Top tips for boosting employee retention rates
Are you struggling to keep employees on board for more than a year? More than six months? Don’t worry – you’re not alone. A high employee turnover rate can be extremely expensive, impede growth, and slow down any company. If you’re struggling with this problem and looking to fix it, keep reading to find out what you can do to increase employee retention rates and develop an employee retention strategy to help your business succeed and reduce or avoid high turnover costs.
1) Recognize that you have high employee turnover
The first step in fixing a problem is to recognize that you have one. This may seem self explanatory, but many employers struggle to fix low retention rates because they simply don’t want to face the fact that they may need to implement changes. Realize you have a high turnover rate, set some goals, and come up with a plan to fix it. Involve your human resources department in the conversation early one to diagnosis problems and come up with solutions.
2) Hire the right employees
One reason you might be struggling to keep your employees is that new hires are just not the right fit with your company or position. Maybe they’re underqualified (or overqualified) for their position, or maybe they just aren’t a fit with the company culture, or maybe the size of your firm or number of employees is not right for that employee. Whatever the reason may be, consider spending more time and effort on your hiring process. Are you a legal firm who hires many younger employees right out of college, who then decide they’re applying to law school that fall? Are you hiring someone for a job involving a lot of travel, who really just wants to settle down in one place? No matter the reason, it’s important that you put much thought into the hiring process and carefully pick new employees, asking the important and relevant questions up front.
3) Perform exit interviews
Change won’t happen overnight, and it’s important to recognize this. If you are currently struggling with this issue, you might consider performing exit interviews with employees who have decided to move on to other opportunities. Ask employees what they liked about working for you and to name several things they disliked about their position. If they could change one thing about their experience, what would it be? What do they think is impeding a higher retention rate? Getting this feedback is especially important as an employer, as you are probably somewhat removed from their day-to-day experiences in the office. Many employees avoid these types of interviews, fearing that if they say something negative about the company it will prevent them from getting a positive reference from you in the future. Assuming they’re leaving on their own accord (and not being fired), let them know that what they say in this interview won’t be used against them.
4) Create a strong work environment & company culture
If you’re the typical company, many of your employees are at the office fora long period of time, at least eight hours a day. Realistically, that means they’re spending the majority of their life at your office–it’s important that you make their experience comfortable and pleasant! Make your office a place that they want to be; it’s well lit, a comfortable temperature, and aesthetically pleasing–not dark and dreary. In this respect, communication is key. Make sure that employees are comfortable coming to you or the HR department with issues, and that you’re not expecting too much of them. Don’t be afraid to check in regularly to evaluate their needs.
Put your employees first! Whether you are a small business or large corporation with a large number of employees, this is something you can control. Your team members are people with different lives outside of the office. Make sure you empathic about this and release that everyone employee has different needs. Maybe one needs more flexible hours to attend to family schedules, or maybe another is looking for more social opportunities at work. Take the time to get to know them and ask them what will make them happy.
5) Manage Your Employees stress and workloads
Stress is normal for any workplace, and in many instances, it can increase productivity. But too much stress is almost certain to impede your employees’ ability to do their job. Not only does stress affect the sleep cycle, it can also impact memory function. Be careful not to overwork your employees. Do you have a position that requires constant overtime in order to meet deadlines? Consider hiring two people for that position, or offloading some of their duties to another employee with similar qualifications.
Another way to decrease stress and improve employee mood is to host fun group activities or lunches for your employees. Give them something to look forward to and a reason to feel positive about coming to work can help create more employee engagement among your team and give everyone a chance to get to know each other better, which can help create a more healthy work environment.
6) Employees stay when they feel recognized
Reward employees for their success and the team’s success. Don’t be too hard on them for the occasional mistake. Top performers can be recognized with prizes or gifts. Some company swag can go a long way. Or maybe a bonus day off.
Also recognizing that your team members want to grow in their career, be given development opportunities and be encouraged to learn new skills or improve the ones they already had. A lot of the top talent for future open positions is already on your team, so you should be preparing them to succeed in both their current and new job.
In the end, happy employees are good employees! Ask yourself how would you want to be treated, what would motivate you. But also take time to talk to your team members, especially your high performers, to find out what is working for them. Make sure your onboarding is setting new hires up for success. Along with these things, the tip above can help keep your employees happy.
