HR Strategies for Employee Retention

 

What is Employee Retention?

Employee retention is the steps or processes taken by HR professionals and managers to ensure the organizations retain employees. If employees terminate an organization affects the organization’s productivity, morale, and employee engagement.

A leading interviewing technology solution provider states that 80% of business managers feel that staff retention is a major issue that companies are facing these days, as 27% of employees change jobs each year, 17% are actively job-hunting, 46% are passively looking (ADP), and 35% of the employees consider giving up their current role in a year (Mercer).

Due to this around 75% of companies are considering redesigning their hiring and staff retention processes.

What are the reasons for employee turnover?

Employee retention strategy

Let's familiarize ourselves with the term "employee retention strategy". It refers to the collection of procedures and practices adopted by a company to keep employees retain and reduce employee turnover.

For that organization can build an environment that encourages the employees to work in a satisfactory manner and loyalty.

Competitive salaries and benefits packages, employee recognition and rewards programs, flexible work arrangements, opportunities for career advancement, work-life balance programs, training, and professional development programs, and a positive company culture among employees are examples of good employee retention strategies.

Benefits of Employee Retention Strategy

• Save on recruitment and training costs - recruiting/training new employees, and paying outsourcing companies for finding new employees can be expensive, both in terms of time and money.
• Maintain productivity and efficiency - if experienced and skilled employees leave can result in disrupting the workflows and decrease productivity.  
• Build a positive workplace culture - if the employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be engaged and productive.
• Attract new talent - When employees are happy and engaged in the organization's activities they are more likely to recommend the organization to others which leads to attracting new talent.

Effective employee retention strategies.

For any organization to maintain a reliable and dedicated team, "effective employee retention" techniques are very important. 

1. Ensure the right people are hired - Many businesses use pre-placement or aptitude tests to evaluate the quality of prospective employees. To thoroughly evaluate candidates, several organizations also use personality tests.
2. Allot responsibilities as per employee’s interests and specializations – Assign the job duties and responsibilities as per the employee’s interest.
3. Avoid hierarchical structure and create an accessible work environment - Implement "open-door" policies, where staff members feel free to raise any concerns with senior management without fear.
4. Appreciate good work to encourage them to stay for longer- Employee morale can be raised by a simple "thank you" for a work that was completed expertly. Employees are made aware of their value when appropriate incentives and evaluations are provided by their skill level. Their performance is affected by this, which enhances the company's performance.
5. Performance appraisals and other perks are key to happy employees - During the appraisal process, establish reasonable goals for the employee and deepen the relationship with them to motivate them to work even more to reach their objectives. Aim to perform appraisals more frequently than once a year to motivate the employee.
6. Ease employees’ work-life balance - The employee's work-life balance is the employee’s responsibility, not the employer's. However, the employer can change their policies to ensure that they support it. Employees may motivate if the employer facilitates flexible work schedules and additional paid time off (PTO) in addition to their regular leave options.
7. Come up with appropriate training programs for employee growth - Training the employees constantly according to the new professional development in the company is what will prevent employee turnover.
8. Cultivate Team Spirit -Create transparency about team goals, roles, and responsibilities and encourage the employees to share their thoughts in every small and big decision.

Apart from the above strategies, the following also can practice retaining the employee in an organization.

• Employee wellness -boosts employee mental, physical, and emotional health. Through these employees tend to build a connection or trust towards the company and a sense of feeling that the company cares about them, which in turn increases employee retention and decreases employee turnover. (Mani, V., 2011).
• Work culture - Workplace perks include more flexible hours, the possibility to work from home, the organization of informal team outings and activities, free snacks and beverages, and a setting with high-quality facilities like a gym, patio, or café.
• Construction and Growth -Provide training programs and training coverage for learning and development. Implement internal hiring procedures. Provide promotional chances.
• Salary and Benefits -Provide individualized benefits, Be flexible with salaries.

Conclusion

In today's competitive job market, employee retention is a crucial part of any effective business strategy. Organizations may establish a successful and engaged workforce by utilizing the tactics covered above to attract and keep great employees.

References

Bhat, A. (2023) Employee retention: What it is & strategies, QuestionPro. Available at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/employee-retention-strategies/ (Accessed: April 21, 2023). 

Verasai, A. (2023) Staying ahead of the curve: Strategies for employee retention in competitive job markets, The HR Digest. Available at: https://www.thehrdigest.com/staying-ahead-of-the-curve-strategies-for-employee-retention-in-competitive-job-markets/ (Accessed: April 21, 2023).