Want to Retain Employees But Don’t Know Where to Start?

by Oct 7, 2022

Employee retention is an ongoing initiative and there is no magical solution to ensuring employees won’t exit your organization. However, there are a ton of strategies for keeping employees motivated, satisfied and engaged – mostly by using company culture to your advantage. 

One highly impactful system we’ve seen make a huge difference in retention is the employee onboarding program. And we aren’t just saying that from personal experience, a 2022 study by Sapling found that a great employee onboarding program can increase employee retention by 82%. That same study found that 88% of employers do not onboard well, which to me sounds like a major lost opportunity. Employee onboarding is about bringing employees into the way things are at the organization.  It’s much more than processes and paperwork and should be thought of as a strategic system for retention and engagement.

You might be wondering where to start…. And that’s why we are here! This blog will provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to retain employees effectively.

1. Create a Positive Work Environment

Employees are more likely to stay with a company if they enjoy coming to work every day. Foster a positive work environment by promoting open communication, recognizing and rewarding achievements, and encouraging a healthy work-life balance. When employees feel valued and supported, they’re more likely to stay loyal to your organization.

3. Provide Growth and Development Opportunities

Employees are more likely to stay engaged when they see a clear path for growth within the company. Offer opportunities for skill development, training, and advancement. Regular performance evaluations and discussions about career goals can help employees understand their trajectory within the organization.

4. Flexible Work Arrangements

The pandemic has shown the effectiveness of remote work and flexible arrangements. Offering options like remote work, flexible hours, or compressed workweeks can greatly improve employee satisfaction and retention. This flexibility demonstrates trust in your employees and recognizes their individual needs.

5. Effective Leadership and Management

Managers and supervisors play a crucial role in employee retention. Invest in leadership training to ensure managers have the skills to lead and motivate their teams effectively. A supportive and approachable leadership style fosters trust and encourages employees to stay with the company.

6. Listen to Employee Feedback

Employees want to feel heard and valued. Regularly gather feedback through surveys, town hall meetings, or one-on-one conversations. Use this feedback to make necessary improvements, whether it’s related to workplace policies, processes, or company culture. Showing that you’re actively addressing concerns can increase employee loyalty.

7. Promote Work-Life Balance

Burnout is a leading cause of employee turnover. Encourage a healthy work-life balance by setting realistic workloads, promoting breaks, and discouraging excessive overtime. When employees feel that their well-being is a priority, they’re more likely to remain committed to their roles.

8. Emphasize Company Culture

A strong company culture can be a powerful retention tool. Define your company’s values and mission and ensure they’re consistently communicated and practiced. When employees identify with the company’s culture, they’re more likely to stay even when faced with tempting external opportunities.

We’ve spent the last few months crafting free webinars for our awesome audience to share everything and everything we know about ingraining company culture into everything your organization does. We’ve talked about performance management, recruiting, climate assessments, and more – now we are going to talk about onboarding. 

On our next webinar Using Your Employee Onboarding Program to Reinforce Company Culture, we’ll talk about the ROI of onboarding, key aspects of a successful onboarding program and how to implement an onboarding program that involves employees at all levels, not just HR. 

The webinar is next Tuesday, October 11th at 11am PST. 

Make sure to register here at this link

We hope to see you live

 

Sincerely, 

The Civility Partners Team 

 

P.S. We are offering one SHRM PDC for attendees!

Civility is the platform for organizational success—it is absolutely necessary for an organization to reach its goals. Download our Ebook on Seeking Civility to learn more on how to create a workplace free of bullying and abusive conduct.

 

Catherine

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is the founder/CEO of Civility Partners, an organizational development firm focused on helping organizations create respectful workplace cultures and specializing in turning around toxic cultures. Civility Partners’ clients range from Fortune 500’s to small businesses across many industries. Catherine is a TEDx speaker and an HR thought-leader who has appeared in such venues as USA Today, Bloomberg, CNN, NPR, and many other national news outlets as an expert. She’s an award-winning speaker, author and blogger, and has 50+ courses reaching global audiences on LinkedIn Learning. Catherine’s award-winning book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, was hailed by international leadership-guru, Ken Blanchard, as, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” Her latest book is Navigating Toxic Work Environments For Dummies (Wiley),

Join our FREE WEBINAR – Fostering a Workplace Where Feedback Fuels Change

Imagine this: A senior leader makes an offhanded, inappropriate remark in a team meeting. The room tenses, eyes drop, and a few uncomfortable chuckles fill the silence. No one speaks up. You’re caught off guard, unsure what to do. Later, someone from that meeting...

Silence Is Not Golden: 5 Ways Lack of Feedback Kills Productivity

Whenever you search on Google or ask ChatGPT for something, you get an answer in a snap. An unintended result of this technology is that we expect immediate feedback from people, too. A lack of feedback kills productivity.  In 2008, tech scholar Nicholas Carr raised a...

5 Ways to Give Feedback to a Toxic Worker About Their Toxic Behavior

If you’ve landed on this page, chances are you’re looking for answers. Maybe you’ve tried everything, or maybe you’re bracing yourself for a conversation you’d rather not have. Or you don't know how to give feedback to a toxic worker about their behavior. Either way,...

It’s Not All in Your Head: 5 Signs You’re In a Toxic Workplace

If you’ve ever questioned whether your workplace is truly toxic or if you’re just “overreacting,” you’re not alone. The truth is, if work feels unbearable day after day, it’s not a bad week—it’s a bigger problem. It could be signs you're in a toxic workplace. Research...

Struggling with a Toxic Boss? Read This

Did you know that seven in ten U.S. workers say they would leave a job if they had a bad manager? That’s according to the latest findings of LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey. Leaders who exhibit challenging behaviors don’t just cost their organizations talented...

NEW BOOK: Navigating a Toxic Work Environment for Dummies

Does your workplace feel like a daily battle for survival? Endless conflict, backstabbing, bullying, and leadership that turns a blind eye… Sound familiar? For too many professionals, the workplace isn’t a place of productivity and growth; it’s a source of anxiety and...

DEI needed if hiring on merit is your goal

Trump has initiated a series of actions aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government. On January 20, he signed Executive Order 14151, titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and...

The Transformative Power of Hands-On vs. AI Training

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the workplace, and HR functions are no exception. From recruitment to onboarding and even manager training, AI-based platforms are becoming the go-to solution for many organizations. These programs promise scalable,...

Get Buy-In From the Top! Email To Your Boss

When you've discovered a valuable resource or service that could benefit your organization, getting buy-in from leadership is critical.  Use this email template to propose Civility Partners' services to your boss. Simply customize the placeholders with your own...

Fostering Civil Conversations at Work

SHRM’s Civility Index Research shows that U.S. workers collectively experience 223 million acts of incivility per day and U.S. organizations collectively lose about $2 billion per day in reduced productivity and absenteeism because of it.  You’ve probably seen it...