Employee retention has always been a key human resources management task, and in today’s competitive recruitment market it’s importance is becoming more emphasized than ever. There is a greater loss to an organization, beyond turnover and productivity costs when key staff members and talents cannot be maintained. Apart from costing organizations both time and funds, poor employee retention can also be an indicator of deeper issues within the company or professional environment.
Today, organizations are continuously seeking ways to retain valuable, contributing employees, through flexible retention strategies and incentives, in an effort to optimize their efficiency and avoid expenses associated with replacing key team members.
Develop and Implement a Solid Retention Strategy With Our Help
Our HR consultants can help you develop and implement an employee retention strategy by taking an individual approach and reaching optimal solutions to meet the unique needs of your business.
Pesce & Associates can help your organization by providing counseling, as well as services aimed at:
- Developing retention strategies and programs that engage and retain key employees while recognizing the organization’s culture (eg. work/life balance, health and wellness, performance recognition initiatives, etc.)
- Assisting in evaluating whether existing strategies complement the mission, vision, and values of the organization
- Reviewing existing orientation process and succession planning initiatives
- Identifying and assisting in the implementation of employee development programs (e.g. mentoring, cross-training, etc).
- Investigating and identifying barriers that are negatively affecting the workplace
What is Employee Retention?
Employee retention can be viewed from two aspects: as a statistic and as a process or strategy.
When referring to a statistic, employee retention can be expressed as a percentage of employees retained within a given time period. This statistic can serve as an indicator of how successful an organization is in terms of reducing employee turnover by providing them with various incentives, competitive salaries, career progression, a healthy work environment, etc.
As a strategy, employee retention refers to a system of an organization’s practices and policies aimed at encouraging talented staff members to stay with the company and minimizing employee turnover. While periodical changes in the workforce composition are unavoidable and can even be beneficial for the organization, a high turnover rate can impact any business both financially and in terms of team morale and productivity.
Why is Employee Retention Important?
Retaining key employees is one of the main focuses of HR departments in organizations of all sizes. While very few staff members are irreplaceable, having a steady team composed of capable people has significant benefits in terms of:
- sustained productivity,
- avoiding recruitment costs, and
- reducing training time
First of all, an employee who has been working in the organization for a long time understands their role within the team and company perfectly and knows what is expected of them and how to meet those expectations. Moreover, they also have the appropriate skill set for their position and are accustomed to the day-to-day dynamics of their working environment. When replacing such an individual with a new hire, the team usually suffers a drop in productivity, especially if the staff member had a key role.
Further, retaining competent employees can also help your organization avoid the costs of the recruitment process, which can be both expensive and time-consuming. This makes investing in the development of good employee retention strategies a cost-effective solution to a productive workforce.
Finally, the time required for a new hire to reach the competency and confidence level of a long-time employee should also be taken into account. A well-adapted staff member has established communication channels and interpersonal relationships with their co-workers and management, which makes them more efficient in performing their tasks. During this training and adaptation period, new employees will affect the general efficiency of their team.
