7 Best Strategies for Employee Retention

We have already mentioned several times that we are in an applicant market. This means that qualified specialists are difficult to recruit from the outset. However, the battle for qualified professionals does not end here. Even if you manage to recruit an experienced professional, you also need to think about how to retain that professional in the long term. Below, we’ve compiled the 7 best strategies for employee retention. These are absolutely essential if you want to reduce your employee turnover and keep your most capable employees with your company for the long term.

Employee retention strategy #1: Recognition for good performance.

Contrary to popular belief, making employees feel important and recognized for their performance is sometimes more challenging than just meeting salary expectations. Your employee needs to know that the work they do actually matters. They need to know that they are valued and that they have contributed to the company’s success, whether it’s for the company brand, sales, customer support, etc.

By acknowledging good performance and assigning meaningful tasks to your employees, you also signal to your employees that you trust in their knowledge and expertise. Moreover, such a constellation means that employees get a sense of belonging and can become the best brand ambassadors for your company over time.

Employee retention strategy #2: Fair compensation and benefits.

Another critical factor in employee retention is the compensation package and special employee benefits offered by the company. Every good employee joins a company with a long-term plan to grow within it. If your company has steady growth, partly due to the hard work of your employees. But if you don’t pay your employees proportionately, your employees may feel that their work and sacrifice for the company are not valued enough. After all, if your employees don’t feel sufficiently valued, what’s to stop them from looking for a new employer?

Employee retention strategy #3: Consider corporate culture.

Any good recruiter takes into account not only a potential employee’s qualifications but also their personality, age, moral beliefs, etc., to ensure that this employee fits the company culture.

For example, in a young and dynamic tech startup with flexible hours, a 20-something developer would be a better fit than an older employee who is used to being surrounded by people his or her own age and working a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. job. Of course, diversity in a company is highly valued. However, make sure the person you hire actually wants to fit in and is able to appreciate your company culture.

Employee retention strategy #4: Value successes.

A best practice is to value successes, no matter how small. This keeps employee morale at a consistently high level. If an employee breaks a sales record or if you’ve won a big client because of them, praise them in a way that makes them feel like they’re getting the recognition they deserve.

The same goes for personal success stories or reasons to celebrate your own employees. If your best employee just got engaged, don’t be the typical cool supervisor who doesn’t care about their employees’ personal lives. Instead, go up to the employee in question and congratulate them. Create the feeling of a big family at work.

Employee retention strategy #5: Smooth onboarding process.

The onboarding process can overwhelm or underwhelm your employees. If your onboarding strategy is flawed, it will inevitably lead to the failure of your new employee before they even start their job. The onboarding process is one of the foundations of successful employee retention strategies.

The onboarding process involves not only teaching an employee their job duties but also teaching them about the company culture, what is expected of them, etc. It would be beneficial for both parties if you set up an open communication channel from the beginning so that the employee knows who to ask if there is any confusion or questions. If you have difficulties with the implementation or no qualified personnel for the training of new employees, our software solutions like cv manager can help you with this.

Employee retention strategy #6: Career opportunities through growth opportunities.

Every employee should have the opportunity to grow within your company and move up the career ladder. To increase employee retention, communicate this upfront. First, ask the employee what their biggest career goal is and where they see themselves in the future. You’ll quickly find that every employee is looking for career growth within the company in one way or another. That’s why you should communicate early on to your employees that they can grow within the company and also be promoted.

For example, if one of your new employees currently has the title of sales agent, tell them that within 6 months they can become a team leader and have their own team of sales agents. After another year, one could already be appointed as the head of sales, and so on. Such defined timelines for career opportunities offered can be amazing tools to reduce employee turnover and increase employee retention.

Employee retention strategy #7: Effective communication channels.

Imagine 3 different people in the company assigning your new employee, different tasks? This employee is not yet able to prioritize the tasks and estimate the workload, which can lead to a potentially confused and stressed employee.

Clear and effective communication channels require a well-developed and streamlined communication process where each employee is informed of new developments in the company in a timely manner, whether it’s taking on a new project, specific changes in the workplace, etc.

Each employee in a department needs to know their roles, duties, and responsibilities, as well as the workplaces of other employees, so they know who to contact if they have questions or problems.

For example, a marketing department needs a marketing manager to do structural planning of strategies and generate ideas for optimal implementation. Next, they might have a writer who is the go-to person for anything related to content. Third, they have a designer who answers all design-related questions. And finally, a marketing project manager who opens campaigns and takes care of the operational part of the work. In case the marketing project manager has content or design-related question, he knows exactly who to contact.

Conclusion

These retention strategies are all components of a population that can be subsumed under the umbrella term “employee retention.” When we summarize the above, we begin to see that good leadership is at the heart of each of these strategies. As long as your employees are treated and compensated fairly, identify with the company culture, and receive clear communication about their duties and responsibilities, your company’s retention rate for new hires can also be improved.