Retention of Employees

An employee retention program boosts the bottom line and improves customer satisfaction

By Amy Jo Garner, Consultant

Losing key employees is more than an inconvenience. Employee retention problems cost your organization money and time when you have to find and train replacements. In addition, a low employee retention rate drags down employee morale, hampers long-range planning and negatively impacts customer opinion. If a company can't keep its best employees, then it gains a reputation as a bad place to work and a company others don't want to do business with.

Business owners need to put an employee retention plan in place to keep and recruit top employees. Although money plays a part in retention of employees, you might be surprised to learn that it's not the most important factor in employee retention. Other employee retention strategies you need to consider include:

1. Clear communication of job requirements and performance expectations.

2. Efficient use of your employees' skills and talents.

3. Appropriate training and supervision.

4. Opportunities for employees to learn new skills and advance in the company.

5. Consistent rewards and recognition for employee performance.

Train management on employee retention benefits

Business owners, managers and first-line supervisors should all be trained in employee retention. Most employees leave a job due to conflict or dissatisfaction with a supervisor. Your best defense is for the people responsible for managing your employees to understand the importance of employee retention.
Try: Chart Your Course International offers a free 7-day training course: "Learn the Secret of Employee and Staff Retention in Today's Workplace." The course quickly brings you up-to-speed on the cost of employee turnover, why employees quit and developing an employee retention strategy.

Put your employee retention plan in writing

Employee retention programs only work when business owners and managers have guidelines to help them. A written document reminds both managers and employees of your company's commitment to retaining excellent employees.
Try: You don't need to create a plan from scratch. Templates are available to help you out. MyWorkTools.com offers a low-cost template in Word format that you can purchase and immediately download. The template includes ideas on keeping employees satisfied and time and money issues.

Hire a specialist to help improve employee retention

Sometimes only a professional who can examine your organization from a neutral standpoint can find the problems that cause employee turnover. An employee retention specialist can train you to hire employees who will stay, improve employee morale and develop strategies to ensure current employees stay with you.
Try: The Rainmaker Group specializes in retention of employees. They help companies put the right employees in the right jobs, thus boosting employee morale and productivity. Retensa offers multi-faceted solutions to employee retention, including training your managers.

Make surveys part of your employee retention program

An employee survey provides insights into what your employees think about the company, their supervisors, their jobs, their perceived value to the company and the likelihood they're going to stay on the job. Regular use of employee surveys can help you catch any potential problems before they negatively impact your company.
Try: You should work with a company experienced in conducting employee surveys. Infosurv: The Online Survey Professionals provide comprehensive employee retention surveys and analysis. Download a pricing brochure and sample surveys from their website.

Research on employee retention shows that it costs a company anywhere from 1/2 to 4 times an employee's annual salary to replace that person.
Remember that employees rarely leave companies, they leave supervisors or co-workers.
As important as it is to keep good employees, don't hang on to the bad ones. Poor performing employees and bad attitudes drive valuable employees away. Improve your employee retention rate by rewarding excellence and eliminating poor performers.