Remember those workplace legends who quit their jobs in a blaze of glory?
From the fed-up JetBlue flight attendant who pulled the emergency-exit chute to end his job effective immediately; to the fictional Jerry Maguire who grabbed a goldfish (and Renee Zellweger) on his way out the door; to the countless, “I can’t take it anymore!” tales we’ve heard from our own lives, plenty of people have made their exits with flair.
Regardless of how it happens, turnover is expensive — the cost of replacing an employee can run an organization anywhere from 50 to 100% of their salary when you factor in recruiting, onboarding, training, and time to ramp up productivity in a new hire.
And beyond the dollar figures, constant turnover usually has a negative impact on employee morale.
So, how can you retain employees? Invest in them. Here are eight employee retention strategies that companies are — or should be — considering: get to know what employees want, improve company culture, enhance recognition, build a progressive wellness program, offer financial wellness resources, provide flexible work arrangements, invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and commit to corporate social responsibility.
Why employees leave
Before you can keep people, it helps to understand why they go. Most departures come down to a few recurring themes: burnout and heavy workloads, feeling disconnected from leaders and colleagues, limited room to grow, pay that no longer matches the market, and a poor fit between work and the rest of life.
Exit conversations and honest check-ins can surface which of these is at play on your team. When you know the real reasons, you can focus your energy on the strategies below that address them directly.
Get to know what individual employees want
Strategies for how to retain an employee should be as individual as each person. While some staffers would consider staying if they received a salary boost, others would rather have more flexibility in their schedules, learning and growth opportunities, the ability to give back to the community while on the job, or simply a stronger connection to the values of the company.
It’s imperative that managers and other leaders understand the individual needs of their employees. Give them a chance to share their perspective on what’s working for them and what’s not. A reverse performance review can lead to important insights that could help employees feel heard, valued, and connected to more than just their paycheque.
Improve company culture with transparency and communication
An internal communications strategy and a well-defined company culture are must-haves when considering how to retain an employee.
If you’ve taken the first step of asking employees what they value, you’re well on your way to knowing how to create and communicate your company culture. Consider putting together a company handbook that answers questions like:
Core values: what are they and what do they look like in action?
Leadership: who are our leaders and how can we connect with them?
Feedback: how do we give and receive it?
Communication culture: when do we email, Slack, IM, or drop by?
Conflict: what are our processes for mediating it?
Support: how do we lift each other up?
Growth: how do we learn and grow within the organization?
Implement or enhance a recognition program
Many of us want to know that what we do matters to other people, including leadership and colleagues, if not the wider world around them.
If your organization is leaking talent, it’s important to ensure that the people who are sticking around feel seen as valuable contributors. A robust recognition program can include company-wide kudos or rewards and also quieter, and potentially more meaningful, expressions of appreciation. Leaders should take time to consider the complexities of what goes into each employee’s performance and provide tailored recognition and specific feedback that signals that their work is important.
Consider a progressive wellness program
Word to the wise: basic health benefits aren’t enough for the modern workplace. Dental, drug, and simple wellness coverage is considered by many to be the bare minimum of what it means to stay healthy.
When thinking about how to retain an employee, proactive wellness coverages can go a long way, things like:
Fitness: an allowance for personal fitness programs
Mental health: access to a confidential helpline and free sessions with a qualified therapist
Stress management: training and access to meditation platforms
Family support: childcare referral programs and parenting workshops
Volunteering: paid time off (PTO) for giving back
Look for ways to go beyond traditional wellness initiatives that help bolster the physical and emotional health of all employees.
Offer resources for financial wellness
A modern group RRSP is one way to help employees feel financially secure about their future and reduce anxiety around finances that can otherwise impact productivity in the workplace. Offering to match contributions up to a certain amount also goes a long way to inspiring employee loyalty.
When choosing a plan, look for low fees, a range of diversified portfolio options, and a clear digital experience that employees will actually want to use to check up on their progress. Access to one-on-one sessions with a qualified financial professional can also help employees plan for retirement, or other life milestones, and answer their questions about investing.
Provide flexible work arrangements
Providing flexibility on remote work and schedules will go a long way to securing the trust and loyalty of employees. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a black or white proposition. Compressed work weeks, flextime, and partial telecommuting are all options that could help employees meet you halfway if in-person collaboration (at least part of the time) is important to your business.
Build a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program
It should never have been acceptable to ignore racial injustice in the workplace. If your organization is serious about creating a workplace where all people, including Black, Indigenous, and racialized employees, can thrive, you need a DEI program to make sure that happens. This includes encouraging inclusive leadership, making DEI everyone’s responsibility (not just one selected leader), empowering team members to speak their truth, fostering employee growth, and improving talent pipelines.
Invest in a corporate social responsibility program
Find out what matters to your employees and consider offering PTO for volunteering, matching donations, offering payroll-enabled microdonations, and doing charitable team building activities. Research shows that a group of people who do good in the world together are more bonded and cohesive.
Just like in any healthy relationship, employers and employees need to establish an open dialogue about what matters most to each party and what strategies can be deployed to help everyone get what they want — mostly.
Underpinning improved communication are retention strategies that not only inspire loyalty but help you create a workplace that’s better positioned to be a hive of creativity and collaboration.
When organizations address the talent crisis head on, they’re less likely to need those emergency exits.