Layla Tovey's blog : How To Improve Retention Rates During A Tough Labor Market - Risk Management

There are many statistics floating around about the current state of the labor market. The overall takeaways show how people are switching jobs now more than ever before. The job switches are largely occurring due to the explosion of nonmonetary benefits having a bigger influence than sheer salary. Job prospects are stating how work-life balance is becoming a growing concern while they are on the job hunt. A large salary isn’t enough anymore. What are human resource and risk management professionals supposed to do? Here are some tips to manage your turnover and retention rates during this labor shift.

What Is Employee Retention?

Employee retention is a metric used by human resource and risk management professionals to quantify how long they expect an employee to stay with an organization and what is the percentage of employees that stay. This metric is important because it helps your organization anticipate when employees will consider changing their careers and what their actual value is to the organization. A poor employee retention rate can have tremendous effects on an organization. Constant employee turnover can tie up your loyal employees with training and picking up the slack. From an HR perspective, it ties up their efficiency because they will be constantly looking to fill new roles.

Employee Engagement

A salary can only keep employees engaged for so long. For employees, there are a variety of factors that keep them motivated in the workplace. Engagement is a result of strong company culture. As an organization, take the time to evaluate what each employee looks at for motivation. If it is money, consider offering bonuses, performance-based rewards, or larger annual raises. If it is sociability, try to organize events such as going out for a happy hour or other employee outings. Employee engagement will help retain great talent and promote a team-oriented atmosphere.

Growth Opportunities

It is only natural for employees to look elsewhere after a certain amount of time in a particular role. A lot of opportunities to grow professionally and privately can help retain top-notch talent. A way to do this professionally is by offering career tracks that include performance reviews and opportunities to receive promotions. Upward mobility is a huge factor that can sway whether or not an employee stays regardless of other kinks in the organization’s armor. Growth opportunities don’t have to be promotions either. There are many certificates and additional education opportunities that can help bolster someone’s professional career. Offer these kinds of workshops and transferable certificates to your employees. Always be willing to invest further into your employee’s skills.

Lifestyle Enhancements

Lifestyle enhancements can improve employee retention and attraction as well. A typical employee package includes a salary, retirement plan, and health benefits. There are a lot of other perks surrounding those standards as well. The average person strives for a lot out of life. A lot of benefits that could be of use to help retention rate are different financial coverages like paying for gym memberships, college loan relief, and much more. Keep this in mind when forming a benefits package.

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