If employee retention is not at the forefront of your
organizational goals this year, allow me to tell you why it should be.
In this era of the “great resignation” companies are
facing unprecedented times when it comes to seeing their best assets leave
their organization. Never have we seen employees resign in the millions world-wide
as we have the past year or so. Without getting too deeply into the why this is
happening and how we could have avoided the whole thing, let me remind you that
a constant turnover of employees can be damaging for any team, in any industry.
Not only does it cost organizations millions of dollars to replace an employeen worldwide,
but it can also affect the employee morale and the culture of the organization.
That being said, the impact a high turnover rate has
on an organization’s success is not debatable, but why is it so hard to retain employees
and what is employee retention by the way?
Before we answer those questions, please let’s look into very common
misconceptions about employee retention.
· Employee
retention does not start with an employee submitting a resignation
· It
is not negotiating with a candidate who has been offered more somewhere else
· Employee
retention does not include revisiting the benefit package at the time once you
hear someone is considering searching for another employer
· A
good employee retention strategy is not offering them the possibility of growth
at the time they have a leadership role pending with a competitor
Employee retention strategies should start with the
onboarding program. Every employee who applies for a position in your
organization should be able to tell the difference between that application and
those many others submitted. It starts with a good application process, an
excellent robust, yet short, interview protocol that includes the possibility
of discussing the position and its responsibilities with employees who do it on
a daily basis.
Employee retention happens with the employee entering
their work space for the first time ever and feeling welcomed the very moment
they step foot in your doors.
Employee retention takes place daily as the employee
puts in their best effort in completing the tasks assigned and the manager
shows appreciation for the effort. It even happens when that employee makes
mistakes and is addressed for those gracefully and respectfully. Employee
retention is every step of the training process for that employee.
The employee retention strategy for an organization
does not end with training though, it goes on with the appreciation for the employee’s
loyalty. It means celebrating their personal and professional accomplishments.
Some leaders want employees to separate their personal
and professional lives, however have you ever stopped to consider how an
employee’s mental health can affect their work? Employee retention means being
flexible and understanding of the employees’ personal situations and how those
can impact their ability to do the job. It is in your best interest as a leader
of a team to have happy, dedicated employees and that can only be accomplished
with a good work-life balance.
Employee retention means providing the employee who
has demonstrated the appropriate leadership skills with the training and career
path necessary to reach the next step of the career ladder. It does not mean
creating a position for them if you don’t have one available. It means developing
them into the leader you will need tomorrow and taping into your internal
resources for your next leadership position. The mere possibility of growth can
mean the difference between an employee who stays and one who searches for that
possibility outside of your organization.
Employee retention is providing with team-building
activities that allows not just for the team to work well together, but also
challenge each other and tap into each other for their best talents.
Employee retention is crucial for organizational success!
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