Ensuring staff retention
Set against a backdrop of today’s competitive labour market, The HR Suite’s Caroline Reidy explains how a comprehensive employee retention strategy can help optimise retention and reduce expenses related to hiring and training
Print30 December 2024
Staff retention may be described as an employer’s efforts to manage staff turnover and retain their valuable employees. Organisations need to review their staff retention strategy in order to mitigate the risk of losing their most valuable asset: their people.
High turnover of staff can have other negative impacts on a business. Customers get to know your staff and will no doubt have grown familiar with particular members of your team. This perceived inconsistency may have a negative impact on how your customers engage with your business.
Staff retention strategy
What is a staff retention strategy and what should it include?
Employee retention refers to your organisation’s ability to prevent voluntary and involuntary employee turnover, and an employee retention strategy is a plan that businesses develop and implement to reduce employee turnover rates. The employee retention programme generally includes company policies and programmes that help organisations attract and retain qualified employees.
Although some turnover is inevitable and acceptable rates vary between businesses and industries, an employee retention strategy can help optimise retention and reduce expenses related to hiring and training.
Recruitment
The employees’ journey with the organisation begins with the recruitment and on-boarding process. This gives the employee the initial first impression of the organisation. The process should be seamless and ensure that as much as possible the candidate is a match for the position. The job description should be transparent and comprehensive; clearly outlining what is expected of the employee. Similarly, the performance management system should be initiated on commencement, clearly outlining the performance objectives of the role to ensure success.
Health and wellbeing
Often, health and wellbeing initiatives are perceived as more valuable to employees than monetary benefits. Organisations can ensure that staff feel supported by offering an employee assistance programme, offering subsidised health insurance or even an annual health check clinic.
Acknowledging milestones whether big or small often goes a long way. Organisations need to celebrate the wins so shine a light on notable achievements, whether a team finishes ahead of the deadline on a major project, or an employee reaches a ten-year work anniversary, seize the opportunity to mark the milestone together. Employees may need to celebrate virtually, but it can be a meaningful and memorable moment for everyone.
As we spend so much of our lives at work, organisations must ensure their teams feel included and that they matter to the organisation.
Staff engagement
The more employees are involved in the organisation the more they feel a part of it. It is important that employers ensure their employees are engaged especially now with many employees working remotely. The quality of communication between the employer and the employee has a direct influence on the employee’s engagement with the organisation and whether or not they decide to stay. A “two-way” communication strategy should be put in place. Mechanisms such as employee forums are useful in encouraging upwards communication from staff, as well as downwards communication that relays management information.
Benefits
Organisations need to ensure as much as possible that they are offering a competitive package in order to attract and retain staff. Employees have many priorities and so it is important that you can offer a comprehensive yet tailored package to meet the needs of all employees. There are proactive steps that employers can take in retaining employees; they should where possible look at introducing benefits where finances allow such as paid sick leave or a pension scheme. Alternatively, discussing and allowing for open conversations with employees regarding what they require would be a good option. For example, employees requesting more flexibility in how they work or where they work in order to achieve a better work life balance and the organisation seeing if it is possible to accommodate employees with such requests.
Training and development
Creating an organisation that fosters a culture of learning, development and progression is very important in retaining staff. When this culture exists, employees have a pathway where they are given the opportunity to progress and grow within the company. Not all employees will want to progress and will be happy to stay in their current role, however it is important that should they wish to progress, the option is available to them. Organisations can provide staff with access to education promoting continuous learning and development by offering to subsidise the costs or providing paid study leave for an example.
Conclusion
It is important for every business to get to the root of why they are losing staff. Exit interviews are a really good way of collecting this crucial information. Conducting exit interviews with all departing staff will provide you with a wealth of feedback on all aspects of their experience in your organisation and will help you to identify the preventative measures you need to take in order to reduce your staff turnover.
Read more: EU Pay Transparency Directive
Fans 0
Followers