Did you know that 40% of employees around the world are thinking about quitting their job? Losing staff means having to go through the hiring process again, training new members of the team, and integrating staff. In other words, it’s a lot of time, money, and hassle.
This is where employee retention comes in. By creating a strategy to keep your staff on board and getting retention down to an exact science, you can avoid the pesky re-hiring process. Read on for the best employee retention strategies of 2024.
What Are Retention Strategies?
Retention strategies are the processes in place designed to reduce staff turnover. They do this by creating a positive work environment, fostering loyalty, and reducing irritation, amongst many other things! Some turnover is always to be expected, but with retention plans in place, you can keep it to a minimum.
But, why bother? There are several reasons why reducing turnover with a retention strategy is a good idea, including:
- Increased productivity
- Better relationships between staff and improved interpersonal skills
- Less work-related stress
- Less downtime whilst training new staff
That’s just naming a few! If you’re a recruiter or a HR manager, it’s vital you take retention seriously. To make that easier, here are our five top strategies for keeping your staff exactly where they are.
1. Conduct Anonymous Surveys
When it comes to how to maintain employees and avoid a great resignation, you need to listen to what your staff want. Don’t rely on your instincts: ask your staff.
You can do this by regularly – bi-annually, for example – handing out anonymous surveys. Your staff will be able to let you know what they like and what’s making them unhappy, giving you the chance to solve any issues.
Be sure that you act on the information you receive. It’s easy to hand out forms and do nothing with the feedback, but that won’t get you very far!
2. Keep Track of Your Competitors
There are always job prospects out there. You never know when your staff are going to be looking at roles in other companies or being head-hunted by your competitors. That’s why you need to stay one step ahead.
By keeping track of what your competitors are offering, you can make sure your company is a more attractive workplace. If a competitor offers more holiday days, match them – or beat them! If they have brilliant bonus packages, rework yours to compete.
It’s vital that your company doesn’t give your staff a reason to leave. The less you offer, the more inclined people will be to look elsewhere.
However, don’t give your employees so much that you can’t sustain it. Smaller companies often can’t compete with the bonuses and health packages of multi-national brands. In these cases, look at what you can offer that they can’t, such as flexible working, which we’ll get onto now!
3. Enable Flexible and Remote Working
Flexible and remote work is in high demand these days. Almost half of the employees in one survey said that they found flexible hours improved their productivity, making it a win-win for the company.
By offering flexible hours, you let people work when they want. If they get the work done, you don’t mind when they do it! This is particularly beneficial for people with other commitments, like children or elderly relatives to look after.
Remote or hybrid working capabilities allow staff to work from where they want. This, again, provides several benefits and makes working for your company very appealing.
Bear in mind that to make either of these work, you need to have processes in place. Work allocation needs to be seamless for flexible hours, and remote work needs the right tools in place to allow for collaboration.
4. Encourage Positive Staff Relationships
The relationships staff have in the workplace can go a long way to improving retention. At WellGray Recruitment, we always recommend that companies work to promote positive relationships. This can be done through:
- Avoiding favouritism in the office
- Listening to all ideas fairly
- Arranging company events (not just team building activities)
- Offering mediation in the case of arguments
Remember, you don’t want to get too involved in your employees’ lives and relationships. But it is important that you create the right environment for staff to be able to connect and communicate well.
5. Always Offer a Good Salary
45% of staff who leave their job blame it on the salary. Even if you offer a fantastic workplace environment and foster great relationships, there’s usually no getting around money! If somewhere else is offering more for the same role, your staff are likely to leave.
Make sure that you know the highest paying jobs out there and that yours can compete. This should include bonuses and any extras. It should also rise in line with inflation, so don’t be scared to increase wages yearly.
However, don’t expect that a high salary will be enough to keep staff. You could pay them double what they could get elsewhere, but if the environment is awful, the work is laborious, and they’re constantly being yelled at, they’ll leave. It’s all about balance!
Learn All of the Best Employee Retention Strategies
If you’re looking for the best employee retention strategies, don’t forget to stay competitive, listen to your employees, and offer flexible working hours so that they can fit their job around their lives. Creating a great place to work isn’t always easy, but if you can do those things, you’ll be well on your way to getting there.
Of course, you can’t retain staff if you don’t have any! To find your next team of stellar employees, use WellsGray Recruitment. As one of the best recruitment agencies in Melbourne, we make it easy to find the staff you need.
