Six factors that affect employee retention and suggestions for improvement
  • By: SHRMpro Bureau
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November 17, 2022

People come and go constantly. Some workers leave their jobs without their consent, while others do so after a period.

However, it would benefit businesses if the people they employed stayed for a while. Why? Because replacing a worker costs a firm six to nine months of their compensation. As an example, it will cost you between $30,000 and $45,000 to acquire and train a substitute for an employee who makes $60,000 per year.

Simply put, companies cannot afford to disregard the welfare of their workforce. Because of this, job happiness is now the key to success! Given how tough it is to find elite talent, this is true now more than ever.

Want to enhance employee happiness and maintain a high retention rate? To begin with, you must comprehend the five major aspects that have a substantial impact. Then, if you discover any flaws in your procedures, it would be preferable to fix them immediately rather than later regret inactivity. Actionable tactics to address the issues affecting retention are also provided below.

  1. On-boarding and Training

Employee turnover is influenced by the hiring, on-boarding, and training practises you use. The best staff can leave right away if retention issues are not addressed now.

Do your staff members quit within the first six months? Are they accepting lateral assignments at other companies? If the answer is yes, you have a short-term retention issue that has to be resolved right away.

Things You Can Do

The majority of on-boarding issues result from misrepresentations of jobs during the interview process. If you aren’t clear, employees won’t stay with you for very long!

Let’s talk about this honestly. Provide them with the duties associated with the position they are applying for. Ensure that from the beginning, all candidates are aware of the expectations. They are more likely to stick with your company if you do this.

  1. Culture and People

Humans are sociable animals. Above all else, we seek to establish an emotional bond with others around us. Because of this, a rising percentage of workers desire to work in environments where they feel like they belong.

Although it may seem contradictory, creating a positive workplace will benefit both you and your staff greatly! The amount of effort spent caring about employee engagement, motivation, and retention will decline as the corporate culture improves.

Things You Can Do

The meticulous examination of the company’s values and consideration of how to effectively communicate them to your workforce are duties assigned to human resources.

If your firm values innovation and adaptability, work with your staff to develop flexible work schedules that satisfy both individual and organisational needs. Here are various approaches to this:

If you appreciate openness, make it simple for staff members to acquire pertinent documents and handle conflict resolution in an ethical and compassionate manner.

Provide diversity and inclusion training programmes to combat unconscious prejudices if respect is a business value. Additionally, you may show that you care by responding to employee suggestions.

  1. Acknowledgement

Nobody likes to feel unappreciated. Lack of acknowledgment can have an impact on employee turnover and can be a sign of bad management. Employees will certainly look elsewhere to get the consideration they deserve as a result.

Indeed, losing your finest staff over a lack of appreciation doesn’t happen right away. But leaving it unattended will lead to bad spirit and reduced output.

Things You Can Do

Find strategies to make employees feel valued and heard. No matter how great or terrible the feedback may be, everyone enjoys getting it.

Leadership’s attentive listening and celebration of achievements have an impact on employee retention. In actuality, this will appear like:

  • Putting in place a system of rewards to celebrate minor and great victories
  • Delivering annual performance reviews
  • Teaching management staff how to use leadership approaches and positive reinforcement
  • Acknowledging the value of routine one-on-one evaluation meetings between employees and their supervisors
  • Ensuring that their compensation is commensurate with the responsibility they play

 

 

  1. Work-Life Harmony

Employees nowadays don’t want to be limited in their ability to pursue their passions. They desire time for their loved ones, hobbies, and extracurricular pursuits.

Employees seek flexible work arrangements that enable them to balance their home and professional life. Therefore, ensure that burnout has no place in your job.

 

Work-Life Harmony

 

People experience burnout when they feel out of control or are under a lot of stress on a daily basis. This will harm not just their productivity but also their physical and emotional well-being.

Occasionally, ponder the following questions for yourself:

  • Do you frequently need or expect workers to put in extra time or work on the weekend?
  • Do you think a 50-hour workweek is “normal”?
  • Do you provide your staff with the equipment, materials, and modernisations they require to succeed?

Things You Can Do

Nowadays, remote work is really popular! Allow your staff members to spend time with their families and on themselves. Consider providing possibilities for remote working in place of the standard 9-to-5 schedule.

Additionally, you can begin establishing flexible working conditions. Employees will be able to control their working hours because of this flexibility. Also, if necessary, they can work from home.

Additionally, you may nudge staff members to set boundaries and take time off. But if staying up late is unavoidable, think about making up for it with additional vacation time.

  1. Essential Perks

When they receive perks that are competitive, employees believe their employers are interested in them. In actuality, comprehensive workplace perks are important to 44% of professionals! These consist of paid time off, parental leave, and health insurance.

Employee retention will increase if employers provide perks that increase in value over time or improve with tenure. That way, they avoid having to start over somewhere this way.

Things You Can Do

The optimal time to analyse and evaluate the perks you already provide to your workers is right now. If you don’t now receive benefits that will get better over time, such instances include:

  • Structures for bonuses that increase with time
  • Giving workers with longer service periods more paid time off
  • Administrative assistance
  • Vesting schedules for stock options
  • Matching contributions to a 401(k) with time limits

You can consider improving your present health benefits for more recent hires. As an alternative, you can provide special advantages like free meals, discounts on goods and services, continuing education opportunities, and laundry services.

  1. Career Growth

Employees may feel that there aren’t enough prospects for advancement at your organisation. Nobody likes doing the same boring chores every day, especially if the work scope isn’t growing.

When there is minimal opportunity for promotion, employees experience job insecurity. At this point, people start looking for other possibilities.

Does your organisation currently have a programme in place to retain employees? If not, your staff may decide to go elsewhere. They’ll look for businesses that value their efforts more rapidly and provide chances for advancement.

Things You Can Do

It is your duty to set your personnel on a well-defined professional path. You can provide in-house apprenticeships or mentorship to top performers in addition to training programs, conferences, and seminars for their ongoing development. You might also link them to online courses as an alternative.

Making investments in your employees demonstrates your concern for their professional growth and opportunities for promotion to more senior positions within the company. This establishes a positive loop of retention, motivation, production, and sense of belonging.

Happy employees stay on the job longer

When people are dissatisfied with their existing circumstances, they leave. Although it would be great, you can’t keep your staff for life. Even though this is the unpleasant fact, you should never try to dodge it since sooner or later, some of them will exit via that door. Instead, you should investigate the factors that influence employee retention.

Review, re-evaluate, and reimagine your staff retention approach often. Make sure you cater to the demands of your staff.

Keep in mind that if you increase employee satisfaction in every procedure you introduce across the company, retention will be simple.