5 employee retention strategies to keep your top talent

So you've hired a dream employee following a grueling interviewing process. Congratulations! You’re convinced they bring with them the talent, connections, and experience to make your company shine.

They sign on the dotted line and you can’t hide the excitement knowing how lucky you are to secure them. But there’s a twist; your celebration is short-lived.

After a few short weeks or months, your new hire says they’ve found greener pastures and will be leaving soon. You start wondering where it all went wrong.

Don’t beat yourself too much; you're not alone. Many companies are encountering this problem more frequently now with the job market getting more competitive and top talent having more options than ever before.

Luckily, you can stop (or at least reduce) losing your top employees as quickly by implementing the strategies we are about to share with you in this guide. Let’s dive in!

Invest in a smooth onboarding process

A good onboarding process can help new employees feel comfortable and productive within the organization from the first day. Once they are familiar with the culture and the expectations, they are more likely to stay with your organization for a long time.

A couple of tips that can help to improve your onboarding experience include:

Timely introductions

Make sure that new employees get introduced to key members of your team as soon as possible after being hired. This will help them settle in, learn about their responsibilities, and get acquainted with the organization’s norms and values.

Set clear expectations

When introducing new employees, be clear on what they are expected to do from day one. This will help them understand their role in the organization and set realistic goals for themselves.

Encourage input and feedback

Encourage new employees to share their thoughts and ideas by promoting a culture of feedback. Ideally, you want them to feel comfortable doing so, knowing that it won't negatively affect their job status.

Also, whenever your new employees ask any questions, make sure you answer them politely and provide all the information needed. Do not also hesitate to refer them to someone who can answer more clearly or provide a more detailed explanation.

Offer opportunities for growth and career advancement

Multiple studies have shown companies that offer professional development and growth opportunities tend to have happier and more productive employees than those who don’t. In one of the studies, it was found that employees who received professional development were three times as likely to stay with their company for two years or more than employees who didn’t receive progressive training.

The takeaway here is that investing in employee professional development is a smart way to keep your best workers around for the long haul. Besides, by offering opportunities to learn new skills and develop new ways of thinking, it can lead to increased productivity and a better work environment.

Offer competitive employees perks

Alongside paying your top employees above-average salaries, you need to throw in competitive perks like generous retirement plans, paid sick days, and life insurance plans such as key person cover (what is a key person? – click to learn more) among others.

Another way to retain your best talent is by making your workplace more flexible. Encourage your employees to take advantage of working from home or remote opportunities whenever possible. This will give them more freedom, which is likely to make them stick around for longer.

Look out for your employees’ mental health

Employees will leave if they are under a great amount of stress and have no support. It’s important to work with employees to reduce stress. This includes encouraging employees to open up about problems in one-to-one sessions and finding solutions together. If you do not feel qualified to provide counselling, it could be worth outsourcing marketplace care partners. Having a neutral third-party to talk to may actually be better for helping employees who are struggling with their mental health - employees may feel more comfortable talking about work issues or personal issues without fear of damaging their professionalism.

Provide adequate technology infrastructure

No job is too small or too simple for technology to make a big difference. Make sure your top employees have access to current technology and resources so they can stay productive and up-to-date on changes in the workplace. This includes everything from laptops and smartphones to software programs and other tech tools.

In addition, create an easy-to-use system that provides access to files, email, calendars, and anything else that makes them more organized and efficient at work. Keeping your employees up-to-date on technological advances can also help keep them engaged and motivated.

Conclusion

If you're looking to retain your top talent, then you need to start thinking about your ideal ways to do it from the moment you start hiring employees. Retention isn't something that can be addressed sporadically; it needs to be planned for and continually refined over time.

There are a variety of different retention strategies that have been proven to work in the past, including offering above-average benefits and competitive salaries, providing favorable working conditions, creating a supportive team culture, and providing technology tools that eases the workload.

Whatever method you choose, make sure it aligns with your company goals and also improves its bottom line. Good luck!