Employee Retention & Engagement Strategies

What is employee Retention?

Employee retention is the ability of an organisation to lower employee turnover or the number of workers who willingly or involuntarily leave their positions. Staff retention rates have a direct bearing on an organisation’s effectiveness and success. Increasing employee retention has a direct impact on business performance and success. Due to disruptions in continuity, the loss of institutional knowledge, and the high expenses associated with replacing departed employees and hiring new replacements, high personnel turnover rates can hinder an organisation’s ability to fulfil its objective. In addition to lowering morale, employee departures can lead to an increase in staff turnover. Staff retention is essential for a successful company, but many seem to struggle with it as annual employee turnover rates rise. 

Why employee retention is important?

1. Decrease in expenses: There is no escaping the truth that turnover costs money. It takes time to find and enrol new employees, and this is especially problematic when severance payments are involved. Moreover, unskilled staff members might harm the consumer experience, which can cost you money. With a strong retention plan, you may save your company time and money.

2. Rise in spirits: For the employees, it’s sad when their teammates leave the organisation. Morale may be raised through effective retention techniques. A pleasant work environment results from high staff morale. Employees pick up positivity and think their organization is a terrific place to work. Happy workers are more likely to stick with the organisation and become excellent brand ambassadors.

3. Increase in output: Employees with more experience tend to be more productive and engaged. Long-term workers have had more time to hone their skills, can do jobs more quickly, and are more dedicated to the company’s success. High levels of involvement, according to research, also boost output and improve job quality.

4. Improved client experience: Making retention a priority makes workers happy. Also, contented personnel radiate happiness to their clients. Employee satisfaction is connected with high engagement, and higher engagement leads to better customer service. Also, long-term personnel are better able to address complex issues to increase client satisfaction.

5. Spending less time on hiring and training: As an HR executive, you already have a lot on your plate. Recruitment processes may be time-consuming and disruptive when your company needs talent. You may invest more time in strategic efforts that enhance the employee experience and lower turnover by spending less time recruiting and onboarding new recruits.

6. Stronger corporate culture: Whether or not workers stay with your organisation depends on its culture. You may praise your cultural efforts if you have good retention rates. 72% of workers said that workplace culture determined whether or not they stayed with a business.

Your staff members will feel a part of the organisation when you can keep them engaged and motivated. The best workplace cultures value inclusion, take use of fantastic perks, and celebrate their employees. Low staff turnover will ensure that your rules are naturally followed and upheld in the working environment.

7. Increased revenue and ROI: Retention issues lower the return on investment of your talent initiatives. It is expensive to lose and replace a departing employee due to hiring expenses, training commitments, and missed sales and productivity. Your bottom line will be impacted by these expenses both directly and indirectly.

8. More professional staff: An employee has more time to gain experience the longer they work in an organisation. They are able to comprehend organisational quirks and processes that new recruits are still learning. Also, a worker adds greater value to the organisation the longer they work there. Employee loyalty increases their commitment to generating positive company results. Your ordinary performers have the potential to evolve into rising stars with time and effort.

What is employee engagement?

The idea of employee engagement in human resources (HR) refers to how enthusiastic and committed an employee is to their work. Employees that are engaged are concerned about their job and the success of the organisation and believe that their contributions matter. An engaged employee is in an organisation for more than just a salary and may believe that their performance by extension, and their well-being is directly related to and essential to the success of their organisation.

With its obvious ties to work happiness and morale among employees, employee engagement may be crucial to a company’s success. A more productive and high-performing workforce is one where the employees are more engaged. They frequently exhibit a stronger dedication to the principles and objectives of an organisation.

Employee Engagement Strategies

Here are a few Engagement Strategies to engage the employees more effectively:

1. Conduct a survey on employee satisfaction: 

You must first create a baseline before attempting to raise employee engagement. It can be aided by an employee engagement survey. The survey can be organised in a variety of ways, including:

• Putting things on a scale (For instance: How would you grade this statement on a scale of 1 to 5? “When I do my tasks properly, I receive the proper credit.”)
• Closed-ended inquiries (For instance, what is the hardest thing about working at this company every day?)
• Questions with several options (For instance: Which area do you believe requires the most improvement for the company? A. Employee growth, B. Communication, and C. Work-life balance.)
• An employee engagement survey should include questions about employees’ typical experiences, their interactions with management, and the overall business objective. 
• Employees should be allowed to comment anonymously to give honest feedback.

You’ll be able to pinpoint the areas that require the greatest improvement once you’ve prepared and examined the findings of your employee engagement survey.

2. Establish a committee for employee involvement: Offering your employees a part in encouraging employee engagement gives you a wonderful chance to learn from individuals who are on the front lines every day. You can identify methods to increase employee happiness with the assistance of an employee engagement committee made up of enthusiastic, high-performing workers from every level of your firm.

No more than eight to ten people should be on an employee engagement committee. It’s a good idea to first ask for volunteers when deciding who will serve because those that are eager to join up are typically your most engaged employees. Do some focused marketing if you can’t convince enough folks to join in the initial wave. You want workers who put in a lot of effort, are enthusiastic, and are well-liked by their coworkers.

The committee’s goal is to propose solutions for the problems identified in the employee engagement survey by talking with each other and their coworkers about what is required to establish an environment where everyone feels appreciated. The committee then communicates these suggestions to management and sees to it that the necessary adjustments are made.

3. Maintain engagement among scattered teams and remote workers: Your company’s size and distribution have a significant impact on employee engagement. Making employees feel like they are a part of the corporate culture would require more effort if they work from home or in satellite locations.

Employees that are spread out across different areas might feel like they are a part of the team by using technologies like videoconferencing rather than phone conferencing. To avoid remote teams feeling excluded or undervalued, make sure all workstations have the same facilities and benefits wherever they are.

4. Use staff engagement initiatives to make work more enjoyable: Providing workers with the opportunity to leave their workstations and develop a sense of community with coworkers will keep them invested and engaged. Even though there are countless things you can plan, here are some ideas:

• Office games: Have a monthly scavenger hunt or trivia contest in the afternoon, or go above and beyond with an annual Office Olympics competition.
• Learn events: Employees should be given the chance to deliver a TED-style talk on a subject they are passionate about.
• Theme days: Arrange for days where workers can dress up, bring food for a potluck, or engage in a themed activity.
• Birthdays, new arrivals and other milestones: Such events should be celebrated by acknowledging significant occasions in your staff’s lives. You may show them that you care about them beyond the workplace.

5. To improve engagement, emphasize diversity and inclusiveness: Your team will perform better if it has a diversified age, gender, race, and ethnicity. According to Gartner Research, ‘diverse teams perform better on average by 12 per cent and have higher retention rates.’ Also, a diverse crew prevents groupthink and is probably a better reflection of your clientele. 

Yet, having a diverse pool of applicants is not sufficient; all employees must also feel that their contributions are recognized equally which entails prioritizing equitable compensation, being open about decisions about raises and promotions, and making sure that all suggestions and opinions are given equal consideration.

6. Provide rewards and benefits to keep staff members interested: You want your staff to go above and above; you don’t want them to show up for work each day and accomplish the bare minimum, giving your staff members benefits like wellness checkups, educational opportunities, and gym discounts will help them feel like you care about their professional and personal success.

Think about the office facilities you have as well as what your staff wants and needs during the workday. Their 9 to 5 will be more enjoyable if they have good coffee, plenty of snacks, and even the ability to bring their pets with them.

7. Show appreciation for good work: The only time an employee should learn about their valuable contributions to the organisation should not be during their annual evaluation. Employees must receive real-time praise for their accomplishments to feel that the work they do each day matters. Personally expressing gratitude to a worker and receiving public acknowledgement are both effective motivators. A rewards system or highlighting an employee’s accomplishments in the corporate newsletter or team email can make them feel appreciated and motivate other employees to put forth their best effort to earn the same recognition.

Making employees feel important members of the community, as well as the firm, is essential to maintaining their engagement. The more chances your employees have to communicate meaningfully and do meaningful work in a setting that encourages innovation, inspiration, and teamwork, the more committed they’ll be to your business’s goals and long-term success.