Core Factors in Employee Retention

Would you recommend a friend consider working for our   company? That is a common question for determining net promoter scores or during an exit interview. It gets to the heart of how we feel about our workplaces and offers a key to understanding what makes people stay. Employee retention is often combined with discussions of employee engagement. While important to organizational leaders, retention defines a discrete element when analyzing workplace satisfaction.

A Gallup survey reported first quarter 2024 engagement of only 30% of US workers with 17% actively disengaged. Gallup also reports 49% of US employees are looking for other work, lowering retention numbers. The difference in these numbers shows we are talking about two different things. Engagement is what happens during day-to-day interactions at work and retention is whether employees are satisfied enough to stick around.

Knowing your numbers may help you evaluate where you stand. If you have not calculated your own retention and turnover rates lately, it might be time. While watching trends in your rates, consider comparing your numbers to benchmarked companies in your industry. There are other metrics that may be more suitable for your company, as well. Consider measuring levels of trust in leadership, whether you live your values or employee satisfaction with training. Whether addressing engagement or retention, you cannot improve it if you do not measure it!

A strategic employee retention plan includes a first-class experience to engage them from the start—even before hire. When thinking about the employee lifecycle, you want the first impression to be a wow. Organizational values and culture need to be repeated at every touchpoint, especially in the hiring process. That means thoughtful organizational design, competent crafting of job postings and offering a candidate experience that ensures proper fit with your organization.

Once hired, exceptional onboarding processes and a welcoming team affinity are your next steps. Be sure to include introductions to leaders as well as colleagues. Plan for a simple new employee check in at defined intervals to ask: How do you feel about your decision to join us? Is there anything else you need to do your job? Who would you like to spend more time with? Once you ask these questions or others, follow up to be sure there is action taken on anything that needs adjustment.

Beyond the initial onboarding phase, giving employees mechanisms to share ideas maintains enthusiasm for their work and a genuine sense of being included. Be prepared, however, to respond to those ideas timely. When the employee sees their idea implemented, it solidifies their commitment. Enthusiasm and inclusion are indicators of employee engagement and cultural fit. It is estimated 41% of people who leave their jobs do so because of low levels of engagement and poor cultural fit.

Be sure supervisory skills are strong across the managerial ranks. Pay and benefits may keep people for a while, but solid management ability is what distinguishes best-practice employers. Employees often leave because of an unskilled manager even if other workplace conditions are good. Support your managers with continuing training and allow them time to truly manage their direct reports. Having time for regular check ins, listening sessions, daily stand-up meetings or weekly huddles all build relationships and nurture a shared culture.

This brings us to opportunities to develop. If employees are growing and learning, even if your company structure offers little advancement, they will be more likely to stay. Peter Drucker’s quote speaks to this nicely: “When a cynic says, ‘What if we train them and they leave’, a winning organization responds: ‘what if we don’t train them and they stay.’” Training need not occur through an outside source. Executive or peer mentoring can be low-cost and highly customized to your culture. Stretch assignments and cross-functional taskforces are great ways to engage employees in solving problems and implementing their winning ideas. Undergirding development efforts is balanced feedback to track and celebrate progress.

In conclusion, employee engagement often gets the spotlight but is, in my humble opinion, a supporting star in the overall retention strategy for organizations across industries. While this short article is not all-encompassing, we hope it sparked ideas for you to try within your team. Cheers!

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For more ideas or help building a strategic retention plan, contact us today at info@hrexecutivepartners.com.

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