Is it Time to Try out Some New Employee Retention Strategies?

As any savvy business owner knows, it costs your business less to retain its employees than it does to hire new ones. From job postings to interviews and training, the costs associated with employee turnover adds up. Whether you’re just getting off the ground and funds are tight or you’re simply looking to be smart with your growth strategy, establishing streamlined employee retention strategies goes a long way.

The best part? Keeping employees at your business for the long term isn’t as complicated as you might think.

Employee Retention Strategies: Where to Begin

Consider your benefits package as one of your employee retention strategies

Even if the salaries you’re able to offer aren’t where you want them to be, that doesn’t mean that you can’t offer other benefits to make up for it—some of which can be extremely inexpensive (or free).

Consider a flexible work situation that allows employees to work from home. You can set limits on how many days a week or a month an employee is allowed to do so, or you can leave it open and up to your employees’ judgment. Flexible PTO is another policy that keeps people happy, and happy employees don’t leave. Of course, there are stellar health benefits, 401(k) matching, and other traditional (and extremely competitive) that you can offer as well.

Consider your training and onboarding program as one of your employee retention strategies

One of the worst reasons to fail is because you (or an employee) didn’t have access to the right tools. Constant failure (or the perception of failure) can leave employees feeling deflated, defeated, and searching for a new job.

“Every new hire should be set up for success from the very start, from the first day of work to the first week and beyond,” explains Robert Half. “Aim to develop an onboarding process where new staff members not only learn about the job but also the company culture and how they can contribute and thrive, with ongoing discussions, goals, and opportunities to address questions and issues as they [arise].”

Offer professional development as an employee retention strategy

Speaking of opportunities, professional development should be one of your employee development strategies.  LInkedIn’s 2018 Learning Report showed that 93% of employees would stay at a company longer if they feel that company invested in their careers.

Everything from giving employees opportunities to attend conferences and seminars to helping them learn another language to offering mentorship opportunities with senior team members all goes a long way keeping employees invested in their work and in your company.

Work-life balance is always near the top of employee retention strategies

Everyone has a life outside of work, whether that’s taking time to pursue hobbies that make them happy or tending to family matters. Any job that holds its employees back from engaging in a life outside of work is going to experience turnover, especially for younger generations like millennials who prize work-life balance more than previous generations.