Employee retention during the Great Resignation is a big issue for most employers. With around 11 million open jobs and more than four million people quitting each month, you have a vested interest in doing what you can to retain your workforce for as long as possible. Here are some key ways to improve employee retention over the coming year.
Best Ways to Retain Your Current Staff
Start with Hiring
Employee retention starts by hiring the right people. You’re looking not only for new employees that fit the job requirements but also that fit the culture you’re bringing them into. Consider screening for hard skills and soft skills that cannot be taught. For example, employee engagement is essential to retention. Look for new hires that you feel will “own” their role. Look for new employees who will collaborate well with the team. These soft skills matter more than you might realize at first—but they are crucial to how well your teams will work together.
Improve Onboarding
Also, at the front end of the hiring process is onboarding. Onboarding and training are just as crucial as finding suitable job candidates. Onboarding is like glue; it can reinforce the candidate’s first impression and connect team members to the new hire in ways that will help you retain them. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) says your onboarding process should last a year to maximize the process and set up the employee for success.
Provide Development Opportunities
Today’s workforce wants the opportunity to learn, grow, and advance. Without it, they will be less engaged. Employee development programs give employees a mechanism for reaching the goals they have set for themselves. Employers can provide mentorship as well as offer training and educational opportunities. They can also concentrate on promoting from within to keep employees with them long-term.
Create an Accountability Culture of Rewards and Feedback
Everyone wants to feel valued for their work. Employees leave if they don’t work in an organization with a system of feedback and rewards. Employers can build recognition into their culture by practicing continuous listening in the form of employee surveys. Managers can have regular meetings with individual workers to discuss their long-term career paths in the company. Employee recognition programs can reward big and small wins to create a culture where good work is rewarded.
Ready to Improve Employee Retention?
The first step toward employee retention is to leverage tools that allow you to track their progress—and then reward it. Exelare offers our clients the best software as a baseline for developing a culture where accountability and recognition are the norms. Contact us today for a demo to see how we can help with employee retention in your business.