Employee Retention - Retention Programs

Employee retention programs come with their own set of benefits. The implementation of even basic employee retention programs, can help organizations become the destinations for talented employees, rather than a stepping stone to the next company or the next job.

Following are some of the effective methods for retaining the best employee in an organization −

• Encourage referrals and recruit from within
• Make employees feel valued
• Encourage referrals and recruit from within
• Provide growth opportunities
• Training and Mentoring
• Coaching/feedback
• Instill a positive culture
• Lower stress from overworking and create work/life balance
• Use effective communication to build credibility
• Show appreciation via compensation and benefits
• Foster trust and confidence in senior leaders

In the present job market, many organizations are worried about how to put a curb on employee attrition. Employee retention programs can help in this regard to retain the most valuable assets in an organization – the employees. High turnover rates cost time and money and indicate that the organization is a stepping stone, rather than a destination.

An employer might think that developing new employee retention strategies requires time. However, this is mandatory and helps organizations in the long run. Let us now understand how to create an effective employee retention program.

Measure Your Turnover Rate

The first step for creating or improving an employee retention program is to know, where the employer stands compared to industry benchmarks. With the use of appropriate tools and formulae for calculating the employee’s turnover rate, we can compare our organization’s average to the prevailing average in the industry and further analyze on the result. Depending on whether your turnover is high or low, you can improve or maintain your rates.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the organization, which should aspire to create a work environment where employees are engaged and aim to deliver their best.

Employee Compensation Strategies

When deciding the compensation strategies in your organization, there is only one question you should answer. Employee compensation is only one piece of the puzzle. If all of the other pieces – workplace, relationships, support and growth strategies don’t fit together, then a 10% raise isn’t a surefire way to retain employees. In the past, companies paid people for their time.

To retain employees, your compensation plan needs to incorporate this trend. Set performance goals for your team and give incentive bonuses. Offering stock options can also be a good idea. You might also want to consider giving extra benefits to your employees, like tickets and discounts, when they exceed your expectations.

Working Environment

Although compensation is a factor, ultimately, people stay in jobs they enjoy. You should, therefore, make sure that your work environment attracts, retains and nourishes great people. Casual dress codes or free lunches, snacks and gym memberships are great perks that are very expensive either.

Work-life balance is now a major employee engagement factor. Offering flexible work schedules, setting up a work from home policy and encouraging employees to take time off can help you retain the existing talent pool.

Relationship with Managers

As it is believed that employees don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. Bad managers lose good employees. It is the responsibility of the management to train their managers for acting as mentors to the employees and for building a healthy relationship with their team members. It is a known fact that good communication skills play a key role in preventing misunderstandings and conflicts at workplace. It is not mandatory that one should become friends with the employees, but being an active listener can solve a lot of issues.

Personal Growth and Development

Good employees are interested in growing. Perks and other benefits are good, but aren’t easily personalized to satisfy all employees. Besides, how long will an ambitious employee stay at your company if you only offer some free snacks as a perk? In the long-term, everyone is interested in personal development.

Ask your employees about their personal goals and discover what motivates them. Let them move between departments and collaborate with different teams, suggest seminars they can attend or courses they might be interested in. Even training that has little to do with their current job can be beneficial, as it sets you apart from other employers and shows that you truly care for your people.

Employee Recognition

Some employers think awards like ‘employee of the month’ are significant to employees, but this isn’t really the rule. Usually, employees want to receive recognition for their work when they actually do the work and not much later, otherwise they do not feel valued. Even if it’s just a quick “Hey, great work on that project,” a simple praise will do wonders for your employees’ motivation.

Everyone knows employees like to get recognition from their supervisor. But praise from colleagues can be just as important. Employees feel valued when their peers recognize their efforts.

Support Strategies

Employee support strategies involve giving people the tools and equipment they need to get their job done. When employees feel they have what they need to perform, their job satisfaction increases drastically.

If employees know what they are doing and what is expected of them, they are able to deliver better. Let your employees see the ‘big picture’ and involve them in the strategic planning. As a result, they will contribute to achieving goals and will be more likely to stay with you.

Unusual Strategies that Work

Employee retention programs don’t have to be costly, or confined to large organizations only. Small companies and startups can implement new strategies to retain their employees using simple but creative ideas.

Keep in mind that an employee retention program should align with your company’s culture and focus on improving employees’ productivity. Making a counteroffer to an employee who has decided to leave is only a short-term solution. And ‘one-size fits all’ programs aren’t effective, because they’re not tailored to your company’s needs.