Six Smart Ways to Keep Your Best People on Board
Employee retention is crucial in a job market in which we’re all competing against a backdrop of skills shortages and low unemployment rates. It’s crucial to not only attract talented people, but to keep them.
When it comes to staff turnover, the stakes couldn’t be higher. You see, employee retention isn’t simply an HR metric – it’s critical to your company’s success. The cost of replacing an employee can be colossal. The hidden impact on team morale, customer confidence, productivity, and your branding as an employer can be devastating.
The question, then, is how do you retain your best performers?
In this article, we take a brief look at building staffing strategies that you should be using to reduce employee turnover and develop a resilient, loyal, and high-performing workforce.
1. Offer Competitive Compensation & Benefits
Poor pay and bad benefits remain among the top reasons for changing jobs.
The best employees aren’t swayed by the highest salary. They’re not mercenaries. But, if you aren’t offering competitive compensation, it will damage your ability to attract and retain top talent. People will soon realize when your pay isn’t keeping pace with the competition, and they will leave.
On top of a salary that meets industry benchmarks, today’s workforce desire a range of benefits that improve their work/life balance. Flexible schedules, remote or hybrid options, generous health benefits and wellness programs are now standard expectations.
Our advice is to review your compensation packages regularly to remain competitive, and to also take the pulse of your workforce to ensure that your benefits stay tuned into their needs.
2. Create Clear Career Growth Paths
Another key factor in the decision to move on is stagnation. When an employee cannot see opportunities to progress and develop as a professional in their field, they are likely to look elsewhere for the challenge they desire. However, it’s also true that the concept of professional growth has evolved in recent years. Traditional career paths have been replaced by ‘career crafting’ – the acquisition of skills and responsibilities that give an employee purpose and meaning.
In this regard, our talent pool tells us that a focus on career development is important, including:
- Upskilling initiatives
- Training/learning stipends or reimbursements
- Structured and tailored professional development plans
- Mentorship programs
Just how big a factor is career growth planning for employee retention? In its ‘2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey: Living and Working with Purpose in a Transforming World’ study, Deloitte found that companies that invest in structured upskilling programs see a 34% higher retention rate among Gen Z employees.
Professional growth should never be a conversation left for annual reviews. It should be part of your everyday culture, because when employees see a future with your company, they stay to build it.
3. Build a Strong, Inclusive Company Culture
A strong, inclusive culture gives employees a sense of belonging, purpose, and pride. It makes them feel seen and supported – key drivers of employee loyalty. Indeed, in research spanning more than a decade, McKinsey & Company found that an inclusive company culture results in a 47% uptick in employee retention.
One of the most impactful (and overlooked) cultural tools? Listening. Gathering regular feedback – through surveys, one-on-ones, or social get-togethers – help build trust and understand issues before they become discovered at exit interviews.
Remember, culture isn’t what happens at the company picnic – it’s what people experience every day at work.
4. Prioritize Employee Engagement & Recognition
Staying with the theme of listening, we turn quickly to employee engagement and recognition. When employees feel appreciated, they’re far more likely to stick around.
Companies that prioritize more than job satisfaction tend to keep teams together longer. We’re talking about talking – connecting, motivating, recognizing good performance, and giving your people a sense of ownership.
Leadership behavior is crucial. Consistent check-ins, pulse interviews, and ‘stay interviews’ work well to reveal how your employees are thinking. Managers should encourage employees to share their ideas, lead initiatives, and ensure their voice is heard in decisions that affect them.
Recognition is a critical piece of the puzzle, and can be easier to implement than some managers believe. Whether through peer-nominated awards, leadership shoutouts, or employee spotlights, celebrating wins keeps morale high and improves team spirit.
5. Foster Flexibility & Work-Life Balance
Burnout is another top reason for people quitting their jobs. Prompted by the Pandemic, today’s employees place great value on working for a company that demonstrates that it cares about the needs of its employees – and these employees desire flexibility of where and how they work.
Offering remote/hybrid working and compressed workweeks are excellent strategies to help employees design their own workweeks and improve their work/life balance.
If you do need staff to be in the office, you could provide greater autonomy for employees. This might include flexible start times or extra personal days. Equally importantly, develop a more forgiving culture, so that people cane take time off without feeling guilty.
In short, work/life balance isn’t a perk – it’s a necessity to improve long-term retention.
6. Hire the Best Candidates to Join Your Teams
The number one strategy to improve your employee retention numbers is to make the right hires.
A structured hiring process that evaluates both skills and cultural fit will reduce staff turnover and improve your team dynamics. You should provide clear expectations in job descriptions and throughout interviews. Do this and you will help candidates to feel more confident and connected from the start.
Make Employee Retention Your Strategic Advantage
Retaining talent isn’t just about raising salaries. It’s about showing your people you care about them, by investing in their growth, making them feel wanted, valuing their contribution, and offering flexibility. It’s about your workplace culture.
Above all else, employee retention is about hiring the right people. Recruit candidates who not only possess the hard and soft skills to do the job, but who also fit with your culture, values, and long-term mission and goals.
Don’t wait until your best performers walk out the door. Our recruiters focus on long-term fit. Contact Lakeshore Talent today to partner with a staffing agency that helps you to swing the needle from filling seats to building high-performing teams.