How to maximize your employee retention strategies in 2020
So, you have a turnover problem. There is no shame in admitting it. In fact, most organizations today are facing that same challenge, the good news is that you can do something about it.
As a manager, I’m sure that you’ve already been haunted by the thought of losing a key employee, and that’s completely understandable. Great employees are hard to come by. Seeing one leave is always heartbreaking, and fate being twisted as it is, often sees them leave first. Of course, seeing such an employee leave can sometimes mean much more than having to go through yet another tenuous hiring process, or losing someone that you knew you could lean on when it mattered, because at scale, this phenomenon can severely handicap your organization and leave it gasping for air.
Achieving elite retention rates may not be easy, but anyone can achieve it, we’ve compiled a list of the top retention practices to follow in 2020:
From the moment they step foot in your organization, make your employees feel at home and bet on a great first impression.
The onboarding period can often be daunting for a new hire, with so much to learn and get accustomed to. Therefore, in the first couple of weeks, remember to stick to the essentials and show them that you understand what they are going through.
When thinking about your onboarding process, remember that great onboarding doesn’t only lead to higher performance, it sets the stage for your employees to make the most out of their time at your firm, and translates into higher retention rates.
In fact, according to the Society For Human Resources Management (SHRM), 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding, while poor onboarding leads to nearly one-third of all new hires quitting their jobs within the first six months.
One particularly effective way to improve your onboarding is to create onboarding communities that bring together new hires and lets them ask the questions that they may not feel comfortable asking otherwise, and help them see that others are going through and have gone through that same process. In the long run, this will also help you identify friction points in your onboarding process, and adapt accordingly, by looking at commonly asked questions in those communities. Thankfully, tools such as MixR streamline this community-building process and make it very easy for you to set the stage for a great onboarding.
2. Have a structured mentorship program
Often when an employee joins an organization they’re going to feel lost and out of place. Pair them with a mentor for their first few days to help them understand what is expected of them and how to progress within your organization. This is another example where creating onboarding communities can significantly help you to properly welcome new hires.
3. Have the right compensation packages
In a highly competitive labor market, it can be hard to attract and retain the best talents. While higher salaries are always enticing, giving employees a great compensation package is often the key to stealing their hearts. Here are some of the most prized compensation package options to offer:
Obviously, not every organization can afford to offer all these benefits. However, you might be able to get creative and offer something unique through special events and initiatives such as Summer Fridays or recurring sponsored after-works.
4. Flexible Schedule & Work-Life Balance
As mentioned in the point above, one of the most sought after benefits is the ability to work from home.
What this highlights is a pronounced desire for flexibility from employees. Whether it is working from home, a reduced workweek or longer periods of leave, few organizations have made the leap and embraced this new wave of retention tactics, giving you a definite edge if you can get to it right and early.
In fact, doing so effectively could see your turnover rate drop very significantly as according to Owl Labs, companies that offer employees the ability to work from home noticed a 25% lesser turnover rate than peers who do not.
5. Embrace workplace community building.
Your employees are just like anyone else, they need to feel that they belong where they are in order to feel comfortable. Creating strong communities in your workplace can have a profound impact on your employee’s sense of belonging, and significantly increase your retention rates.
There is nothing better than to let your employees themselves decide what communities they want in their workplace. That’s why we recommend getting MixR as it is the best way to get started on building strong, self-organized, workplace communities.
6. Recognizing good work, leadership.
Employees are more motivated to do good work when they feel that its value is recognized, and will likely leave your company if it isn’t.
Don’t be shy about rewarding your employees when they have shown great leadership, or done great work, as that will go a long way in convincing them that they can develop professionally while working for you, an absolute necessity for higher retention rates.
While it isn’t always easy to keep up with who is deserving of praise and who isn’t, tools such as MixR are especially useful in order to recognize and reward positive work from your employees
7. Performance Reviews
Don’t leave your employees waiting in limbo wondering how they’re performing. Conduct constructive annual or quarterly performance reviews with them. Make sure to let them know they’re a valued member of the organization and appreciate all the great work they’re doing. When doing your reviews, don’t just go over the negative, make sure to highlight the positive work they’ve been doing and offer upskilling opportunities for the things they were least performant at.
Alright, this is it for today. You now know all the fundamentals of building up your retention rates. To conclude, let me leave you on this piece of wisdom by Richard Branson:
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees then they will take care of your clients.”
What is MixR?
MixR is a simple to use SaaS platform for building thriving workplace communities. We empower employees to create, manage, and measure internal communities and host mixrs (in person events) around something they care about – women in tech, spikeball, LGBTQ – you name it!
