Employees are our most valued assets, yet statistics prove that roughly 31% of employees report handing in their notice after just one month. That is a staggeringly high number and highlights the importance of employee retention.
The problem has become such an epidemic that 87% of HR leaders claim that proper employee retention strategies are high on their priority list, but what can executives do to help alleviate the issue? Here are some strategies to help you gain control of your company’s hiring rate and improve employee retention once and for all.
Place an Emphasis on Open Communication
The days have long since passed where executives and those in management positions could simply head into their office, shut the door, and workers would hum along like bees. Employees today want to feel empowered by the fact that their managers value their ideas. They also want to feel as though they are seen as opposed to being seemingly invisible to the boss.
Open the lines of communication with every employee. When hiring, never just let the new hire fend for themselves out in the office pool. Check in with them throughout their first few weeks or months of employment. A new job of any sort can be very stressful when trying to learn the ropes. However, when employees feel as though their manager values them by asking how things are going during that adjustment period, the tone of the job changes to a more positive and open environment.
Expert Executive Search
Employee retention begins even before the new hire is officially on the payroll. Proper vetting is essential to finding the right person for each job, yet executives and professionals in hiring positions lack the available time to properly vet applicants. This is one area in which hiring a service to perform the vetting is essential to the overall success of the company. Hiring the right person for the job in the beginning keeps the company from high overturn rates and retraining each new hire. With the average costs of training a new hire well into the thousands today, hiring the right person from the beginning with executive search expertise is the key ingredient to alleviate employee retention woes.
Clear Growth
What is the one complaint of most individuals who quit their jobs? Lack of potential growth. Employees who see no growth potential in their employment are not motivated to stay. Companies that regularly hire from within and actively advance their employees retain far more employees than those that place a cap on their employee’s potential.
Many strategies are available to help show employees growth opportunities such as:
- Coaching and Mentoring
- A variety of development programmes offered – these could be in-person seminars and training events or online learning courses depending on the needs of your team.
Benefits That Mean Something
The 1930s saw a drastic decline in the global economy. The Great Depression hit everyone hard and many companies lost everything. However, some companies, including IBM, managed to retain employees and survive throughout this dark financial time. How did they do it? They offered benefits that meant something to the employees during that time. Sick days, vacation, life insurance, and many other benefits offered gave employees a bit of a break from the growing stress around them. These benefits meant something then, and they mean something today.
Today’s employees, however, do not have to be limited by these benefits alone. Companies throughout the world are investing in the overall happiness of their employees by offering benefits that mean something to them. Google, today is one of the most coveted employers in the world and it is largely due to the environment surrounding the company and their amazing benefits packages. Employees for Google get perks such as free lunch, transportation allowances, and much more. You do not have to go to extremes for employee benefits, but take a general look at your company and see what you can offer your employees in a customized benefits package. Many times, simple things are more meaningful and less expensive.
Employee retention may be a problem for some companies, but it does not have to be for yours. Businesses that focus their attention on employee retention with clear growth opportunities, meaningful benefits, and proper initial executive search, fare far better than those that neglect to do so causing high turnover rates throughout their company.
