Renew HR — HR transformation, electrified.

Why retention is a management goal

Effective employee retention requires a set of holistic techniques that add to the overall growth and productivity of a company. The benefits of employee retention are numerous, and companies are increasingly seeking to inculcate retention practices. Employee retention is more than just keeping employees; it needs to instil a sense of loyalty and commitment as well.

Experts in the field of Human Resources have come up with various theories to understand the phenomenon of employee retention. These are based on the idea that both the employer and the employee must work together to make the work experience smoother. Once that is achieved, customer relations and experience gain exceptional progress, and the company harnesses multi-dimensional gains.

It is no surprise, then, that one of the key management goals is to achieve employee retention successfully. Companies employ various practices suited to their needs and goals, and may follow different techniques at different stages. Stagnation in employees’ personal growth can end up bearing heavy costs, both material and quality-wise, so it is essential to create an environment in which employees feel connected to the work they are doing. Listed below are the top 10 best practices for employee retention, aimed at increasing engagement and satisfaction — an inclusive set of practices that lead to increased productivity and growth in customer satisfaction as well.

1. Hire the right candidates

A study from the recruiting platform Jobvite shows that around 30% of freshly acquired employees leave within the first 90 days — a huge loss for the company in both money and time. This happens mostly due to misplaced hiring or a lack of company initiative to make employees feel confident about their job prospects.

To ensure the right candidates are hired, examine whether applicants will be a good fit for the cultural ethos of the company. Skills and expertise can be acquired, but candidates must understand the company’s values and targets. Reflect this in the hiring process by asking questions that are more reflective of one’s work ethics and practices, so employees have a clear idea of their work environment and professional expectations from the very beginning.

2. Provide a great onboarding process

Employees are generally excited to start a new job, and management should ensure that excitement is maintained. An impressionable starting day, a feedback loop, and an exciting calendar are some ways to keep new employees engaged. Communication should be constant, with no grey silence that can make recruits anxious, and employees should feel confident about seeking out opportunities and office relationships from the very beginning. If employees face challenges during this crucial process, their enthusiasm takes a hit that can take forever to resurface, so a comprehensive onboarding program with enough time for feedback is crucial.

3. Help your employees grow and develop

Employees who feel underwhelmed about their job opportunities are quicker to leave. Instead of trying to acquire more skilful employees, companies should focus on creating a skilful environment within the company — primarily by creating a training program supplemented by workshops, incentives, and the like. According to the online course provider Udemy, 42 percent of employees agree that learning and development is the most important benefit when deciding where to work. A proactive approach to employee growth and development reduces turnover and drives more productivity.

4. Provide ample employee recognition

One of the key reasons employees leave is a lack of recognition. Even though HR policies do include techniques to acknowledge efforts, they are often mechanical without any real value. A structured employee recognition program is therefore essential for proper retention. Recognition means the whole company has strong interpersonal communication and management is kept in the loop, enabling them to recognize how different employees are contributing. The ideal scenario is a recognition culture where individual employees and company management can freely recognize one another.

5. Practice a feedback culture

Effective communication requires open and honest give-and-take and is an essential part of company culture. A cyclic, rather than a linear, pattern of feedback is essential — show your employees what they are lacking and how to improve, and be open to suggestions based on what employees feel and need. Given the difficult situation the pandemic has created, it is even more crucial to keep a check on employees; one can ask non-probing personal questions to make employees feel safe about their career choices.

6. Maintain work-life balance

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance for your employees is not only important for their health and relationships, but can also improve their productivity and performance. If your employees don’t view their work as a burden, they make fewer mistakes, work harder, and are more likely to become promoters of your brand. It is unwise to excessively push employees for short-term goals — that makes them feel overwhelmed and results in half-baked work. Instead, offer flexible work schedules that teams can manage on their own. Work-life balance is a primary deciding factor for employees, especially those with families.

7. Provide competitive compensation

Everyone wants to feel they are being compensated adequately for the amount of work they put in. Apart from covering their cost of living, fair pay ensures their time is worth their effort, so a competitive salary gives talented employees minimal reasons to leave or to not utilize their full potential. Management should take time to research current wages and apply them as they see fit — when employees see they are being paid as much as, or more than, their contemporaries, they become more dedicated to the company.

8. Encourage open communication

Perhaps one of the hardest goals to achieve in company culture is open communication. Employees often feel a sense of distance from their employers, which can be harmful to the company’s growth. Bosses who are easy to approach and open to suggestions often end up retaining a strong set of dedicated and hardworking employees. Open communication means employees are not afraid to put forward their ideas and concerns, and that these are received with attention — resulting in better outcomes and easier delegation of responsibilities.

9. Bond with your employees

According to data from Virgin Pulse, a good relationship between employees and their employer is one of the major factors determining retention. In the survey of 1,000 employees, 60 percent stated that their relationship with employers impacted their productivity as well as their stress levels at work. While it is not advisable to be overly involved in employees’ lives, a certain amount of interest in their personal and professional life is beneficial — noting an update on their housing situation or celebrating personal achievements are small ways managers can bond with their teams. It is also healthy to promote team-building activities like group lunches, game nights, and treks, which enrich relationships and make employees more connected to peers and superiors.

10. Emphasise a diverse and inclusive workplace culture

As the world gradually becomes more accepting of differences, the workplace must adapt too. There has been rapid development in ensuring the workplace is not hostile to any community, especially minorities, with provisions to remove barriers of gender, sexual orientation, and educational background being adopted globally. This makes sure employees feel safe expressing themselves and can bring fresher outlooks. A company that makes its employees feel appreciated will surely harness unbounded gains.

Conclusion

The practices explained above are some of the ways companies can retain their most skilled employees most efficiently. Policies and practices that are flexible, inclusive, and based on a cycle of feedback are ideal. The corporate world is ever-changing, and one must keep an eye out to stay on top of it — corporations must be wise enough to revise and re-adapt these practices with changing times and needs.

What employee recognition really is

Ever wondered what employee recognition is? It’s much more than giving the thumbs up, and it can mean the difference between a thriving business and a sinking one. This article highlights why employee recognition matters and how using it effectively can increase your business’s bottom line.

Here’s why showing your employees recognition matters

Only 1 in 3 workers in the United States reported having received recognition for hard work they had done in the last 7 days — a significant figure, given how much of the country’s workforce is employed by businesses. Showing your employees recognition when they are performing well is a low-cost, high-return investment. If two-thirds of Americans aren’t feeling their work is being recognized by their employers, then making this a priority within your workforce will raise you above the competition.

Employee retention is oftentimes overlooked as a critical issue facing businesses. Particularly during a tight economy, losing a valued worker can cost as much as 2x their original salary in flow-on effects — finding new staff, decreased productivity, training costs, and subtle negative changes to company culture can all strain your business. Showing employees the recognition they deserve routinely throughout their career increases the chances of retention massively. Studies also show that ensuring your employees’ happiness can have up to a 13% positive impact on productivity, so being proactive in showing gratitude to your workforce is key to driving success.

Ask yourself: do you recognize your employees’ efforts?

Being honest with yourself, sit down with a senior member of staff and record the ways you feel you and management display recognition in the workplace. Chances are you don’t do it enough. It’s understandable — running a business is time-consuming and other things take precedence. Moving forward, think of ways to include methods of employee recognition in your schedule, and brainstorm with staff about what makes them feel seen and appreciated. To get the ideas flowing, here are eight ways to recognize the value of your employees without breaking the bank — or your back.

1. Highlight milestones — work-related and non-work-related

If an employee has been working hard day in and day out, do not miss your opportunity to let them know you appreciate their efforts; like any relationship, nothing sours the union faster than one party never being recognized. Where appropriate, take the time to congratulate employees on non-work milestones such as getting married, having kids, or succeeding in a sporting or musical event. Although some may deem it minor, commenting on an employee’s achievements outside of work shows you have a vested interest in their livelihood.

2. Invest in them

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. Investing in your employees shows you recognize their work and are willing to invest financially in their wellbeing. This doesn’t have to be expensive dinners or events — simple gestures such as buying the lunchroom a new coffee machine, or investing in new couches and pods for breaks, state loud and clear that you want them to enjoy being at work. If a team has been asking you to invest in new technologies or software to improve their workflow, now is the time to do it.

3. Get to know employees’ passions outside of work

Learning about your employees is pivotal if you want to authentically connect with them — this is, after all, the crux of recognition: being heard, connected with, and valued. Actively listening and taking time out of a busy workday to talk about their passions and hobbies will reap dividends. Knowing more about your workforce also helps you recognize them more authentically. For example, if a marketing employee, Adam, is coming up on 10 years of service and you know he loves painting but doesn’t care much for sports, tickets to an art gallery for him and his partner will carry far greater meaning than tickets to an NBA game.

4. Utilize gamification and new technologies

Studies show only about 30% of employees have been engaged at work over the past two decades. Could this be the same one-third of the workforce receiving recognition for their work? Although not directly correlated, a link between recognition and engagement is not too outlandish. The good news is you have the power to change this. Gamifying certain aspects of your business — such as sales or customer support — makes employees’ progress and hard work more visible to you and their peers, making it easier to publicly recognize them.

5. Create a culture that encourages peer-to-peer recognition

Employee recognition doesn’t always have to come from the top. Fostering an environment that encourages peer-to-peer recognition is highly beneficial. Subtly incorporating a peer-recognition program within the workweek gives teams the ability to give each other positive feedback — you can make this more natural by enlisting a respected leader to host a casual briefing over coffee and snacks at the end of the week. This is powerful for morale, as recognition from fellow team members can sometimes be even more meaningful than from your boss.

6. Offer extra perks

Perks and bonuses are a tangible way for employees to feel their hard work has paid off. Providing access to non-purchasable items, such as more convenient office parking or larger discounts on your company’s products and services, feels like a unique acquisition rather than a paid bonus. This creates greater drive if employees know that higher performance equals better perks. Those who routinely show they can work autonomously toward company goals may also be granted a more flexible working schedule — allowing occasional work from home or a later start is a powerful way of saying you trust them.

7. Motivate with financial incentives and bonuses

Intrinsic motivation is the drive to perform for the love of the process or task at hand; extrinsic motivators are anything outside of this. Intrinsic motivation is far more effective for achieving difficult, long-term goals. That said, financial incentives and bonuses are an obvious way to show employees you recognize their performance — as long as they are used fairly and sparingly. With COVID causing financial hardship and uncertainty, monetary bonuses will be well received, and effective compensation management with clear guidelines guarantees this style of recognition is used to its fullest potential.

8. Loosen the reins and give autonomy

Taking a step back and allowing high-performing employees some autonomy is a strong, subliminal indicator that you trust their ability to work without your input. For some people this is one of the strongest forms of recognition there is — and knowing your employees on a more personal level helps you decide whether their personality would appreciate this gesture. Let them know privately that you are very happy with their work and that they will have more room to be innovative and lead future projects; this extension of freedom and trust goes a long way.

Be authentic in your recognition

The low-cost investment of employee recognition could be what drives your business to succeed. Authentically recognizing your staff’s efforts will be a catalyst for productivity. Applying all or some of these tactics will drive positive change — and remember, recognition doesn’t have to come in the form of costly bonuses and big promotions. It can carry just as much value when you have a deeper understanding of what drives and impassions your employees.

Tag: Retention

Top 10 employee retention best practices