Retention is an organisation’s strategy for reducing the turnover spent on replacing staff who leave. A high retention rate means you hold on to a lot of the people you recruit. A low retention rate means you have a high turnover of staff, so you need to recruit more often. Failing to retain staff has many consequences, some of them much more serious than may first meet the eye.
Valuing employee retention shouldn’t just be seen as avoiding negative effects; putting the effort in to retain staff members has myriad benefits. But with so many things to focus on when building your business, why should you prioritise retention as a crucial component of your success?
Benefits of employee retention
- Boost morale: When employees feel important to their role and team rather than dispensable, there is likely to be a big boost in morale. Happier staff means the work environment will be a better place and encourage long-term loyalty.
- Increase productivity: As employee retention is noticeable in the office, it’s an intangible yet powerful motivator. Studies show that when people feel valued and happy, productivity increases.
- Reduce costs of hiring: By not having to hire new employees, you’ll save on the time, hassle, and expense of hiring, which can be substantial.
- Reduce training time: When you must train entry-level staff often, this is a waste of company resources and time.
- Retain talent: You’ll prevent a talent drain from your business. After all, if you’ve nurtured an employee, you’ll naturally want to reap the long-term rewards of their expertise.
With so many benefits, how do you increase employee retention?
How to retain employees
- Invest in your internal processes: Efficient human resources management systems, hr platforms and simplified processes are good ways to take the pressure off employees and support them better at work. By prioritising staff experience, you’ll gain improved loyalty and streamline workloads.
- Manage expectations: Rather than overpromising or underpromising, manage your employees’ expectations within the business so there’s always open and honest dialogue.
- Remunerate staff fairly: With the cost-of-living crisis, employees want to feel they are being remunerated fairly. Offer a competitive salary and timely promotions to show your staff that they’re the heart of what you do.
- Offer extra training: To keep your staff’s progression a priority, offer extra training to ensure consistent upskilling. By doing this, you’ll also demonstrate a willingness to invest in your people’s potential.
- Improve company culture: Gone are the days of leaving an office dynamic to develop on its own. Company culture is extremely important to the workers of today and is a major factor for remaining in a role. Don’t leave it up to chance: actively foster a positive culture and work environment with an emphasis on inclusivity.
