Opportunities for employee retention

Have you ever asked yourself why it seems to be the norm in some companies that new employees join the company every few months? Or why some of them only drag themselves to work because of the salary? Employee retention seems to be unknown there.

In general, a company is nothing without its employees. Unfortunately, however, there are still some who no longer appreciate the effort and energy of their employees. In the long run, this leads to frustration and, at a certain point, to resignation. Nowadays, many no longer feel valued by their employers.

To put it plainly: some companies unfortunately lack good employee retention. A concept that makes employees enjoy coming to work and gives them an incentive to work with motivation. But what does employee retention actually entail and how can the concept be implemented as successfully as possible? We deal with all of these topics below.

What does employee retention mean and how does it work?

In principle, the term employee retention covers all measures that can be taken by a company to retain employees in the long term. By creating incentives that encourage employees to seek continued employment with the employer.

Alternatively, employee retention is also referred to as personnel retention or retention management. The main focus here is on employees who have a status that is relevant to the company’s revenue and success.

Finding committed employees is not easy for any company. Retaining them, on the other hand, is often even more difficult. New employees initially incur certain costs. These include not only the costs of finding suitable employees. They also need to be trained professionally. Motivated employees are also less likely to be off sick because they see a certain obligation to the company and would like to fulfill it.

An essential fact: in the long term, every company benefits from employing staff on a long-term basis. This is the only way for the company to have a future. However, this requires certain incentives.

Which elements are important for employee retention?

There are various strategies and measures that a company can take to create good employee retention. There are four basic elements that play an essential role here:

• Perspective
• Rationality
• Emotionality
• Normativity

Every employee has a certain perspective when they join a company. Many want to achieve a goal over the years. The company can act as a supporting body here and, in addition to the personal development of employees, also support or promote their professional skills.

It is also important to employees how much they earn in their job and under what conditions they use their labor. Many employees also pay attention to other elements of rationality. For example, some companies offer additional financial benefits such as vacation pay or capital-forming benefits in order to increase employee loyalty and make the job more attractive for them.

When it comes to emotionality, many people mention the working atmosphere. If there is constant competition or bullying, nobody wants to do their job anymore. The same applies to the appreciation of employees. They want to feel that their performance benefits the company and that they themselves are valued. Often, the relationship with superiors also plays a role here, which falls by the wayside when there are strong hierarchies.

Finally, normativity is also very important. The aforementioned commitment is just one aspect of this. Furthermore, employees should be able to identify with the company and support its goals.

What options are there for employee retention?

Employee retention has many faces. Basically, however, it is limited to six pillars, which provide a good orientation.

The following areas are basically covered here:

• Working environment and organization
• Health management
• Career and personnel development
• Employer:internal marketing
• Corporate culture and communication
• Employee benefits

Everyone appreciates a good working environment in which everything is as organized as possible. Employees like to know exactly what structure they should follow. Especially when all work is accompanied by the most positive working atmosphere possible. This makes it easy for employees to achieve a very high level of efficiency at work. This includes not only flexible working time models, but also social interaction in break rooms with other employees. There are also those who appreciate it when a company has a canteen. As many employees have children, it would be an advantage for them to be able to make use of the company’s own childcare facilities.

If the company also pays attention to the health of its employees, this can strengthen the bond between them and the company. This is why many companies organize so-called health days. Some also support regular and free health check-ups or provide employees with an in-house gym. To provide more security for the future, there are in-house health insurance schemes or employers offer a company pension scheme.

We have already mentioned that many employees want to develop their careers and personal lives. Employers can help with training courses or subsidize the costs incurred. Many companies also support their employees with additional qualifications that they can acquire on the job.

Many skilled workers, on the other hand, appreciate it when their employer does good marketing. Platforms on the internet, for example, where an evaluation is possible, can serve this purpose. At the same time, various programs in which employees can recruit other employees and may even be rewarded for doing so are attractive. For some, it is also interesting if the company is represented on social media.

The penultimate point addresses, above all, a clear line on the part of the company. It creates much more security when employees know exactly what concept the company is pursuing and also actively supports internal processes. One example of this is a positive workflow in which employees can exchange information via the intranet. Or by talking about internal team events.

Finally, employees also appreciate additional benefits from the company or if the company supports them in other ways. For example, by subsidizing travel costs or providing a company car. If the company sells certain products, it is naturally attractive for employees to receive a staff discount on these.

Conclusion

As can be seen from the descriptions, there are many ways to retain employees. However, every company should consider them in order to act as future-oriented as possible.