39% of workers would work harder if they are happy in their current role or organization. Certainly, employees won’t work at a place where they aren’t happy. At least, not the new generation employees. So, what can you do to keep your employees happy and avoid job-hopping?
Below are the employee retention strategies that you can incorporate at workplace:
1. Hiring the Right People
80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. First of all, hire the right people. People who meet the organization’s expectations and whose expectations you can fulfil. One way to do this is to go beyond the textbook interview questions.
2. Shaping their Growth and Development
Helping employees achieve their short-term and long-term goals is one of the most crucial employee retention strategies.Therefore, designing in-house training programs for employees can advance their professional development. Other methods include paying them to attend conferences, industry events, etc.
3. Encouraging Open Communication
You can create a workplace where employees aren’t afraid to express their opinions. In other words, a workplace where they can freely question their leaders and voice their concerns.An “open door policy” is an effective way to establish a culture of open communication. It shows that you’re always available to listen to their opinions and concerns.
4. Providing out-of-the-box Benefits
50% of adults would leave their job for better benefits. Catering to the needs of your employees is important. Employers should provide benefits apart from the usual vacation leaves, sick leaves.Moreover, employees favour benefits like financial incentives, retirement savings plan. Other benefits are sabbaticals, incentive stock options, life insurance, etc.
5. Appreciating your Employees
Every employee wants acknowledgement and recognition for their work. Appreciating your employees for their efforts and achievements goes a long way.Some meaningful ways are through handwritten thank you notes, social recognition programs, etc. These things motivate and encourage an employee to contribute and excel.
6. Balancing their Workload
57% of employees feel less productive and disengaged due to work stress. Tower Watson says stressing your employees can be unfavourable.Thus, encouraging team members to share the workload and take time off can be effective.
7. Developing Orientation Programs
Good managers always keep their employees informed. They clearly explain the policies, expectations of the employee from the beginning. Furthermore, orientation programs help employees to understand how they can contribute and excel.
8. Rewarding & Recognizing Employees
Sometimes, your employees expect more than a thank you or a pat on the back. When they fulfill their goals, rewarding them to congratulate their efforts is important. Corporate gifts, point-based reward system, performance awards, are some ways.
9. Maintaining Work and Life
11% of workers have refused a new job due to lack of good work-life balance opportunities. Another factor associated with overburdening is maintaining the work-life balance. To take pressure off employees, share the workload, allow work from home, practice flextime.
10. Initiating a Mentor/Buddy Culture
Assigning a mentor or a buddy to a new employee is a great onboarding idea. The newcomer can learn about their work and the existing techniques from his mentor. Moreover, a new employee can offer a fresh take on things. As a result, this will help generate creative and innovative ideas.
11. Encouraging Teamwork
People working as a team produce more successful results. When people work as a team, they produce more and are more successful. Creating a culture of collaboration where employees work in their own way but as a team helps. You can assign tasks to all team members, clarify job responsibilities and encourage them to contribute.
12. Bonding with Employees
A good manager works continuously to nurture his relationship with his employees. Above all, bonding with employees outside work is as important as inside the office.You can do this by celebrating your employees’ major milestones.
Team lunches, group treks, excursions are some methods to celebrate employees. Celebrating even their personal achievements- a new house, marriage- will deepen your bond.
13. Living up to their Expectations
Many employees feel that they don’t get the growth and exposure promised to them during hiring. Develop innovative and challenging tasks to keep your top performers engaged.
14. Providing Monetary Benefits
Employees quit their jobs due to lack of compensation. One of the major reasons that make employees quit is lack of compensation. And hiring someone new can be quite costly. To avoid this, you can give fair and just appraisal to every deserving candidate. A salary hike is another way to retain top performers.Gamification is another way. This includes rewarding employees for coming early, zero absenteeism, excellent performance.
15. Practicing a Feedback Culture
Regular feedback can reduce employee turnover. Feedbacks make it easier for employees to understand and track their goals, responsibilities.Phelpssays,“There’s feedback on the work, there’s feedback on the individual’s performance and there’s feedback on how the individual’s doing in their career.”
16. Conducting Exit interviews
Sometimes letting go of an employee is inevitable. Hence, conducting exit interviews just before an employee is about to leave is very crucial.An exit interview is asking a departing employee about his experience at the company. This process can help throw light into things like toxic management practices, departmental conflicts, etc.
17. Building Health and Wellness Programs
60% of companies offer wellness programs to stay competitive when attracting and retaining employees. You can give your employees more than just sick leaves and free health checkups.
Having a comprehensive health plan which takes care of the overall wellness of your employees is important. Your health plan can include meal tracking, fitness tracking activities, etc.Providing health insurance is another great way to take care of their wellness.
18. Providing Leadership Opportunities
Many employees feel they are capable of contributing a lot more than their current job roles. Assigning them with the right tasks, opportunities and responsibilities can increase employee satisfaction. Consequently, you will see an increase in the level of your employee retention.
19. Altering Work Responsibilities
Doing the same work becomes boring and tedious.In that case, don’t make employees stick to their laid down responsibilities. Involve them in various tasks and a chance to work with other departments. This will help generate better ideas, improve co-worker relationships. It will also make them more skilled and advance their professional development.
20. Generating Peer-to-Peer Recognition
To reduce employee turnover, your employees should trust and believe in each other. When they will value each other, they will help each other and work as a team. This will lessen internal conflicts, and create a culture of peer-to-peer recognition.
With that being said, it’s really time to step up your employee retention game!