The main concern of HR professionals and business executives around the world is the retention of productive employees. It is more efficient to retain a quality employee than to recruit and train a replacement employee of the same quality.
Employee retention policies aim to address several needs of employees to enhance their job satisfaction and reduce the substantial costs involved in hiring and training new employees. Some studies predict that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs six to nine months’ salary on an average.
Most employees leave an organization out of frustration and constant friction with their superiors or other team members. In some cases, low pay, lack of growth prospects, and motivation compel a staff member to look for a change. The organization must try its level best to retain the employees who are really important for the system and are known to be effective givers.
Employees typically follow some primary paths to turnover, each of which has different implications for a business. These include worker dissatisfaction, better alternatives, a planned change, or a negative experience in the workplace. Extra predictors of turnover that merit careful attention comprise of administrative commitment and job satisfaction, quality of the employee-supervisor relationship, role clarity, and job design.
Every business spends a considerable amount on attracting the best talent. These staff contribute a lot towards the success of the business and directly impact the bottom line of the business. The workers who stay with the business for longer contribute efficiently, and become an integral part of the business.
If these workers leave the business and join a competitor, that would be mean a double loss for the first business. First, they will be impacted by the worker not being available, and secondly, the worker is now contributing to the competition.
In an increasingly globalized economy, retention of quality staff is a global issue. Workers on foreign assignments face a number of issues that domestic employees do not, and the retention of international assignees poses a significant challenge to employers. Poor repatriation planning by employers is often mentioned as a reason for high turnover of employees returning from foreign assignments. Authorities must make efforts to keep in touch with expatriates to minimize feelings of isolation of employees from the home company.
In addition, reverse culture shock may be an unexpected consequence of employees returning from foreign assignments. Most importantly, returning expats need a crash course on how to live in their homeland again, and employer support is essential for their retention.
Ensuring employee retention requires thinking about matters from the team’s point of view. All workers are not the same, of course, and each has unique wishes and goals. Workers want to feel that they are appreciated by their employer and treated fairly. People want to be excited by the job they are asked to do.
The operative staff retention program addresses all of these concerns, which should start on a new employee’s first day on the job. The training and support the company provides from day one sets the tone for the employee’s tenure at the company and boosts job satisfaction.
Ways to improve staff retention
Every area of the employer-employee relationship in the business deserves attention. Some key strategies should be implemented to improve companies’ employee retention and boost employee satisfaction which include on-boarding and orientation, mentorship programs, recognition and rewards systems, a healthy work-life balance, training and development, communication and feedback, fostering teamwork, and team celebration.
Companies must also remember to assess staff retention strategies at least once in a year. It must also ensure to pay employees current market salary rates and benefits, and embody best practices in developing workplace culture and manager-staff relations. Doing so will help keep the staff morale high and turnover low while guaranteeing success.
The HR department is generally responsible for determining whether turnover is a problem, and establish plans of action, implement a retention plan, and evaluate the results. That, together, would yield the information that a company needs to determine the extent of its problem and to help shape the retention strategies that are implemented in response. Furthermore, establishing appropriate benchmarks is a key step in preparing to implement a staff retention strategy.
Employee retention techniques go a long way in motivating employees to enjoy their work and avoid changing jobs. Sincere efforts must be made to encourage the employees, so that they stay happy in the current job place and do not look for a change.
Taslim Ahammad is Assistant Professor, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Bangladesh.
