5 tips to improve your employee retention

We change jobs more often than 10 years ago. It’s more or less expected that we switch jobs to climb the career ladder. A huge amount of job guides recommend that employees stay in a job for one to three years. That is a very short time you’re reaping the benefits of a costly recruiting process. It takes time and money to integrate a new employee in an organisation and you want to keep that employee for as long as possible.

Check expectations in the recruiting process

You have a lot of back and forth with the talent during the interviews so some things might get lost in all the information jumble. Make sure that you agree on who pays for what up front. That means e.g. plane tickets, temporary housing, courtesy vehicles etc. as well as agreeing on the specific job description and team structures. It’s very important that both parties are open to discussing all aspects of the job, both the physical conditions as well as the financials. By doing so you ensure the best possible foundation for employee retention.

Your new employee shouldn’t get surprised with new information four months into the job. The more informed your new employee is, the better the conditions for retention are. This exercise of matching of expectations is a continuous task that will be a priority during the onboarding process, which will probably start at some point between signing the contract and the first day on the job - officially it starts the first day your new employee comes to work. Everybody greets and welcomes the new employee and everything seems great. Make sure to keep it that way! Re-confirm all arrangements and agreements you made during the recruiting process so your collaboration starts off in the best possible way.

Introduce a feedback loop

Transparency and communication are two keys factors in employee retention. Make sure to have a consistent feedback loop with your employees in order for you to better read and understand your employees needs and challenges. Communicate changes to your employees so they know what will change and what is expected of them. Keep in mind that it takes time for change to manifest itself in your employees so don’t expect to run full steam ahead from day one if you e.g. change the team structures.

You can do the feedback by having one-on-one meetings with them from time to time or every six months. You can hold quarterly joint meetings in the canteen if you feel like it. There are a ton of options to gather feedback from your employees, it’s up to you to do it.

Invest in your employer brand

Happy employees inspire each other and are a great asset to your company. That’s why investing in your employer brand is such an important part of your company’s overall brand.
A strong employer brand ensures that your employees are happy and feel secure in their job. Investing in a great employer brand is your way of signaling to current and future employees that you care about them and want them to feel good on the job. Check our blogpost on how you can strengthen your employer brand for more inspiration.

Focus on employee development

Your employees want to be challenged because it’s a huge part of their professional development. They shouldn’t be “bored” in the sense that they shouldn’t be doing tasks that are way above their skills - would you? Keep challenging your employees and focus your efforts on training and developing your employees. You will reap the benefits of a continuous training program throughout the employee life cycle.

Make it a employee training and development a part of your employer brand and market yourself as a company that invest in its employees. Everyone wants to develop their skills and they certainly want to work for a company that invests in their training and development!

Acknowledge and reward your employees

Most humans strive for recognition and react positively to it. Unfortunately, superiors have a tendency to focus on negatives instead of complimenting employees on good performances. Try to change that tendency by increasing your focus on positives instead of negative news and performances. Show appreciation for the great work delivered in the recent projects and you’ll see a much better response from your employees. In the end, you’re all in the same boat: You want to perform your best in order to deliver the best for the company. Acknowledging and rewarding good work makes your employees feel appreciated.

The more you acknowledge their hard work and reward them, the happier your employees will be. This significantly increases the chances of retaining them because they will notice and remember that you acknowledge the work they do for your company, thus improving their mental connection to their work-place. A happy and rewarded employee is less likely to seek other pastures and more likely to both stay at the company and act as your brand ambassador outside of work.

Employee retention comes down to being a great match: company and candidate must see eye to eye from the beginning of the recruitment process for it to grow into a prosperous and long partnership. Skills and competencies lay the foundation for success but great chemistry, employer branding and matching of expectations are just as solid foundations which will ensure that your employees are happy and stay loyal to your company.