How to Diagnose – and Correct – a Retention Issue

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) has estimated that it costs $3,500 to replace a single employee who earns just $10.25 an hour. Multiply that by the 27 percent of employed adults currently seeking jobs outside their companies and the true cost of employee attrition becomes startlingly real.

You need a robust retention strategy to ensure that your top-performing staff members remain on board while you maintain high performance, productivity and ultimately, profit levels.

Why Does Top Talent Leave?

According to SHRM, the top reasons employees are prompted to start looking for new jobs are:

  • Better compensation and benefits (53 percent).
  • Better vacation and holiday benefits (35 percent).
  • Desire for a new experience (32 percent).

The best retention programs focus on these factors, as well as the ongoing relationship between management and workers. Attrition rates are important, but they merely identify the problem. To optimize your retention strategy, you need to dig deeper, assessing and correcting all the issues that come into play within your organisation.

Benefits of a Strong Retention Plan

The positive aspects of establishing employee retention strategies that are continually evolving and improving include:

  • Maintaining performance and productivity: Recruiting and training new hires takes time, and unfilled positions mean work is not getting done. Once on board, new workers must overcome a learning curve before their work becomes profitable. Taking steps to keep current workers satisfied ensures that productivity continues uninterrupted.
  • Enhancing recruitment: Effective retention starts during the employee recruitment process. Individuals are more likely to stay with a company that fulfills promises made when an offer is extended. If you provide a realistic view of your organisational culture, environment, advancement opportunities and expectations, you positively influence your retention rate.
  • Bolstering morale: Employees who enjoy their work and the atmosphere in which they do it, tend to stay loyal. Strategies that target engagement and company morale give workers a stronger sense of pride and ownership.

How to Manage Turnover

Retaining the best talent is a multi-faceted challenge. Manage it by adopting a mix of the following methods:

  • Improve career development opportunities. Find out where each of your employees wants to go in their careers and help them get there. Support training, educational pursuits, and involvement in professional organizations.
  • Make your employees feel valued. This does wonders for your employer branding strategy and will immediately improve your turnover rate. Develop a culture that encourages diversity and creativity, as well as means for employees to register any dissatisfaction.
  • Continually seek feedback. While compensation and benefits are powerful motivators, it’s critical to keep employees’ emotional needs front and center. Conduct regular engagement surveys, hold town meetings and focus groups, and manage by walking around. Get to know your team members as individuals and find out what makes them tick. Be sure that their goals, values and visions clearly align with those of your company.

As you devise your strategic hiring and retention plan, consider partnering with the expert recruiters at Employment Professionals Canada. To learn more about attracting and keeping high-performance talent, contact us today.