As the U.S. unemployment rate continues to stay at 3.7 percent, competition for top talent remains fierce! With this historically low unemployment rate, working professionals know that there are other opportunities available to them if they’re unhappy with their current work situation. As a result, it’s important that employers implement effective employee retention strategies to help their top talent feel engaged and happy with their work.
While you can’t prevent every star employee from leaving, there are many elements of retention that are in your control. While looking at your competitors and their efforts to increase employee retention may help, the most beneficial thing you can do is listen to and be attentive to your employees’ needs.
Here are five employee retention strategies that will help you hold onto top talent:
Now that technology allows employees to connect with work from almost any location, workplace flexibility should be a major focus for organizations. This is especially true now that professionals are placing a greater emphasis on work-life balance when making career decisions. As a result, employers should strive to offer greater flexibility in the workplace. Not only does this make you a more attractive place to work, but studies show that workplace flexibility can lead to increased productivity and better results.
Read more: 5 Ways To Offer Your Employees More Flexibility At Work
For many professionals, especially millennials, being able to visualize opportunities for advancement can make a difference when deciding if they should look for a new job. As a result, you’ll not only want to make it clear that there are opportunities for growth at the company, but also show your employees that you’re committed to helping them reach their goals. For example, offering leadership development initiatives and outlining what expectations need to be met in order to earn a promotion are great ways to do this.
This year, 66% of professionals said that access to projects to help keep their skills up-to-date would satisfy their desire for professional development. With this in mind, providing learning opportunities for employees has become one of the top employee retention strategies companies are utilizing today. One way to do this is by covering the cost of webinars and courses that are relevant to employees. Additionally, allowing them to work on projects with more senior staff can help employees sharpen and advance their skillset. Providing learning opportunities to employees also shows that you’re invested in their growth, which can lead to trust and loyalty over time.
Offering perks like game tables and free food can certainly attract a potential employee’s interest, but it won’t be enough to keep them around. However, providing a strong traditional benefits package will make employees feel more inclined to stay. For example, offering a generous amount of vacation and sick days, a good health insurance plan, and enticing wellness initiatives are much more desirable than perks that don’t do much to increase employee satisfaction overall.
In today’s digital age, monitoring reviews of your company online is an extremely important part of employer branding. However, it’s also among the most important employee retention strategies employers are using. Checking to see how satisfied your employees are with the company through surveys, Glassdoor reviews, and one-on-one meetings can help you see what you can do to make your employees happier within the company. Most importantly, welcoming feedback from your employees shows that you are interested in their well-being—something that can set you apart from other employers in today’s candidate-driven market.
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