care benefits are all popular and have been proven to work well. If you hire employees from overseas, even just helping them with their spouse visa application or pension plan can go a long way in making them feel valued, so consider looking into hiring long-term help for these issues.

Aim to get feedback from your employees regarding the benefits that you offer and try to find out what would enhance both their personal and working lives. Following this, consider allowing benefits which are customisable to the employee, especially if you have different demographics within the office, such as millennials or baby boomers.

• More Strategy Articles