How to Improve Employee Retention: 3 Proven Approaches
Employee retention rate is a key indicator of the overall health of a company, and it is typically expressed as a percentage of employees who remained with the company over a set period of time.
Obviously, organizations want their employee retention rate to be as high as possible. But unfortunately, a number of common factors can suppress employee retention. This can lead to all kinds of negative consequences for an organization.
Companies should try to keep as many employees as possible by addressing some common causes of high turnover. These can include a lack of career opportunities or inferior compensation packages.
Below are three proven approaches for improving employee retention and sustaining it at a high level.
1) Support Employee Success
One proven approach to high employee retention is to support employees from the moment they first start working a job.
New hires pose the greatest risk for turnover. Strong training and mentorship programs can help make sure new employees start off on the right foot. In addition to providing training on the day-to-day aspects of specific jobs, good onboarding programs connect new employees to the company’s mission, values and company culture. When new hires feel like they are on the same page as employees with many years of seniority, it significantly increases the chances that they will stick with an organization for many years.
Employee support should also go far beyond onboarding. When employees are provided with useful training and given the resources they need, they are more likely to stick with their employer.
2) Prioritize Transparency
While it may have been tolerated in the past, divulging information only on a need-to-know basis isn’t a popular policy among today’s workers. Younger generations of workers, in particular, are used to freely accessing information over the internet. Keeping useful information behind closed doors will be particularly unpopular with these workers.
Transparency should involve voluntarily communicating all information that might be relevant to employees. managers should also have an open-door policy that invites employees to share feedback and concerns without fear of negative consequences.
These policies require discipline on the part of leadership, and they can involve many difficult conversations. However, good employees will appreciate a high level of transparency, knowing that many companies still maintain closed door policies.
3) Offer Competitive Compensation
While compensation isn’t the only thing keeping employees with a company, it is a big thing.
Today’s professionals are acutely aware of how much they should be earning. When a company tries to pay its employees as little as possible, it runs the risk of high employee turnover.
Competitive pay rates aren’t the only thing that employees want from their employer. Health insurance plans, paid parental leave, paid vacation time, the ability to work remotely and other benefits can all be deciding factors for whether or not someone sticks with their employer. Companies that do not offer competitive benefits packages run the risk of having their employees poached by the competition.
We Can Help Your Organization Optimize Its Employee Retention
At ZDA, we know that employee retention starts with getting the right employees in the door and we have years of experience connecting our clients to best-fit talent. Please contact us today to find out how we can support superior employee retention at your organization.
