Employee turnover can be expensive for any business. Not only is the cost of hiring and training new employees a drain on your resources, but losing good team members can wreak havoc on your team’s productivity, quality of work, and morale.
Hiring new employees is an expensive and often drawn-out process. According to recent data, the average cost to hire an executive is just under $15,000, while the average cost for a general hire hovers just above $4,400.
Along with impacting your organization’s bottom line, hiring someone new takes time. Data suggests it takes between 36 and 42 days to fill a position on average, leaving your team stretched too thin for too long.
While there are methods to minimize the resources you spend finding new employees, it’s best to reduce turnover altogether. When employees stay with your organization for a considerable period of time, you minimize the money and time you’ll need to find replacements for those roles.
Let’s take a look at six ways to increase employee retention and reduce turnover within your company.
1. Be Thoughtful and Selective During the Hiring Process
The most important step in reducing turnover is to hire smarter and more selectively. The right people are worth waiting for, so don’t rush the hiring process or fill the position just to check it off the list. As an old maxim says, “Hire slow, fire fast.”
The best way to get amazing employees is to hire only those who make a good fit for your organization’s culture and values. Start with the job description. Make sure it’s detailed enough that you’re not just filling a role, but also describing what kind of person would be successful there.
Then, use every step of the interview process — from phone screens to in-person meetings to reference checks — to ensure you’re finding people who will thrive in your business’s unique environment.
2. Use Your Onboarding Process to Encourage Retention
Use the onboarding process as an opportunity to connect with new hires and show them how much your organization values them. A well-planned onboarding program will provide new hires with an introduction to their roles and set expectations for their future with your organization.
Tailor your onboarding program to each employee’s needs. Take time to understand what each new hire wants out of their first days in the office, as well as what they need from their managers and coworkers.
3. Offer Competitive Pay and Benefits
Offering competitive salaries and benefits is key to higher employee retention. You will find that it costs less money in the long run if you pay your employees well instead of continually hiring new people due to lower wages or poor benefits.
If you find it difficult to offer competitive wages, consider supplementing their total compensation package by offering other non-monetary benefits such as paid time off, tuition reimbursement, or health insurance coverage for dependents.
4. Offer Opportunities for Employee Growth
Creating opportunities for employee development can be effective in improving retention. It shows that you value your employees’ skills and talents enough to invest in furthering their careers at your company. It also increases the economic value they can contribute to your business.
It’s important to send a clear message that if someone performs well at their current job, there will be opportunities for advancement within your company..
5. Recognize and Reward Employees
By creating a culture of recognition in your organization, you can reduce turnover and help your employees feel like a valued part of your company. Employee recognition programs are especially effective when they recognize accomplishments with incentives or public acknowledgment.
When your employees see management rewarding their hard work, they’ll be more inclined to bring their best to the workplace. Employees are likely to leave an organization if they feel management isn’t noticing or appreciating their efforts.
6. Encourage a Healthy Work-Life Balance
In this modern age of work, employees are prioritizing their work-life balance. Offering benefits like paid vacation time, time off for holidays, and maternity leave can increase employee retention.
If an employee has to miss a family vacation or a once-in-a-lifetime event because their manager didn’t approve their time off, or if they can’t pick up their child from school on-time due to scheduling conflicts, they are certainly more likely to leave the organization.
Treating your employees like humans and understanding that their personal lives play a pivotal role in their engagement and happiness as an employee is key to reducing turnover and creating a company culture that employees value.
Invest in Your Employees to Reduce Turnover
Employee retention is a vital metric for any company. When your employees leave, it’s up to you to find a replacement and train them in their new position and responsibilities. Every time you do so, you run the risk of spending resources on someone who may not stay or perform up to par.
How do you get employees to stay? Using the right approach, you can minimize employee turnover, increase retention, and level up your organization. At Focus HR, we’re here to help you navigate this process. Contact our team for a free consultation today.
