Remember the old saying about birds, hands, and bushes? It probably never meant that much to you. A bird in the hand could get messy.
But replace the birds with employees, and the bush with your company, and all of a sudden, this ancient bit of folk wisdom becomes startlingly relevant. Your current team members are worth so much more than those you have to recruit, hire, onboard, and train.
Estimates peg the cost of replacing a single employee somewhere between half to twice their annual salary. And that’s not to mention all the institutional knowledge departing employees take with them.
Of course, new hires can bring fresh perspectives and add diversity to your workforce. But they also require months, or even an entire year, to get up to speed, often putting pressure on experienced employees to compensate.
Related: Employee Retention: Keeping Your Millennial Workers Around. Read it here →
All this matters because (to stretch the bird analogy just a little bit further) employees are more likely than ever to fly the coop. Over the past several years, the relationships between employees and their employers have evolved.
Workers — the members of younger generations, especially — are on a quest for work-life balance and employment that aligns with their values and lifestyles. And if their current employer does not feel like a fit, modern workers are not afraid to make changes.
According to a June 2023 survey, 26% of all workers plan to change jobs in the next year, including 35% of Gen Z employees and 31% of millennials.
The good news for employers is that the common knee-jerk reaction “people don’t want to work anymore” is patently untrue. People still want to work but are willing to be picky about employers, choosing only to work for those that respect their priorities, goals, and values.
Which brings us to the even better news: As an employer, you don’t have to resign yourself to never-ending churn. With some creativity and an open mind, you can retain your most talented and hardworking employees (and avoid the high cost of finding and onboarding replacements).
Here are seven strategies that will help you hold onto your employees:
1. Listen to Your Employees — Really Listen
A McKinsey report notes, “many companies don’t understand what’s really going on” when employees leave. According to the study, employers overestimated employees’ transactional reasons for leaving (“inadequate compensation,“ “looking for a better job”) while underestimating relational factors (“valued by manager,” “sense of belonging”).
Don’t assume you know what motivates your employees; ask them and take their answers seriously. You might be surprised to discover that your retention efforts are focused on the wrong areas.
2. Personalize Employee Retention Plans
Surveys, suggestion boxes, and employee advisory panels are all effective ways to take the overall pulse of your workforce. But keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to employee retention. To learn what each employee needs to stay happy with your organization, you must get granular.
Every employee should have the opportunity to meet regularly with management to discuss their career trajectory, their satisfaction at work, their concerns, and what your company can do to make them feel their needs are being recognized. Managers can use these meetings to tailor personalized retention plans to keep your most valuable employees from jumping ship.
3. Provide Growth Opportunities
A Pew Research study asked Americans who left their jobs in 2021 why they did so. Nearly two-thirds (63%) cited “no opportunities for advancement,” with a third (33%) citing it as a major reason for leaving. The only other factor shared by as many respondents was “pay was too low” (also at 63%).
To the modern employee, work isn’t just about earning a salary but growing as a person. If your employees feel that they have opportunities to take on new responsibilities, learn new skills, and overcome new challenges at your organization, they will have little reason to seek employment elsewhere.
4. Say ‘Thanks’
In that same Pew Research study, 57% of job leavers said they felt disrespected at work, and 35% cited it as a major reason for quitting. The past several years have been extremely difficult on the American workforce, and many employees feel their heroic efforts and dedication have gone unnoticed.
A simple “thank you” can be a powerful thing. Studies show receiving gratitude can energize workers and even improve their home lives. Grand gestures such as bonuses and parties are always welcome. But, sometimes, all it takes for an employee to feel valued is a quick acknowledgment on a public Slack channel or a brief mention during a team meeting.
5. Be Flexible
Tens of millions of American workers got their first taste of remote work and flexible schedules during the COVID pandemic, and many don’t want to go back to the old way of doing things.
According to a Future Forum Pulse survey of over 10,000 knowledge workers, 76% want flexibility in where they work, and 93% want flexibility in when they work. This might come as news to management. Most executives (68%) told the survey they want to work from the office all or most of the time.
Remote or hybrid arrangements give employees power over their own schedules, which helps them balance work with family obligations and personal interests. This may be why 45% of respondents to the Pew survey said lack of flexibility played a role in their decision to leave work.
6. Help Employees Find Purpose
Millennials and the members of Generation Z, especially, prioritize work with a purpose, and they will not hesitate to leave when employers offer no greater purpose than a paycheck. The pandemic gave people the time and space to think about their work from a fresh perspective. And, upon reflection, many people realized their work wasn’t providing the meaning they sought for their lives — and, in some cases, ran counter to their personal values.
Becoming a purposeful organization requires more planning and soul-searching than we can describe in these paragraphs. But a good starting point is crafting a mission statement that shows your company cares about more than the bottom line — whether it’s the environment, promoting equality, or simply making people happy — and then taking concrete action to make that mission a reality.
7. Rethink Your Benefits Package
Flexibility topped a recent Harris Poll of the benefits American workers value most highly when considering a new job. Other prized benefits include:
- Employer retirement contributions (81%)
- Mental health coverage (73%)
- Health and wellness stipend (72%)
- Coverage for online skill-development courses (66%)
- Caregiver days (61%)
- Diversity and inclusion community groups (61%)
- Tuition reimbursement (60%)
It’s clear from this list that a benefits package built to retain employees can help employees find balance and purpose while managing work and life stress.
Your company may already offer some of these benefits, but getting the word out (especially to a remote or hybrid workforce) can be challenging. Make sure your employees feel supported year-round using our free 2024 Benefits Communication Calendar for HR Teams.