Have you ever thought of the time, energy, and money that goes into hiring the right candidate for a role? Taking them through the onboarding process, training them to be the best, and then losing them to a competitor? It is a nightmare come true for many managers.

HR is faced with a great challenge, replacing the resource at a time when skilled professionals are in high demand. The departure of a talented, qualified member can have a significant impact on the rest of the team. It may even influence other members to look for opportunities elsewhere as well. In addition to replacing one skilled professional, HR will also face additional responsibility for implementing strategies for employee retention.

What is employee retention?

When a team member walks out, the rest of the team is overwhelmed with the thought of seeking better opportunities. The coworkers notice that a talented professional has quit and whether they should start looking for a new job as well. When employees prefer to stay back in the company they work for, and do not actively seek other job prospects, it refers to employee retention. It means that the company has been successful in its employee retention strategies.

The process by which a company ensures that its skilled professionals don’t quit their jobs is defined as ‘Employee Retention’. Irrespective of how the unemployment pool looks, it is vital to find the right person for the job and retain them. Employee turnover can prove to be extremely costly to the company as they need to spend double the employee’s salary to replace them. The cost of replacing varies from company to company, but every company prefers retaining their employees instead of losing them.

There are different reasons why an employee quits, which can impact others. Consider the example where a skilled professional leaves because their spouse has to relocate to a different state or country. In this case, their absence does not influence others. Now consider the example of an employee who joins the company as a fresher, sees a lot of progress for a couple of years, and then the growth is stagnant. The employee quits, joining a competitor. Wouldn’t that stir a lot of confusion? Wouldn’t the other members of the team wonder if the growth in the company is limited? In such cases, they become active job seekers unless the company implements employee retention strategies.

How to retain employees – 20 employee retention strategies for 2020!

Of all the strategies that a company adopts, employee retention strategy is the most vital as it defines the ability of the workforce that is the backbone of the company.Employee retention is a critical issue, especially if you are competing for talent in a tight economy. If one of the best talents resigns, HR is faced with two challenges to tackle- replacing the lost talent and implementing strong employee retention strategies.

Here are a few tips for retaining employees:

1. Hire the right person for the right job

Make sure that you have the right candidate for the job. It often happens that the role offered does not match with the job description and vice versa. In such cases, employees look for better opportunities. With Talenx.io at your side, you can be assured that the candidate you hire for the role fits the job description. The candidates are carefully selected, engaged in conversation, and their skills tested before they are considered as a prospective candidate. By hiring the right person for the right job, you reduce the chances of an employee leaving the company.

2. Strategize your onboarding and orientation

Your onboarding process should start as soon as the new hire accepts the offer. It is a program that will offer a lot more than paperwork. On completion of orientation, the new hire is informed about the company policies, organization culture, provided sufficient training, offered reviews, asked for feedback, and more. The duration of the onboarding program ranges from a week to a year and is vital for employee retention as it defines how the new employee will start to perceive the company to be.

3. Offer competitive salary

Many employees leave the job if the company does not meet their expectations. Yes, money matters! Financial stability is a motivation that can help retain skilled professionals. You may see the talent pool to be vast, but with increasing demand for professionals, competitors will be willing to pay more. What you offer to your employees must be competitive and comparable to other businesses in the industry. If you want to hire the right person for the right job, you must be ready to offer a competitive salary. It is a deciding factor when employees seek opportunities.

4. Training is vital

The training can be on the job or otherwise. There are new technologies, new techniques, changes in law, and so on that have a significant impact on a talented employee’s performance. It is vital to address the talent gap by offering training as a part of the role. Training to enhance skills must be provided to all permanent employees to keep them as a part of the company. Investing in training will not only aid in retaining the employees but also improve their performance immensely.

5. Address employee problems

Employees are not machines that can keep running. They have feelings that can sometimes interfere with their job, and this must be on top of your list to address. Problems can arise out of anywhere, even within the office premises, such as a spat with the team leader, office stress, incompetent leader, technology problems, and such. By listening to employee problems and addressing them without judging them, you can be assured of employee satisfaction. Staff retention is made possible if employees are happy with their job.

6. Recognize accomplishments

One of the most vital aspects of retention strategies is recognizing employee accomplishments. It can be as simple as a thank you, a ‘well done’ note, a small reward, or you can raise the stakes and present them with stock options or other rewards. Being recognized as a vital part of the team boosts employees to perform better. Recognition gives them a feeling of satisfaction, and employees who are satisfied with how they are treated in their workplace tend to stay there.

7. Flexible working hours are an added benefit

Many companies allow their employees to choose flexible work hours, allowing them to balance their work and personal life. A compressed workweek can be a negative influence as employees may start to feel stressed over time. With Flexi hours, the ability to telecommute, and the option to avoid the stressful traffic a couple of times a week can lower the stress significantly and act as a retention booster.

8. A leader is more acceptable than a boss

There is a huge difference between a leader and a boss. While a boss dictates what needs to be done to succeed, a leader shows the path to success and walks alongside. Leaders are rare, and every employee prefers to work alongside a leader than under a boss. An effective leader lets the employees know where the company is headed, handles challenges instead of offloading on subordinates, considers others to be important, and inspires confidence. If you are available for your employees as a leader, you have succeeded in retention management.

9. Fostering teamwork is important

A team consists of every type of worker. While one is exceptionally talented and can fulfil their duties optimally, others may need some time to reflect on their work. While working as a team, individual contribution is indeed recognized, but if every member of the team is offered an opportunity to contribute, it motivates them. Furthermore, it fosters a culture of collaboration as it accommodates individual working styles and lets them make smart decisions.

10. Look out for employee relationship with the manager

In many situations, employees leave their managers and not the company. If you ask a hundred people why they left their job, the most common answer would be a ‘negative manager.’ Griping about managers is a common factor in almost every company where employee attrition is high. Keep an eye on how the managers behave and offer training to deal with the situation and improve their soft skills and learn conflict management, crisis management, stress management, among others.

11. Employee engagement is vital

Employees who are disengaged actively look for opportunities elsewhere, leading to employee attrition. Most times, an employee is disengaged due to lack of motivation. As an employer, to ensure that your employee retention strategy works ideally, you must keep your employees fully engaged. You can offer them valuable learning opportunities that can help them make advancement in their job. If an employee feels that their talent and capabilities are used to make a difference to the company’s progress, they have a concrete object to rest their pride on and continue to be a contributing resource of the company.

12. Be transparent and open

Open communication between the employee and the management helps to foster a sense of community and a shared purpose that helps in retaining the employees. It encourages the employees to speak frankly with their team leaders or managers, have their input heard, which, in turn, makes them feel like a valued resource. It conveys a sense of trust between the employees and the management and lets them grow stronger together.

13. Leverage on technology

Technology is yet another approach by which an employer can retain their employee. Technology is something that changes year on year. Now and then, there is something new in the market that is more attractive than the previous one. A company cannot regularly buy everything new, but it can offer the best to its employees, which can make them more productive. Old and outdated technology will demotivate an employee from striving to be the best, and instead, encourages them to look for other opportunities.

14. Wellness offerings and other attractive benefits

In addition to attractive compensation, several other benefits can be offered to the employees to ensure that they remain a part of the company. Employee wellness is a vital factor, and companies that offer health benefits, as well as financial wellness resources, successfully retain their employees. Employee wellness includes physical, mental, emotional health, along with financial health. Financial wellness resources, such as credit counselling or retirement planning, play a vital role in employee retention.

15. Be a brand your employees can be proud of

Employees like to be associated with a company that they feel proud of. There are many ways in which you can build your brands, such as involvement and support of the local community, charity, and other helpful organizations, offer team-building and family-like work environment, or address issues such as inequality, lack of education, and environmental pollution. Build a reputation that your employees feel proud to be associated with.

16. Offer a great work environment and culture

Have you ever had to sit in a room where you felt uncomfortable and unsafe? Would you be able to work in such an environment every day? Employees who feel uncomfortable and unsafe, and who work in an environment that makes them anxious tend to quit sooner than later. Besides, employees who are not happy with the organizational culture prefer to look for a job elsewhere. As an employer, you must ensure that the employees feel safe at work. It is vital to offer an office space that is well-lit, properly ventilated, and at a comfortable temperature. You must also address the office environment that may be hazardous to the employees. It is vital to boost employee happiness, and hence you must put people first.

17. Annual performance reviews are vital

A performance review helps an employer to identify if the employee needs the training to fulfil their duties, and it helps the employee to properly understand what is expected of them. As an employer, you must also address grievances, if any, talk about concerns and opinion, offer your honest opinion, and aid in improving their performance. If an employee deserves an appraisal, they must get what they deserve. A performance review is an opportunity for an employer to boost the confidence of the employee, but remember not to make promises that you cannot keep.

18. Don’t forget about appraisals and feedback

Appraisals are an excellent way for an employer to retain their skilled professionals. In the vast talent pool, the demand for skilled professionals is high, but the supply is low. You can find a replacement, but they may not be as capable as you seek. If you find an employee to be a valuable part of the company, make sure that you recognize their abilities and offer a reward as well. Performance appraisals accompanied by financial benefits are vital to retaining an employee. In addition to appraisal, take feedback from the employees and act on that feedback as well.

19. Offer the best work-life balance

If you expect your employees to work around the clock and be at your beck and call, then you will not be able to retain them. An attractive work-life balance is a vital part of employee retention strategy as employees feel satisfied that the company understands that the staff has a life outside of work. Companies also encourage staff to take a vacation, offer late arrival if they have had to stay back late the previous night, offer complimentary off, and so on. Remember, if you offer reward and encourage around-the-clock availability, you would have failed to offer work-life balance.

20. Be prepared for the inevitable

There are a lot of reasons why an employee quits a job, such as family problems, relocation, health problems, a better opportunity, financial problems, among others. While you can address some problems, the others are not under your control, and hence you must be prepared for the inevitable. You can try to retain an employee who wants to quit by addressing their concerns, but if it is something you cannot address, then you must move on and kick-start the hiring process.

Conclusion

Employee experience can have a huge impact on a company’s retention strategy. Every company concentrates on employee retention strategies and considers it to be a vital part of the organizational growth. No matter how big the organization is, an employee leaving can have a negative impact on other employees. Employee attrition can prove to be very costly, a cost that the company has to bear. In addition to financial repercussions and high employee turnover rates, the company may also be faced with decreased performance and morale.

How to retain employees is a question that needs to be addressed with the utmost value as employees define how the organization progresses. Retention of employees is possible if the company hires the right person for the right job to start with.

With talenx.io addressing employee attrition, staff retention is made easy as they can make a scalable decision for you. Their ability to make talent management decisions will help you with your employee retention management strategies. From hiring the right candidates to strategizing the workforce plan, talenx.io is capable of handling every aspect of employee management. With their services, you can be assured of having the best pool of talent working for your organization, and the most beneficial employee retention strategies to help you progress.