Employee Retention Strategies

The introduction of some simple motivational and reward strategies can help us reduce the turnover rates remarkably and retain the key employees successfully. Employee retention can be effectively improved by proactive interventions from the management.

According to Herzberg’s “Two Factor Theory”, there are two sets of factors that influence motivation in the workplace. These factors either enhance employee satisfaction or hinder it. They are also the factors for an employee to leave or stay at an organization.

Some tested and proven strategies that can be implemented are:

Recognition -The employees need to be recognized for their efforts and contributions toward the company. When they are being recognized and appreciated for their contributions to the company, they tend to be more responsible and proactive in their job roles. It can be as simple as an Appreciation email with notification to the top management or an Appreciation certificate, or they can be invited to provide a training to their team and share their success story. Recognition titles like “Employee of the month/Year”, “Brand Ambassador” can be organized as part of a motivational program. A public applause or an article about the employee displaying his achievements in the internal magazine will boost up their confidence and motivate them to perform better.
Rewards-Other than the monetary incentives, bonuses, or other additional allowances being offered to them, rewards in the non-monetary form like gift vouchers, travel tickets, a paid day off, tangible gifts with company logo like a souvenir or a memento also play a role in employee retention.
Cooperative work environment-A positive work environment and work culture enables the employee to bring out the best in him, thereby increases his productivity .It enables him to be more innovative and creative in bringing out new methodologies.
Supportive supervisor-A supportive immediate supervisor who will defend his team at all times will tend to have long term relations with his team and thereby motivate them. Many employees tend to quit because of their superiors attitude and dominant nature. They quit working with them and not the companies!
Stable management-A steady and stable management with strong policies and procedures will go a long way in retaining good employees. An instable environment will make the employees feel insecure and the fear of job security will push them toward new opportunities.
Positive criticism-The employee should be given enough space to make decisions, implement them and to learn from the mistakes. These mistakes have to be corrected by his immediate supervisor with a positive note so that he can learn effectively from his failures and make this his next stepping stone.
Career Development-Employees should be given opportunities to challenge and prove themselves in their areas of interest. These challenges will enable them to identify their strengths and promote career growth or it will reveal their shortcomings and pave way for effective training and development.

These strategies may vary across different industries, domains and more importantly it’s based on the internal policies and work culture that the organization wants to build up.

What are the different strategies used in your organization to foster a positive work environment? What were the implications of these strategies? Do share in the comments below.