Maintaining the right employee retention strategies should generally be a top concern for HR managers. Now, with the great resignation in place and the state of workplaces rapidly changing, maintaining retention is increasingly important.
What exactly does employee retention look like right now, and what are the best retention strategies to use?
We uncover some of the most important retention stats to reveal the most effective HR strategies you need to be using.
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5 Key Employee Retention Stats to Consider
Implementing strong retention strategies is more important than ever. Here are five important statistics about employee retention to help paint a picture of why this is true.
- According to the Work Institute’s 2021 retention report, 1 in 5 employees left their jobs due to “career issues”. Another reason why employees left their jobs was due to health and family issues, and work-life balance problems.
- After the pandemic, 25% of full-time employees planned to look for a new job with a new employer. At the same time, more than half of employees invested in programs for their own skills training.
- Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has become a top priority for businesses. Companies with a strong D&I implementation are seeing retention rates up to eight times higher than non-D&I companies.
- Loneliness in the workplace is a major factor behind employees leaving their jobs. Lonely employees are twice as likely to consider quitting. Loneliness in the workplace is also directly related to a decline in work quality.
- 41% of employees feel it’s important to know what their company stands for. Offering a sense of purpose to employees has been identified as a key factor in improving retention.
5 Employee Retention Strategies to Consider
From what we’ve learned over the past two years, implementing the right employee retention strategy is essential for achieving long-term company success.
Here are some of the most important employee retention strategies to put into practice:
- Provide Ongoing Learning Opportunities
One of the biggest reasons why employees leave their jobs is because they feel a lack of career growth, or want their careers to take a different course. This is why providing ongoing education, training, and upskilling opportunities is one of the most important employee retention strategies.
Employees will stay motivated to learn and discover new ways to advance in their careers. Promoting learning also shows that you care about employee development, and are invested in the future and growth of employees.
Some of the best strategies to achieve this include offering mentorship programs, using an online network platform to share valuable learning materials, facilitating networking opportunities, investing in courses, and continually introducing new internal training and learning programs.
2. Hire the Right People
This may seem straightforward, but one of the most effective employee retention strategies is to hire the right people from the offset. If you know what to look for in a candidate, this does not have to be a major challenge.
Instead of solely focusing on career backgrounds, education, and experience, employers should look closely towards culture fit when hiring new employees. Ensuring the new employee’s personal mission and vision align with the company’s is one of the best ways to build up a team that sticks around for the long term.
Hiring employees that share the same outlook as the company is essential for long-term commitments.
3. Embrace Remote Work Options
Since the world was widely introduced to remote work during the pandemic, it has become a type of new norm that employees don’t only look for, but expect. Companies that aren’t able to accommodate remote work are likely to see a decline in employee retention.
This is because employees seek out a good work-life balance as a major deciding factor in their careers.
Luckily, with technology where it is today, being able to offer remote and flexible work options does not have to be difficult. With the right online platforms, maintaining communication and collaboration is easy.
4. Engage Employees
Employees don’t just want to be another number in a company, they want to feel that they are actively involved in the company. When it comes to employee retention strategies, keeping employees as engaged as possible is important.
This includes things like asking for employee feedback, keeping communication open and easy, understanding employee concerns, or sending out regular polls to understand how your staff is doing.
On the topic of employee engagement, it’s also important to maintain an engaged corporate alumni network. Ensuring positive alumni engagement leads to improved brand awareness and access to a larger talent network. This is important when employee retention is in decline.
If employees feel like they are being listened to and valued, this should reflect positive retention rates.
5. Get the Basics Right
At the end of the day, people stick with their jobs if the job meets all of their needs. Offering free drinks on Fridays and massage chairs in the office is pointless if your staff aren’t well compensated.
Ensure employees are happy with their salaries, and that they have clear growth opportunities available. Try not to overwork employees, and understand exactly what they want to stay motivated.
Conclusion
If your organization gets employee retention right, it can access a happier, more productive workforce that adds more long-term value. Employee retention strategies are essential if you want to achieve sustained company growth and deliver better results. In today’s uncertain and ever-changing world, this is incredibly important.
The good news is that employee retention doesn’t have to be as intimidating as many sources make it seem. By valuing employees, ensuring their needs and career goals are met, and building a strong employee community, you can boost retention in a big way.
