In today’s job market, employees tend to switch jobs frequently in search of organizations that recognize and appreciate their worth. In fact, around 20% of new employees leave the company within their first 45 days. It is crucial for employers to acknowledge their employees as a valuable asset to prevent high turnover rates. To ensure that your organization doesn’t suffer significant financial losses every year, read on to discover six effective steps to boost employee retention and hold on to your best talent.
1. Effective Onboarding
Employee turnover rates are often highest within the first 6 months of employment, with 31% of employees quitting their new job before the end of their sixth month according to Select Software Reviews’s 2022 Report. High turnover rates can cause financial strain on an organization as well as a backlog of work. To prevent this, employers should prioritize an effective onboarding process that includes training on company culture and job responsibilities. As many employees express a desire for additional training, dedicating ample time to their first few weeks can yield positive results.
2. Extensive Feedback Process
It is essential to provide your employees with the opportunity to share their feedback in order to strengthen their commitment and dedication. Apart from annual reviews, it is important to encourage them to provide continuous feedback so that timely adjustments can be made and any grievances can be addressed immediately. To ensure that everyone’s voice is heard equally, offer the option of anonymous communication to the entire company, which can help ease tensions amongst team members and managers. Often, employees have a better understanding of what can be improved within a company and can provide valuable suggestions to management.
3. Check-In
It is important to regularly connect with your employees to establish a positive and trusting relationship, which will enable them to voice any concerns they may have regarding their role or the company. By being transparent about the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, and encouraging their input on how they can contribute to the company’s success, employee retention rates will significantly improve.
4. Recognize Employee’s Efforts
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, recognize your employees for their contributions and success. By making them feel valued, they will be more likely to form a strong connection with their managers and the organization as a whole. Global studies revealed, that 79% of people who quit their jobs listed “lack of appreciation” as their reason for leaving. More often than not, it is resentment towards managers that cause employees to look for new opportunities.
5. Offer Competitive Salary and Benefits
Salary and benefits play a large role in employee happiness and perception of a company, especially with today’s generation. While benefits can’t buy an employee’s loyalty, they can certainly help. Top talent comes with a price and oftentimes, it is well worth the investment. Consider offering your employees stock options to form a greater loyalty to the successes of your company or a more flexible work schedule to show your appreciation and value to your employees. This can ensure employees are fully engaged and eliminate distractive and resentful behavior.
6. Provide a Career Road Map
By helping employees with their career development and adjusting roles to their strengths and skills, employees will be less likely to look for other opportunities. Career advancement is important to 83% of employees, but only 20% feel satisfied with career growth and planning within their company. Address career growth within your organization, provide employees with a career road map, and offer internal promotions when available. Employees will feel invested in while, at the same time, you will be saving your company the added cost of an external hire.
While employee turnover cannot be eliminated entirely, these strategies will help your company improve and increase employee retention and engagement so they are less likely to seek out other (better) opportunities.
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