Tip: 10 Employee Retention Tricks

Replacing an employee can be costly and time consuming. Turnover costs can amount to a significant percentage of an organization’s budget. Most of those costs go toward finding and training a replacement. By retaining top employees, you can save time, money, and improve your bottom line.

Here are 10 ways to help you keep your top talent:

1. Promote your company's culture. Employees who feel a strong attachment to their company's culture and values tend to be more loyal and engaged. Ask yourself if your values are clearly communicated to your employees (both at the time of hire and throughout their employment) and whether your policies and practices reflect those values.
2. Develop effective leaders. Employees often leave a job because of a poor working relationship with their supervisor. To be effective, supervisors need proper training and guidance on performance management, communication, applying workplace rules and policies, and employee development.
3. Create an attractive compensation package. An attractive compensation package can put your company ahead of its competitors. The right mix of direct compensation (wages, salaries, commissions, and bonuses) and indirect compensation (health insurance, paid time off, retirement plans, etc.) is key. Develop a total compensation plan that balances attracting and retaining top talent with keeping labor costs under control.
4. Pay attention to your top performers. Top performers are typically harder and more expensive to replace. Consider performance-based bonuses or greater autonomy and responsibilities to recognize and encourage exceptional work.
5. Provide challenges. Many employees seek challenging and varied work, two factors that can keep employees engaged. Where possible, design jobs with a range of tasks and allow top performers to work on new or high-profile projects. To help avoid monotony, allow employees to use different skills or cross-train employees on new responsibilities.
6. Offer flexibility. Workplace flexibility is attractive for many employees and it can help to reduce the number of unscheduled absences. Consider implementing flexible work arrangements, such as the option to work from home, alternative start and stop times, or compressed workweeks.
7. Recognize and reward. Recognition shows employees that their work is appreciated. Recognition can come in the form of an "Employee of the Month" program, an announcement in company communications, or a note from a supervisor or head of the company. Rewards can be monetary (merit-based pay raises or bonuses) or non-monetary (special privileges like parking in the CEO's spot).
8. Train and develop. Provide employees with training and development opportunities to promote retention and commitment. Even if there aren't a lot of opportunities to move upward, you can still help employees develop skills and knowledge that will serve them in the future. Engage employees on a regular basis to determine their training needs and career development interests. Consider internal and external training opportunities, mentoring, job shadowing, cross-training, and professional development classes.
9. Communicate effectively. Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, distrust, reduced performance, and other negative consequences that can increase turnover. Communicate openly with employees about the company's goals and business results and give employees multiple ways to provide you with feedback, such as regular staff meetings, an employee suggestion program, and employee satisfaction surveys. Transparency will be key in maintaining your employees’ trust and loyalty as you prepare your organization for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s Final Rule concerning white collar exemptions.
10. Find out why employees leave. Conduct exit interviews with departing employees to find out why employees resign. Exit interviews can help you identify your company's weaknesses so that they can be addressed before the next employee leaves. Exit interviews can also be used to transfer knowledge to a successor or replacement.