Do you feel like you’re in a constant struggle to retain employees? If so, you probably know how expensive it is to hire new talent.
Fortunately, businesses now have data that shows the main reasons employees stick around for the long term. While keeping top performers is difficult, it’s a lot easier when you have all the information.
Here’s how your company can use data to motivate your employees to stay with you
Retaining employees versus hiring employees
Hiring employees is an expensive process. According to research by ELMO Software, hiring one employee costs organisations $18,982. These costs are immense when hiring a new executive ($34,440); senior-level managers ($23,059); mid-level ($17,841); entry-level ($9,772).
Retaining employees is more cost effective for numerous reasons. Less money is spent on familiarising new hires with your company processes. Moreover, less resources need to be allocated for advertising open positions, interviewing and so on.
The hidden benefits of employee retention
For companies, one of the largest employee retention benefits is keeping their most innovative and forward-thinking staff. In the long run, this helps companies increase their bottom line and provide better value to customers.
Internally, retaining top talent is excellent for morale. If employees see that your best team members are sticking around, they will feel inspired and motivated to remain a part of the company.
Employee retention is also excellent for HR teams. Beyond the monetary cost, the hiring process eats away at an even more important asset: time. Instead of continually having to replace employees, the HR team can focus more energy on nurturing their colleagues’ career growth.
Another overlooked benefit of employee retention is uninterrupted productivity itself. When an employee leaves, projects are delayed and disrupted. Until a new person is hired, tasks need to be delegated between the remaining team members. If they are overloaded and under pressure, this can lead to stress, productivity loss and even burnout.
What makes employees stay?
A great workplace culture
Various industry reports show that salary is not the only important factor for taking a new job. According to a Glassdoor survey in 2019, 56% of participants said that a company’s culture is more important than their paycheck.
Work with a purpose
According to Randstad Employer Brand research, workers are thinking beyond salary and job security. “It is the ability of companies to deliver a genuine, consistent and balanced experience that will prove to be the big winners in a competitive job market,” stated Frank Ribuot, CEO of Randstad Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and India.
When employees feel like they are making a positive impact in what they do, and for others, they are more motivated to go above and beyond. When the going gets tough, they are also more likely to dig in and show resilience.
Modern technology and workflow processes
Outdated technology and limited workflow processes will slow down employee productivity. They will also have a detrimental effect on your business’ overall efficiency.
With modern technologies and processes in place, there is more information at your disposal to improve your employee retention strategy. Your business will also have more transparency since everyone knows what to do if something goes wrong.
Recognition and respect
Another common reason employees leave their jobs is because they feel their efforts do not receive the deserved recognition. A lack of respect is also a common problem for companies to deal with.
Recognition and respect create a sense of belonging in the workplace. Honing this is essential. To create a culture based around recognition and respect, hold regular sessions where employees who have gone above and beyond are recognised, and celebrate any special accomplishments.
Deloitte research found that a well-established recognition programme can have measurable long-term benefits including 14% higher employee engagement, productivity and performance than organisations that do not recognise employees.
The potential for growth
Ultimately, every company can be a stepping stone for your employees. One day, they will outgrow their current role. Companies need to support employees through the growth stages of their career or lose them to other more attractive opportunities. It pays to protect your investment—your employees—by anticipating and supporting their growth.
To provide career growth opportunities, consider internal candidates for new positions before publically advertising job openings. Encouraging employees to develop their skills is also essential. Achieve this by investing in training courses, mentorship programs and other forms of coaching.
Support your employee retention strategy by putting the right processes in place
With voluntary employee turnover steadily increasing, employers can no longer afford to hide from their retention strategies. Retaining your best employees is not only less expensive; it’s key to maintaining a high-quality company culture.
To create an effective employee retention strategy, make sure you have the right technologies in place. Data analytics, time-tracking solutions and software that help to predict future employee behaviors can go a long way in improving your employee retention rates.
To find out more about how the PeoplesHR software can improve the people analytics you have available in your business, schedule a demo today.
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