Employee Retention Strategies

A recent report shows that 40% of UK employees plan to quit their role in the next 12 months, including 35% who have been in their job for less than a year. Rather than stay in their current role because it offers them more security, a third of workers say the threat of a recession makes them more inclined to look for a higher-paid job. This is driving employers to reassess their internal processes and practices for employee retention.

Here are some of the top employee retention strategies to include in your wider plan.

Invest in Employee Engagement

According to Deloitte, just a 15% increase in employee engagement can result in a 2% increase in profit margins. Higher levels of employee engagement mean team members feel like they are an integral part of the company, are more motivated to work hard towards company goals, and are less likely to leave. 

Here are some ways you can improve employee engagement within your business:

• Conduct employee surveys to ask what they need to feel happier and more fulfilled at work to give them the chance to highlight opportunities for improvement. As a business you can then outline a roadmap of actionable steps that you will take to improve the organisation. 
• Provide consistent feedback to your teams through both informal meetings and structured sessions.
• Ask for and welcome honest feedback including upward management
• Create a psychologically safe space for all employees to share their ideas and foster a collaborative, creative space for brainstorming.

Once you have gathered feedback from employees it’s important that you demonstrate that you have taken on board what people have said by providing updates on any new implementations based on feedback.

Offer Clear and Accessible Professional Development Opportunities

Almost 50% of professionals suggest that they are more likely to leave their current role if there is a lack of commitment to upskilling, reskilling, and coaching. Prioritising professional development is beneficial for staff retention, but also for businesses who are building the skills they need internally. Professional development could take the form of: 

Internal training
Access to resources
Collaborative workshops
Certifications 
Tuition reimbursements

Ensuring your employees don’t feel stuck and/or stagnant is a fundamental way to ensure they feel valued and invested in, which helps you fill skill gaps within your business, whilst also reducing staff turnover.

Celebrating Employee Achievements & Recognition

It sounds simple, but happy employees are less motivated to look for a new role. One report showed that 63% of those who were “always” or “usually” recognised said they were “very unlikely” to job hunt in the next three to six months. By contrast, only 11% of those who are “never” or “rarely” recognised would say the same.

Positive affirmation helps instil a sense of purpose in staff and helps to make sure they feel valued and respected when they are made aware of how their work has positively impacted the organisation and made headway towards business goals.

Recognition is an important way of supporting your staff to let them know they are appreciated, which makes the workplace more engaging, inclusive and human. 

Here are three top tips for meaningful employee recognition:

1.    Specificity: recognition is always more meaningful when tied to a specific accomplishment and it makes it easier for employees to match the recognition to their personal work creating great job satisfaction and also motivation to equal or even exceed their performance
2.    Creative Rewards: it doesn’t always have to be cash driven rewards. You can look at rewarding employees with development opportunities, away days, or experiences.
3.    Timeliness: make employee recognition a priority and ensure positive affirmation is given at the earliest possible time after an accomplishment.

Foster a Culture of D&I

Diversity and inclusion involves creating a work environment that's comfortable and accessible for all. Employees who feel truly comfortable, both physically and mentally, at work are more likely to feel loyal to their employers. The tech industry in particular is lacking in diversity, and this could be contributing to part of the struggle retaining staff.

Key Stats:

80% of respondents indicated that inclusion is important when choosing an employment
39% or respondents reported that they would leave their current employer for a more inclusive one
23% of respondents indicated they had already left a business in favour of a more inclusive one, including 30% of millennials

5 Step Strategy for Implementing D&I Best Practices 

1.    Benchmarking: look at where you’re at and what you want to achieve. Analyse the gap and what you need to do to bridge it.
2.    Training: ensure there are no skill gaps when it comes to understanding D&I fundamentals, the business case for improving diversity, and the legalities around it.
3.    Coaching: close confidence gaps in the team using problem-based learning and experiential learning techniques. 
4.    Organisational Development (Inclusion): start with inclusion first! Look at how you track and manage performance, personal development plans and incentives, as well as how you create safe spaces in the workplace and get the highest quality feedback for your team.
5.    Organisational Development (Diversity): start to actively target more diverse profiles as part of your talent attraction strategy, including re-designing your hiring process and regularly evaluating your recruitment methodology to protect against hidden biases.

Make Retention Your Priority

With 2023 dubbed as the year of The Great Resignation, employers are going to have to go the extra mile to retain top tech and digital talent if they want to stay one step ahead of their competitors.

For more advice, free consultancy, and confidential guidance on improving your processes, practices, and strategies for employee retention, reach out today: rachel.murphy@maxwellbond.co.uk.