How to improve employee retention: top 5 strategies

Australian employers’ retention difficulties have increased in recent years. Furthermore, according to the IML Staff Retention Report, the average cost of rehiring resources in Australia stands at about $23,753!

Considering these stats, businesses can’t afford to risk losing their talent ― retaining them is crucial. Moreover, keeping the right people for the long haul sets a strong foundation for achieving and maintaining business success.

In this article, we’ll cover why employee retention matters and share high-impact employee retention strategies you can start implementing.

Why is employee retention important?

The most straightforward answer would be: it brings better outcomes in the long run.

Firstly, instead of constantly hiring and training new people, employee retention enables you to have satisfied, experienced, and high-performing staff. In relation to this, investing in staff retention can decrease or eliminate hiring and training expenses, saving your organization thousands of dollars.

Another major reason why employee retention matters is that it allows for a stronger company culture. Keeping the same teams for lengthy periods results in solid relationships and efficient collaborations. High employee turnover, on the other hand, can harm team performance and morale. It may frustrate your remaining staff and make them sceptical of the present management and business procedures.

Lastly, when retention is high, and turnover is low, companies can more easily attract the best talent. Furthermore, increased employee retention leads to higher engagement and, thus, better performance and overall results.

5 effective employee retention strategies

Optimize hiring and onboarding processes

Employee retention begins with hiring the right people. Therefore, be sure to understand the roles you need thoroughly and describe them clearly in the job descriptions. Another piece of advice is to look for coachable applicants who are open to sharing and receiving feedback.

Once you’ve found ideal candidates, it’s time for onboarding. And onboarding is much more than signing a contract and introducing new employees. You should focus on their long-term success at your company. Assure new members that the business wants to grow with them over time by immersing them in the company culture and providing them with clear goals.

Offer competitive salaries and benefits

In today’s fierce marketplace, you must provide competitive wages. Furthermore, multiple online sources allow your current (and future!) employees to find information regarding your company and salaries. Thus, it’s wise to audit your compensations and correct any inequities. 

Of course, your efforts shouldn’t stop on just a competitive salary. It’s crucial to differentiate yourself as an employer by providing attractive benefits and perks. These could include workplace wellness initiatives like flexible scheduling and fitness discounts. The main goal is demonstrating care for your employees and fostering their physical, mental, and financial well-being.

Implement recognition and rewards systems

Be sure to acknowledge staff members who go above and beyond. This employee retention technique ensures your teams feel valued, boosting their morale and workforce loyalty. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that rewards and recognition can help you reduce turnover and retain top performers.

Some suggestions include creating a recognition program in which team members nominate each other for achievements or implementing rewards (e.g. financial bonuses or special coupons) to encourage engagement and innovation.

Communicate clearly and listen to employees’ feedback

Which statement is more clear? “You need to improve.” or “Until Y.Z. date, I’d like to see improvement in X area. For the best improvement, try doing A and B.”

When expectations are clear, it’s easier for employees to meet them. Consequently, they’ll feel a higher sense of contribution and job satisfaction. Therefore, always tend to be as specific and explicit as possible. 

Another factor to keep in mind is employee feedback. Simply said, employees want you to listen to and appreciate their opinions. To collect employee feedback in the first place, you can use anonymous surveys to understand better how employees feel and what concerns them. Then you can act on the findings and demonstrate how much you value your teams’ opinions.

Provide development opportunities

Investing in the professional development of your staff has a significant impact on employee retention. You can implement this strategy by organizing soft skills education or funding their attendance at industry conferences. Also, don’t forget regular training that lets your people stay updated with the latest trends and feel confident in their skills.

Employees who feel unprepared or unable to perform adequately are more inclined to seek growth elsewhere. Offering training and development opportunities is a fantastic strategy to avoid such situations. Moreover, you’ll see an improvement in work quality as employees become more skilled and self-assured.

Employee retention strategies implementation: a continuous effort

When implementing employee retention strategies, it’s vital to re-evaluate your efforts continuously. This entails remaining current on market trends for compensation and benefits and ensuring that management listens to employees’ opinions and thoughts.

This way, you can be confident that your teams enjoy working with you, resulting in minimal turnover and high retention rates. 

Employee Induction as a tool for Retention

When implementing employee retention strategies, it is a good idea to look at your induction processes and your induction videos. Fresh HR has created some Induction videos which you can review by clicking the link below. Alternately you can contact us at paulette@freshhrinsights.com.au