Employee Retention Guide: 8 Employee Retention Strategies

Employee retention is the ability to keep employees at a company and not have them leave for other opportunities. High retention rates help businesses build a positive company culture around their best employees. By contrast, a business with high employee turnover can struggle to establish a strong culture and may suffer from the constant need to train new employees. Employers who prioritize employee engagement and treat workers with respect can lift employee morale and beat back high turnover rates.

There are four key reasons why company success correlates with a low employee turnover rate.

1. 1. Successful companies build around top talent. To turn a business idea into a reality, businesses need talented people to execute that idea. Retaining employees allows businesses to anchor departments around highly engaged employees, promoting stability.
2. 2. Customers respond to happy employees. A positive employee experience leads to a positive customer experience. Team members who feel cared for and who are invested in the company mission pass that care and investment along to the customers they engage with.
3. 3. High turnover costs companies money. Every time an employee leaves, the company has to invest resources into a new hire. Costs can range from the obvious—like paying a recruiter to find qualified candidates—to the less obvious, like paying new employees to learn during the onboarding process. Existing team members typically spend time training their new colleagues, which can also take up valuable resources. The hiring process can negatively affect a company’s bottom line when performed too frequently.
4. 4. Teamwork and stability go hand-in-hand. Efficient businesses rely on teams that work well together, and teams work well together when there’s consistency. A company that prioritizes stability by keeping teams intact can improve job satisfaction, leading to a virtuous cycle of increased trust, efficiency, and growth for the company.

Managers, HR officers, and professional development teams use these effective employee retention strategies to keep their workplace stable and their employees happy.

1. 1. Welcoming new hires: Acknowledging new employees from the day they are hired sets a positive and appreciative tone. An all-office welcome email can go a long way toward making a new hire feel noticed and valued during the onboarding process.
2. 2. Making a habit of employee recognition: Managers who praise workers for their contributions to the company help create a culture of retention. Popular employee engagement ideas in this space include employee-of-the-month programs and special awards for exceptional work.
3. 3. Prioritizing wellness: Companies that offer health insurance, paid time off, and flextime scheduling can keep their workers safe, healthy, and more likely to stick around.
4. 4. Maintaining open lines of communication: Providing open channels of communication is one of the easiest—and most effective—employee engagement strategies. Employees should have a clear understanding of company processes, hierarchy, and objectives.
5. 5. Encouraging feedback: A company culture that encourages feedback and values employees’ opinions can improve the employee experience.
6. 6. Encouraging work-life balance: In jobs where more flexibility is possible, offering paid leave and the opportunity for remote work can help employees achieve a sustainable work-life balance and avoid burnout.
7. 7. Paying employees competitively: An employee's salary should reflect the true value of their work. Paying employees competitively will also minimize the risk of them leaving prematurely to pursue a higher salary.
8. 8. Offering perks: In addition to regular paychecks and healthcare, companies can improve the employee experience by offering perks throughout the year. Free lunches, gift cards on anniversaries, annual office parties, additional health benefits, and gym memberships are just a few of the employee engagement initiatives a company can use.

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