Employee Retention: 15 Tips For Keeping Your Best Employees

Every manager wants a high employee retention rate, but not all know how to go about achieving it. Inch is here to help.

In this article, we discuss some of the best ways you can boost employee retention in your business and introduce you to software that can make the process so much easier.

Employee Retention Defined

Employee retention is your business’s ability to keep employees on the job longer and reduce two key variables:

• Turnover — When an employee leaves (or you let them go), and you hire a new team member to take their place
• Attrition — When an employee leaves (or you let them go), and you do not hire a new team member to take their place

A high employee retention rate is important for your business because it means that your HR department has to do less hiring — a labor-intensive activity — and can focus on other parts of their job.

It’s also important because it means that employees who’ve worked together for a while will have stronger bonds and exhibit a higher level of teamwork.

How To Improve Employee Retention

1) Outfit A Modern Workspace

Few employees want to work in a place of business that’s a holdover from the 1980s (unless it’s an 80s-themed restaurant, of course).

They want to work in a modern, well-appointed environment that is conducive to focus and creativity.

Consider replacing, redecorating, or redoing the major parts of the workspace, including:

• Computers
• Desks
• Paint
• Flooring
• Break room furniture
• The break room itself
• Employee bathrooms
• The main workspace
• Any other equipment that your team uses regularly

It may cost a bit to refurbish the workspace every few years, but the improvement in employee retention will make the expense well worth the effort.

2) Manage Workspace Crises Quickly

A big part of employee retention depends on employee happiness and satisfaction.

If some crisis in the workplace has a negative effect on that happiness and satisfaction, retention rates will suffer.

That’s why it’s so important to deal with problems as quickly as possible.

If the copy machine breaks down, don’t wait two weeks to repair it or purchase a new one — do it right away.

Similarly, if a conflict develops between two team members, don’t wait to see if it resolves itself. Get involved as soon as possible so the bad feelings don’t escalate and spread to the rest of your employees.

3) Offer A Remote Work Option

If it’s possible for your business, offer a remote work option as a way to improve employee retention.

Providing options for your team in regards to where they can work serves to boost employee morale and helps them balance their work and personal life more successfully (more on this later in the article).

4) Create Opportunities For Socialization

Fostering interaction between coworkers that doesn’t revolve around work topics is a great way to improve employee retention in your business.

Consider such options as:

• Taking a break together
• Going out to eat
• Playing games
• Organizing a happy hour after work

There are many ways to encourage socialization among team members and all result in a much happier work environment.

5) Run An Efficient Workplace

If your employees work in a chaotic, stressful, and inefficient workplace, their job satisfaction is going to suffer, and your employee retention rate is going to fall.

Sure, some jobs are just chaotic and stressful by nature, but running an efficient work environment is the best way to bring a sense of order to the madness.

And, when your team has order and efficiency as a base on which to stand, they’ll be better able to handle whatever the job throws at them.

6) Encourage Teamwork

When you encourage and build teamwork in your business, you make it easier for your employees to experience things that they won’t find anywhere else.

Teamwork provides your employees (and your business) with such benefits as:

• Faster innovation
• Higher morale
• Friendship between coworkers
• Opportunities to learn
• High-quality work
• New ideas

The thrill of experiencing these benefits will motivate employees to stick with your business longer.

7) Upgrade Tools For Better Employee Retention

When your team has to spend extra time performing a regular, routine task that could be simplified with a common tool, their happiness will suffer, and your employee retention rate will fall.

To prevent this from happening, upgrade your team’s tools so they have the equipment they need to do their jobs quickly and efficiently.

8) Provide The Right Benefits

Competitive pay and benefits go a long way to keeping your employee retention rate high and steady.

Consider offering such remuneration as:

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• 401k contributions
• Gym membership
• Paid time off
• Profit sharing
• Student loan payoff assistance

These and other benefits can motivate your employees to stay with your business longer.

9) Recognize A Job Well Done

Whenever possible, recognize a job well done.

Celebrate the end of a successful project. Toast the completion of a difficult task. Or, just drop a “Good job for getting the report in on time!” as you pass an employee in the hall.

If you take the initiative to provide recognition, your employees will feel like valued members of the team and will want to work hard for your business for years to come.

10) Make Time Tracking Easy

Whether it’s clocking in and out or recording the time spent on several different jobs, tracking time is a big part of your team’s workday.

But, if said tracking process is complicated and difficult, it’s going to affect morale and, eventually, your business’s employee retention rate.

Keep your business’s time tracking as simple and easy as possible so it won’t feel like a major hurdle in your team’s workflow and productivity.

11) Stick To A Regular Schedule Of Performance Reviews

A regular schedule of performance reviews goes a long way toward improving the overall employee retention rate in your business.

During these reviews, take the opportunity to commend your team and show them how to improve and achieve success in your business.

With regular reinforcement like this, your employees will feel a sense of achievement in their work and will be more likely to stay with your company rather than look for other employment.

12) Promote Work/Life Balance

Work/life balance is an essential factor in building and maintaining a strong employee retention rate in your business.

Promoting work/life balance helps prevent your team from burning out on the job to the point that they start looking for other employment.

There are so many ways to promote work/life balance — everything from offering flexible schedules to varying work distribution. Find the ones that work for your team and your business.

13) Improve Direct Oversight

As you take steps to improve the way your team works — and benefit from the employee retention that comes with it — branch out and find ways to improve their direct oversight as well.

The relationship that each team member has with their manager or supervisor is one of the most significant contributors to happiness and job satisfaction.

If an employee doesn’t get along with their manager, they’re more likely to look for a different job where they do.

To prevent this from happening, train managers to practice good interpersonal skills at all times.

14) Allow Your Team To Work Autonomously

Allowing your team to work autonomously means giving them the permission, space, and flexibility to control how they approach and complete their work.

Giving your employee the freedom they need to make decisions fosters a sense of trust and contributes to a higher sense of job satisfaction — and a higher employee retention rate.

15) Focus On Communication

Good communication is one of the fundamental building blocks of a strong team and a strong business. How can you improve communication among your team?

Start by making your communication as clear, concise, and effective as possible. When your team sees what good communication looks like, they’ll be more willing to make the effort themselves.

Such free and open communication channels will dramatically improve both your employee retention rate and the way you do business.

Inch: The Foundation Of Employee Retention

One of the most effective ways to improve employee retention — and create a strong foundation on which to work — is with workforce management software.

But which workforce management software will produce the best results? Inch.

Thanks to the power of cloud computing, the Inch app is available anywhere, anytime, and on any device your team might use.

Such versatility and flexibility make scheduling, communicating with, and tracking the activities of in-office teams, distributed teams, remote teams, field service teams (and everything in between) easier than ever before.

And when you, your team, and your business use Inch to stay organized, efficient, and productive, your employee retention rate will skyrocket.

For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit TryInch.com today.