Gartner says the business sector could see a turnover rate as high as 24% in the years to come. Now, this isn't good news. 

The employee turnover situation across industries is severe right now, and managing any spikes in it in the years to come might pose to be challenging. Employee retention has inevitably become the holy grail for human resources. Companies worldwide are increasingly recognizing the challenge posed by employee retention.

Employee retention has become the biggest jargon in the HR world as managers scramble the pages of people management to find ways to make employees stay. 

What are the Strategies to Boost Employee Retention?

Ever since the phase of the ‘Great Resignation,’ companies have become gravely aware of how volatile the employee retention rate is. Employees do not wait around for things to get better. They leave. There is no in-between nowadays. But there are ways for you to make sure this seldom happens in your organization.

Let us look at 10 of the most efficient strategies to help you manage employee retention and attrition:

1. Listen to what your employees have to say

The first step towards dealing with employee retention and attrition starts with listening to your employees and what they have to say.
This is not something managers can do by just winging it. It requires customized surveys and meticulous analysis of the same. Conduct employee feedback surveys on a frequent basis unless and until your retention rate increases.

After that, conduct feedback surveys once a month or so. What this offers is a deep understanding of the areas where the employees face difficulty.

However, most companies do not get much of a difference in their employee engagement levels even after continuously conducting such surveys.
In such cases, the problem might lie in what you do after you conduct a survey.

Taking corrective actions is as important as conducting feedback surveys. After identifying areas that need change, make sure that you do something to bring about the change. Analyze the survey results thoroughly and come up with corrective measures.

2. Stay interviews over Exit interviews’

Why go through the trouble of conducting exit interviews when you can prevent them altogether with the help of proactive stay interviews?

As the name suggests, stay interviews are conducted by managers with their existing employees who have been with the company for a long time. These employees could be the high-performers of the organization as well.

Stay interviews are structured in such a way that they focus on the things that the company has actually gotten right.
The manager can ask questions like ‘What is it that you like the most about working here?’ or ‘What made you stay with the company for such a long time?’
What this does is give the managers an idea of the things the company is doing right. These factors can then be given even more emphasis, leading to a positive and healthy work environment.

3. Provide flexibility and hybrid working opportunities

If there is one thing the employees love more than good compensation, it is the ability to maintain their work-life balance. Since the start of the pandemic, more employees have realized the importance of work-life balance.

If your employees have the ability to work productively and meet their assigned targets by working from their homes, then it would be best to give them that opportunity. And if your work structure does not allow complete remote work, you could try and consider offering hybrid working conditions where employees have to visit the office just twice or thrice a week.

Flexible working hours and hybrid work settings can be a big factor when it comes to engaging employees and reducing employee turnover rates.

4. Invest in the professional development of your employees

No employee in their right mind would leave an organization that invests so much time and energy in their professional development and upskilling. One of the main reasons for employee disengagement and eventual attrition is the perception that the organization does not prioritize their personal and professional development. Make sure you don't make the same mistake.

Identify employees with the potential to learn and grow. Conduct one-on-one sessions with them and ask them about the kind of future they see with the company. Help them come up with a roadmap for their career in the company and potential areas where they can upskill tier abilities. All of these efforts you make as a manager make sure that your employees never leave your company.

5. DEI helps to even the scales

Globalization has transformed the way companies operate, bringing together individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds within organizations.
In light of this, companies must emphasize diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). A well-structured DEI policy is essential to ensure that the needs and desires of every employee are addressed.

Companies should strive for a diverse workforce and create an inclusive environment for all employees. It's important to move beyond mere rhetoric and take tangible actions that reflect your commitment to diversity and inclusion in your business decisions. Failing to do so may lead to perceptions of hypocrisy and unethical behavior.

6. Develop a positive and healthy work culture

The importance of a company culture when it comes to employee retention cannot be emphasized enough.

Studies show that poor work culture is one of the major reasons why companies leave their current organization for a better one. If you do not have a constructive and innovative work environment, employees might feel smothered and stifled.

Invest in creating a people-first company culture. No matter what goal you want to achieve for your company in the long run, if you do not have employees on the boat, then the goals remain as a pipedream. So, invest your time and energy in creating a company culture that is positive and healthy in nature, where employees are highly engaged and productive.

7. Reward and Recognition is non-negotiable

According to Forbes, over 80% of American employees say they don’t feel recognized or rewarded. Imagine doing all that extra work for a company, and then no one ever bothers to recognize the work you put in. 

When employee efficiency goes unnoticed, sooner than later, the incentive and motivation employees have towards doing the good work also fade out. 

This is why companies need to have a proper reward and recognition program in place. It would be excellent to conduct an employee feedback survey where you ask employees the kind of rewards they prefer. 

Some might go for social recognition, while some might opt for monetary rewards. Whatever the case, take into account the suggestions the employees have and then design a reward and recognition program that reflects the same.

8. Do whatever you can to prevent burnouts

Overworking your employees is never a good idea. It shows a lack of planning from the side of the organization over anything else.
Gallup says that the top five factors that lead to employee burnout are unreasonable time pressure, no support from managers, too much workload, improper communication, and unfair treatment.

The report also says that 76% of employees sometimes experience burnout on the job. Make sure that you give your employees only as much work as they can handle.

If not, there can be a steep decline in the quality of work they produce, along with the level of engagement they have for the work they do. Plan the work hours and tasks in such a way that the employees feel comfortable while doing their job.

9. Take employee well-being seriously

Every once in a while, ask your employees how they are faring. It can be through a formal one-on-one meeting or through informal conversations near the cubicle. Anything works.

It shows that you actually care for your employees. You can give them additional vacation leaves or interesting perks to shake things up a little bit. Offering counseling sessions and stress management classes can also be excellent ways to help your employees maintain mental and physical well-being.

10. Teamwork for increased engagement

Your coworkers can be your second family under the right circumstances and settings. It is up to the management to see to it that this happens. Conduct team-building activities to increase the cohesion between the employees.

It helps them understand each other and build a sense of camaraderie. During tough times, a good team can help employees stay afloat. It prevents the chances of them leaving the organization at the first sign of discomfort as well.

Be so good that your employees never leave you

Why wait around for employees to come to you with their needs when you can take proactive measures to weed out the problems in the first place? Make your employees stay with your organization for a longer time with the help of efficient employee engagement tools like ThriveSparrow.

The platform helps organizations manage and uplift the employee experience ecosystem.

• Craft and share employee engagement surveys in just 2 minutes with the help of research-backed question banks. Launch pulse and eNPS surveys to get a view on your employees' perceptions.

• Uncover department-wise engagement patterns with Heatmaps, and use this data to guide your efforts to drive engagement and reduce turnover.

• Manager Reports and Team Analytics help organize and visualize data on team engagement and performance.

With ThriveSparrow, you can monitor the pulse of your organization and keep a check on the turnover rates. Try ThriveSparrow for free today.

Get Started

Help your employees live a better life at the organization so that your employee turnover rates plummet to the ground! Be so good to your employees that the thought of leaving your firm never crosses their minds.

1. What are the challenges associated with employee retention?

Employee retention is a critical concern in today's workforce. The challenges include

• Addressing poor work culture
• Managing burnout
• Lack of recognition
• Providing equal opportunities for professional development

2. Why is company culture important for employee retention?

Company culture plays a crucial role in employee retention. A positive and healthy work culture keeps employees engaged, productive, and motivated. Poor work culture is a major reason why employees leave organizations.

3. What can I do to prevent employee burnout?

To prevent employee burnout, ensure that workloads are manageable, provide proper support from managers, maintain clear communication, and treat employees fairly. Gallup identifies factors like unreasonable time pressure and too much workload as contributors to burnout.

4. What is a retention strategy?

A retention strategy is a plan or approach that organizations use to retain their employees effectively. It involves a set of actions and policies aimed at reducing employee turnover and keeping valuable talent within the company.

It's a proactive effort to create a work environment that encourages employees to stay with the organization.

5. What are the drivers of retention?

Employee retention is influenced by various factors, known as drivers. These drivers include:

• A positive work culture
• Professional growth opportunities
• Acknowledging and rewarding employees
• Work-life balance
• Diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI)
• Employee well-being
• Teamwork and camaraderie

6. What are the models that can be used for employee retention?

Here are 5 of the most popular ones:

1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: This model focuses on satisfying employees' basic needs, including job security and belonging.

This model talks about satisfying human needs. The first level is Physiological needs. If this need is satisfied, then the need progresses to the next level.

A new level of a human's needs are unlocked only when the previous need has been satisfied.

The other models that you can consider exploring.

2. Herzberg’s two-factor motivation-hygiene theory: It divides retention factors into hygiene (environment, safety) and motivators (job interest, progression).

3. The human motivation theory (Three Needs theory): It emphasizes satisfying employees' core needs like power, achievement, and affiliation.

4. The social exchange theory: This theory revolves around relationships and the balance between risks and rewards.

5. The theory of Organizational Equilibrium (TOE): It suggests that employee retention depends on the perceived contribution to the workplace compared to the company's contribution to their life.