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What Are Some Key Retention Strategies to Put in Place Today?
10 employee retention strategies for success:
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Reframe the moment into a movement
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Audit current benefits and resources
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Teach managers to model their behavior
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Take an individualized approach to support
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Set (and reset) expectations
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Make frequent, scheduled check-ins the norm
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Embrace trust as part of the company’s culture
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Ensure that everyone is familiar with your company’s mission
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Communicate individual paths and opportunities
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Define and reward innovation
Reframe the moment into a movement
One of the biggest problems organizations face is viewing The Great Resignation as a single moment in time. They expect that employees are leaving now but will come shuffling back in quickly, and they need to simply wait it out. Instead, leaders need to recognize it for what it is: a movement. The rise in resignations is not a short period, but a clear message from workers on what they will no longer tolerate in the workplace.
Audit current benefits and resources
How does your company currently support your employees and enhance a culture of compassion?
Benefits and perks are among the best ways companies support their employees’ wellbeing, improve the company culture, and reduce attrition. It is a common argument amongst leadership that they don’t have the budget to implement better benefits, such as an extra month’s worth of parental leave or more bereavement. Leaders should take the time to really weigh the costs compared to the expense and time associated with replacing employees who can get these benefits elsewhere (especially in 2022, the year of the empowered employee).
Teach managers to model their behavior
Train managers to empower and encourage their teams to take advantage of resources for their well-being. If leadership is taking advantage of resources, taking days off, and modeling healthy behavior, workers will feel more comfortable taking advantage of the support as well.
Authenticity, vulnerability, and transparency have to start from the top. Compassion fatigue or pandemic fatigue is a real struggle as leaders juggle an increased pressure to perform with changing conditions and face burnout. However, compassion and the commitment to trust starts at the top. Leaders need to model these behaviors to encourage them in the company.
Take an individualized approach to support
Different employees going through unique life circumstances will need varying levels of support. Individualized support is critical to ensuring workers have the help they need when they need it. However, it may push the boundaries of how managers have thought about fairness in the past.
Differences and flexibility should be normalized and supported within the organization. For example, many single parents faced situations where daycare was shut down during the pandemic. This circumstance requires more support and flexibility than other members who are not dealing with that situation. Fairness is not as important as an individualized approach in cases like this. Leaders can be empathetic to outside circumstances without lowering their standards by providing flexibility and support.
Ensuring support at each level will encourage employee loyalty and reduce resentment that could lead to turnover. This is why providing access to coaching for all employees with a solution like Bravely is both feasible and scalable.
"Bravely has been a very positive resource for our team, especially as we rapidly scale and are trying to best support all of the new hires in the organization.”
— Ashley Beam, Employee Experience Manager at Socure”
Set (and reset) expectations
Reduce employee stress by giving them clear instructions about what is expected from their roles. Ensure everyone knows:
↠ What they need to achieve
↠ What norms they’re expected to live by
↠ How their performance is measured
In addition to job expectations, companies use so many channels for collaboration and communication. From Slack to email to Google Docs to work management platforms, it’s challenging for employees to remember where they need to check. Instead, create clear expectations and uniformity in communication to improve collaboration and decrease anxiety and improve retention.
Make scheduled check-ins the norm
Be explicit about how often you expect managers to check in with their team. It provides employees with crucial feedback and assurance in their position. It not only allows managers to check on performance but allows employees the space to feel supported and voice any concerns. One survey of employees who quit found that leadership did not approach them in the three months prior to get feedback on their job satisfaction or discuss their future with the company. Employers can quickly remedy this with regular, scheduled check-ins.
Although there should be check-ins at every level, it’s especially critical for new employees during the first 90 days. It is not too much for managers to reach out to their team members outside of scheduled 1:1 meetings, especially in this new hybrid working that we’re all settling into. Virtual cultures call for regular check-ins to enable everyone to ask questions and understand the company culture.
Embrace trust as a part of the company’s culture
When putting trust in the company culture, it's vital to start with a baseline to let you know where everyone is. Engagement surveys, performance reviews, and leadership development programs are all foundational to building trust in the company culture.
Once you have a baseline, enable your managers with the agency to create safe spaces for employees. Provide instructions on how they display trust and compassion. Here at Bravely, we put together a guide for our managers on ideas and practices to best support their team members who get COVID-19. That way, they feel comfortable providing flexibility and support to their team members without worrying about the loss in productivity.
Ensure everyone is familiar with the company’s mission
Communicate your company mission to help your employees see how their work makes a difference.
When people feel that their work matters, they experience intrinsic and extrinsic motivation at their jobs. When your employees understand the vision and how they directly impact it, they will feel more motivated to stay and give their best effort.
Communicate individual paths and opportunities
Internal mobility and skill development are critical to retention. Companies that provide better training have a 53% lower turnover rate.
Compensation and benefits - lower attrition
Employee training - lower attrition
Purposeful mission - lower attrition
Flexible work arrangements - higher headcount growth
Open and effective management - higher headcount growth
*Source: LinkedIn Global Talent Trends 2020
In fact, 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if it were committed to helping them learn. Employees want to learn and understand what their future is at the company. Leaders need to paint the picture and show them the path forward.
Oftentimes, employees have a difficult time asking for opportunities for learning. Do you know what helps? Coaching those same employees. Coaching drives strong L&D outcomes.
After just one coaching session with Bravely, this is what employees tell us:
Define and reward innovation
Define what innovation means at your company or on your team and set clear goals around it. If you need to, even develop processes around it so that employees understand that it is essential to you.
Leaders sometimes discourage innovation without realizing it by failing to recognize employees that take the risk of offering a new path. Instead, reward people who exemplify a spirit of innovation. It will set an example for everyone else, so other employees will feel comfortable suggesting ideas.
