Want to Keep Employees? Here are the Best Strategies

Companies shine when they retain engaged employees who are motivated, productive, and willing to recommend your company to others. Here are some proven ideas to reduce unwanted turnover and boost employee engagement.

1: Evaluate and address employee pain points: Want to uncover why employees want to leave? Ask them directly. Seek feedback through one-on-one conversations, team meetings, or employee engagement surveys. Once you have captured that feedback, listen and act.

2: Offer competitive pay and benefits: When your workforce doesn’t have to worry about financial stability, they’re motivated to do their job and do it right. Great benefits keep your workforce mentally and physically healthy.

3: Prioritize improving employee engagement: To increase employee retention, focus on improving employee engagement. When employees are engaged at work, they’re far less likely to leave. Create a connection that makes employees feel valued and appreciated. In return, they will bring their best to work every day.

4: Emphasize effective leadership and managing for retention: When your workforce feels leadership knows how to communicate and understands what’s really going on, they are more likely to stay. Put effort into developing strong leadership and hiring the right managers.

5: Focus on building a people-first culture: If you’re not intentionally building and nurturing a people-first culture, you’re left with a culture that will grow in the wild. Employees want to be somewhere that enhances relationships, promotes connection and inclusivity, and encourages two-way communication.

6: Improve employee work-life balance and prevent burnout: Employees look for great workplaces that respect their personal lives and prevent employee burnout. Pay attention to workplace flexibility and work-life balance. Done right, employees will be more productive, energized, and engaged.

7: Offer professional development and advancement opportunities: Employees want to know they are working toward something bigger and better than where they started. They’ll look elsewhere when they sense there’s little room for growth.

8: Recognize employees through positive feedback and awards: Who and what you celebrate tells employees a lot about the type of culture you have and the culture you want. Appreciation is one of the simplest, least expensive ways to show employees they are valued.

9: Encourage creativity in the workplace: Employees sometimes leave because of boredom. The same old work, day in and day out, can trigger a search for something new. To avoid that, incorporate ways to encourage creativity in the workplace. That sparks innovation, which is essential to growth and success.

10: Hire the right employees, and onboard effectively: Sometimes, the most talented and qualified candidate is not the best fit for the job. Hiring the right employees is the difference between a revolving door and a team that sticks around.