5 Ways To Increase Employee Retention For Your Company
No company likes losing and having to replace talented employees. However, the reality is that if you are not making the efforts needed to retain these individuals then you will notice employee turnover continuing to be high.
There are a number of factors that all employees look for in a company that determines their job satisfaction and the likelihood of them continuing to stay engaged and loyal to a company. Below, we discuss the importance of each of these factors and how you can implement them to ensure that employee retention stays high.
Keeping your employees satisfied in their roles is becoming more of a challenge and many Canadian companies are noting that employee retention is getting harder to achieve each year. Retaining top talent is a top priority for all companies. So, what are companies doing wrong?
Why Employee Retention Is Becoming Harder For Companies To Achieve?
According to HRReporter.com, a study carried out by LinkedIn found that Canada ranks fourth among the top countries in terms of employee turnover with an estimated 16%. This is above the global average of 12.8%. Many of the reasons that were cited for employee retention being so low included no opportunities for advancement within the role and dissatisfaction with management and workplace culture.
Long gone are the days when an employee stuck with the same employer for their entire career. Now, most employees will stay with a company for a maximum of 4 years, if not less.
As a leader, if your employee turnover is high then you must investigate the issues that are leading to this. Until businesses proactively put plans in place to improve conditions and compensations for employees in the workplace, achieving employee retention will always be a struggle.
5 Ways That Your Company Can Increase Employee Retention
One of the leading deciding factors for an employee when they are considering a move to another company is how their current compensation compares to other offers. Money is no longer the driving motivation for taking another job offer. In fact, factors such as workplace culture and upskilling opportunities are.
If you are looking to decrease employee turnover rates, then it is paramount that you offer the following benefits and opportunities to new and existing employees.
1. Health Benefits
Group health insurance policy will always be one of the most valuable benefits that employees seek in a company. Across all generations, health benefits are one of the most highly sought after perk when searching for a job. Unsurprisingly, the link between health benefits and employee retention is strong.
The cost of healthcare can be extremely expensive, especially in North America. That’s why improving health benefits and insurance offerings for employees is one of the surest ways of increasing employee satisfaction.
2. Competitive Salary
While this may not be a company’s first choice and as difficult as it can be to keep up with competitive salaries, especially if you are a small business, calculate the cost of replacing employees. Employees often discover that they can avail of a 10% – 20% increase in salary by simply moving to another company. This makes jumping ship look much more attractive.
In order to keep highly talented employees, competitive salaries are part of a mix of factors that prove to employees that they are valued within the company.
3. Employee Training & Upward Mobility
74% of millennial workers cite better career development opportunities as one of the driving factors for seeking opportunities elsewhere. Developing the skills of your employees and offering internal opportunities for career growth is key to employee retention.
An employer that doesn’t focus on upskilling employees is going to lose out in performance, engagement and retention. Development is no longer thought of as an optional perk but rather it is expected by today’s modern workforce. It proves to employees that companies value their staff and are proactively helping them succeed.
Integrating training and learning opportunities into the employee experience is one of the notable ways that you’ll be able to decrease employee turnover. Continuous learning in the workplace will keep your workforce agile, engaged, focused and driven. Creating a workplace culture that is embedded in continuous learning will increase job satisfaction twofold.
4. Workplace Culture & Stress
Unfortunately, two of the leading reasons why an employee makes the decision to leave is due to employee burnout and a company not having a healthy workplace culture.
More so than ever, today’s workforce value employers that put measures in place which reduce stress levels and foster a positive company culture. Chronic stress in the workplace is extremely damaging to employees’ health. Not only does it impact productivity but it can also manifest in both physical and mental issues. To ensure employee turnover rates are kept low, as an employer it is your responsibility to put stress management measures in place which support employees that are struggling.
Additionally, you must proactively build a workplace culture that communicates to prospective and existing employees that is it an environment that is supportive of personal and professional growth. Culture fit is highly important so being transparent and open about your company values will help employees flourish.
5. Employee Recognition
Finally, the last piece in the retention puzzle is prioritizing employee recognition. Those employees who feel undervalued and unappreciated are the first to work on their resumes and brush up on their interview skills. Leaders and managers must make an effort to let top talent know that their hard work is not going unnoticed – on an ongoing basis.
Employees stay in companies where they feel appreciated. Your staff respond to appreciation expressed through the recognition of their hard work because it confirms that they are a valuable member of the company. When employees are valued, their satisfaction and productivity increases.
Let Training Company Be Your Outsourced L&D Department
When it comes down to it, employee retention is centred around having access to a workplace environment that prioritizes learning and development opportunities. Whether that is in the form of regular “lunch and learns”, webinars or ongoing employee training courses.
Here at the Training Company, we understand the importance of providing such an environment for your employees. That’s why we work alongside companies as their outsourced learning and development department. We work with you to design continuous learning opportunities for your employees on a yearly basis so that your employees can receive the skills training they need to grow and flourish in their careers.
Interested in finding out more about what benefits we provide as an outsourced L&D department? Contact our team today and we’ll walk you through our Learning Management System and the courses we have available.