Retaining Your Top Talent in 2022: 8 New Tactics That Work

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that a record 4.5 million employees voluntarily quit their jobs in November. This was just the latest bit of alarming news about what many are calling the “Great Resignation.”

With this many workers leaving, there is a lot of talk about how to retain employees. But more important than simply keeping your workers is keeping the best ones. Read on to discover new employee retention strategies your HR team can put to work at your organization. These tactics will help you understand who the right employee is for your organization — and how to keep your top talent on the job.

Why employee retention matters

Low turnover rates contribute to the overall success and health of your company and improve your bottom line. Worker shortages negatively affect the success and profitability of your company. Tenured employees are a valuable asset as there is a high cost attached to hiring, training, and onboarding new hires. As Gallup reports, the cost of replacing a single employee ranges between one-half and two times the staff member’s annual salary.

Here are some other reasons why employee retention matters:

• Engaged employees are your most powerful brand ambassadors and are more likely to stay at their current job.
• High turnover rates often result in lowered morale among remaining staff members.
• Employees with more experience are more productive compared to new hires that are just learning what to do.
• Businesses with lower turnover rates typically show improved customer service relations.

Now that you know why retention matters, it’s time to take a look at how to identify top talent so you can retain the right kind of employees.

Identifying your top talent

Before we jump in on tactics that will help reduce employee turnover, you need to first take a step back to look at how you identify the best performers at your company. Top talent and future leaders:

• Exhibit great people skills
• Remain calm under pressure
• Achieve consistent results
• Collaborate well with coworkers
• Go above and beyond what is expected
• Are self-driven to keep themselves motivated
• Can self-direct and get the job done
• Take the initiative to tackle problems and work on new assignments

Recognizing these desired skills and traits can help you identify top talent. And, once you’ve identified your top performers, you can focus on nurturing, engaging, and retaining talent at your company.

8 tips for retaining top talent in 2022

Highly engaged employees are 4.4 times less likely to be actively applying and searching for other jobs.

Retention tactics focus on keeping your top talent happy, satisfied, and motivated. The Quantum Workplace 2021 “Employee Turnover Trends” survey reports that “highly engaged employees are 4.4 times less likely to be actively applying and searching for other jobs.” Further, 88% say they are likely to remain at their current job a year from now. With that in mind, here are the top 8 tactics for engaging and retaining talent in 2022.

Offer a superior benefits package

To attract and retain top talent. you need to go above and beyond what’s in a typical employee benefits package such as health insurance, PTO, and a 401(k). Offer special perks like unlimited time off, dental insurance, paid parental leave, and on-site daycare.

Increase pay rates

Is the base salary you offer employees competitive with other organizations in your industry? A common tactic to help retain top talent is to increase the standard pay rate over what is typical in the marketplace. Also, when it comes to promotions, make sure you are providing your staff with an attractive pay raise that matches their increased responsibilities.

Provide retention bonuses

Offer your staff retention bonuses on top of their regular salary or hourly pay rate. This is a predetermined rate that gets paid when an employee stays at their job for a minimum agreed-upon time. You could also offer this monetary incentive after key performers complete a professional development course. This can prevent them from taking those valuable, newly earned skills elsewhere.

Grant flexible work options

A long daily commute is sure to turn off almost every employee, especially nowadays. The “Employee Turnover Trends” report also mentions how employees offered flexible work options are 4 times less likely to become a retention risk. Offer flexible work options such as a hybrid workplace and remote work-from-home opportunities. This can even help you attract and retain top talent from outside the local area.

Offer opportunities for growth

Professional development and educational opportunities are proven ways to engage and retain talent. Your best workers will be especially motivated to keep growing. Provide the ability to learn new skills, promote from within, and define a clear career path for all your employees.

Create wellness programs

A study by Optum found that employees taking part in health and wellness programs were more likely to recommend the company as a great place to work. They were also 1.5 times more likely to continue working for their employer. Focus on employee well-being with a selection of wellness programs such as having an on-site gym or offering reduced or free membership at a local fitness center.

Provide regular feedback

Free food and ping pong tables are nice perks, but there are better ways to show you care. Top performers thrive on constructive feedback that keeps them interested and engaged in what they are doing. Regular one-on-one meetings are key to keeping employees happy — and much more effective than yearly performance reviews.

Regular one-on-one meetings are key to keeping employees happy — and much more effective than yearly performance reviews.

Improve your corporate culture

Poor corporate culture can harm the reputation of your company and result in poor retention rates. According to a recent Randstad poll, 86% of potential employees said they would not work for a company that had a poor reputation with the public, and 38% of workers are considering leaving their job due to a toxic work culture. Having a strong vision and mission statement helps set the tone and provides a positive work environment that attracts the best workers.

Do you still have employee retention questions?

Implementing successful employee retention strategies is key to running a thriving company. Your top talent includes staff members that ask questions, are willing to try new things, produce quality work, and lead others by example.

For more great tips and tactics, Zenefits created an informative guide on staff retention strategies that work. Read more to learn how to retain and keep your best talent.