Written by Milly Woodward

What is it & why is it important?

Employee retention is the process of keeping employees with a company for a long period of time- so why is retaining your staff so important? 

• It helps to reduce turnover costs. When employees leave, companies must spend money recruiting and training new employees which can be timely.
• Employee retention helps to ensure that companies have a stable workforce. This is especially important in industries where there is a high demand for skilled workers.
• Retaining employees can help to improve morale and motivation levels within a company. Employees who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to be productive and engaged in their work.
• It also helps in attracting and retaining top talents. As employees want to work with the organisation where they have good job security and the retention rate helps in showcasing it.

What should you include in your 2023 retention strategy?

Encourage Employee’s to Maintain a Work-Life Balance

Burnout is one of the primary reasons that employees voluntarily leave a job. A lot of factors contribute to burnout, but the main one is often an imbalance between working hours and time outside work. Encouraging employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance can begin early during onboarding and be reinforced during performance reviews and other pivotal times. Offering employees perks like mental health services and fitness facility access are all great strategies for preventing employee burnout.

Provide a clear career path & promote from within

While some employees are content with steady work and nominal annual pay raises, most top talent are looking for clearly defined career development opportunities. By creating an environment in which ambition and hard work are rewarded with advancement, fewer employees will be tempted to jump ship. Training both online or in person alongside having regular 1-2-1’s and performance reviews allowing for discussions about progression are just 2 examples of ways you can make your employees feel valued and reminded of the long term goals.

Ensure that the Onboarding process sets a positive tone

We all know how scary starting a new position can be so utilising the onboarding process can be great for staff retention. The onboarding process not only serves as an orientation for new employees, it also presents an opportunity to make new employees feel welcome, valued, and challenged in a positive way. Since first impressions can have an impactful effect on an employee’s outlook, it pays to plan the onboarding process and how it’s presented. Emphasizing desirable aspects of the job, such as advancement opportunities, competitive benefits and an inclusive working environment can all help set positive expectations for new team members. 

Communicate With Your Employees

Employee retention all starts with communication. Ultimately, most (if not all) problems that lead to your employees leaving come back to making sure that you’re communicating with them. With the right internal communication plan, you can make sure that employees at every level feel like they’re involved in important conversations about their progress and performance. One of the effective ways to improve retention is to also assess employee feedback to avoid losing talent. This can be done through employee engagement or satisfaction surveys.

Show Appreciation For Your Employees

Finally, showing appreciation for your employees is one of the simplest but most effective retention strategies. Take the time to thank your team members for their hard work and let them know how much you appreciate them. This small gesture can go a long way in making employees feel valued and appreciated.

As we move into 2023 it’s important to start thinking about curating a mixture of strategies which will help in increasing your retention rate. With the right mix of benefits, training opportunities and clear communication you can keep your employees happy and engaged in their work.