Employee Retention

How to retain key employees

Over 1.8 million professionals use CFI to learn accounting, financial analysis, modeling and more. Start with a free account to explore 20+ always-free courses and hundreds of finance templates and cheat sheets.

What is Employee Retention?

Employee retention refers to the efforts on the part of an employer aimed at creating an environment that supports the needs of current employees so that they can continue to be part of an organization. Most employee retention programs and policies are aimed at addressing different employee needs to enhance their satisfaction.

Employee Retention

In other words, an employee retention program should be able to improve and incentivize the different aspects of employee engagement in the workplace. Other than paying competitive salaries, which is a crucial aspect of employee retention, other essential strategies can help retain top talent in the workplace for a long time.

Useful Hacks to Retain Key Employees

1. Invest in employee development

Employers who invest in their workforce through the provision of opportunities to acquire new skills signal an essential investment in the current and future career growth of employees. Many employees tend to feel that satisfaction with their work environment is based on the availability of an opportunity to develop their careers.

Opportunities for growth can include workshops and conferences paid for by the employer. In other cases, employers offer reimbursement to employees who take a study leave or those who attend part-time classes. An organization can also arrange in-house learning and development programs to mentor employees.

2. Formulate clear-cut policies and expectations

Where there are no clearly defined job descriptions, organizational policies, or work performance metrics, employees tend to feel frustrated. Dissatisfaction can erode morale, leading employees to seek opportunities elsewhere. However, a simple remedy, in this case, is to establish a clear line of communication and ensure all employees understand their roles in the organization.

Also, employees should be provided with regular feedback whenever there is a scheduled evaluation, so they know which areas require improvement. Also, an organization should apply policies fairly so that no single employee will feel victimized.

3. Offer competitive benefits

A benefits package includes affordable and quality health insurance, life insurance, enough vacation and sick leave, retirement plan, as well as family leave. On top of the primary benefits, an organization needs to think about how best to serve employee needs. Stock options, flexible scheduling, as well as other incentives such as child care, fitness coaching, and gym membership are some significant benefits that can boost the morale of employees.

A company’s HR department should solicit feedback from their employees to understand the benefits and incentives that will help improve their welfare. In addition, an organization needs to consider customizable options to cater to the needs of different demographics. For example, millennials and boomers are not motivated in the same manner.

4. Encourage open communication

Employee morale increases where they are given the freedom to speak freely. That way, employees can share their thoughts and ideas, deal with conflicts, and take part in organizational development. A company needs to ensure managers encourage transparent, respectful, and open communication.

Open communication is beneficial to an organization because it promotes trust. Once employees feel they can communicate freely about workplace-related issues, their satisfaction levels will grow.

5. Show appreciation and respect

Employees play a considerable role in uplifting a company’s bottom line. Thus, it is essential to make them feel appreciated and respected. Treating all employees in a reasonable manner is one way to go about it. Furthermore, when employees perform well in their roles, they should be acknowledged and encouraged to carry on doing a good job.

Although a simple thank you is the first step, an organization should include other significant forms of appreciation such as raises, bonuses, paid time off work, or even promotions. Where a manager is not specific about what to reward an employee with, it is always good to ask.

6. Promote work-life balance

No amount of benefits can make up for chronic burnout. Overworked employees tend to lose focus, which leads them to perform poorly. Employees prefer to work in an environment where they are not overworked all the time. Thus, every organization needs to ensure that no team member does more than is necessary.

Instead, employees should be encouraged to embrace a healthy work-life balance and workload. It is the job of managers to promote healthy habits in their employees so that they are comfortable in performing their duties. When employees work for a reasonable number of hours, they tend to stress less, which translates to better productivity.

Key Takeaway

Exceptional employees are the reason many organizations are able to build and maintain a good reputation. For that reason, such employees need to be provided with a reason to stay. Employee retention is one way to ensure that an organization does not lose valuable employees.

Employees love to work in an environment that treats them with integrity, and where their needs, goals, and lives are respected. An organization that puts such factors before everything else can boast of the most satisfied employees!

Related Readings

CFI is the official provider of the Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)™ certification program, designed to transform anyone into a world-class financial analyst.

To keep learning and developing your knowledge of financial analysis, we highly recommend the additional resources below:

0 search results for ‘