Stop the Revolving Door: Employee Retention Tips to Improve Workplace Happiness and Engagement
One of the most caustic and costliest headaches in business management is the challenge of employee retention. Gallup research shows that one in two employees are watching for or actively seeking a new job, with recent data from SHRM indicating that the average cost of replacing an employee is six to nine months of that hire’s salary. This means replacement costs for someone salaried at $60,000 can run as high as $35,000 to $45,000.
Financial headaches aside, losing quality employees often takes significant qualitative hits to organizations as well. It can slow or stall productivity, impact staff morale, effect a loss in historical or institutional knowledge, and much more.
With 50% of employees on the lookout for jobs today, what can you do to keep the quality staff you have and put a stop to the revolving door?
Invest in professional development. Whether it’s skilling up, learning something new, or building upon what they already know, most people want to learn, grow and better themselves throughout their lives. If you’re not offering this opportunity to your people, they are going to be more likely to jump ship for a culture that values this in the experience it offers. That said, simply sending your hires off to workshops or putting them through some sort of skills training will mean nothing if they can’t apply, use or take action around what they’ve learned. Professional development needs to be more than education; it needs to be part of your culture’s DNA.
Boost employee engagement. At the end of the day, employee engagement is all about creating a positive culture. It’s about making your organization a great place to work, a place where people can be consistently happy. One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a culture of accountability through a system. This aligns people around your common goals and business plans, nurtures transparency and communication, motivates your people and teams to perform, supports performance with the right tools and knowledge, delivers results, and honors success through recognition and rewards.
Support wellbeing and work-life balance. There’s no question that burnout affects leaders and employees alike, and it’s a serious problem today with 52% of employees feeling burned out in the past year and 37% reporting that burnout made it hard for them to do their jobs. Being an employer who supports work-life balance and emotional, physical and mental wellbeing can be a game-changer when it comes to employee retention. And the work-life balance doesn’t just apply to those you lead. Just as important, you have to walk your talk, modeling work-life balance as well.
Struggling to keep your hires on board? Losing great staff to the competition? We can help. Contact MAP today!
