Having a skilled and engaged workforce is the goal of companies. However, the 2019 Retention Report by Work Institute showed that “one in three workers will voluntarily quit their jobs each year by 2023.” This shows how urgent it is to invest in a Post-Coronavirus Employee Retention Strategy.

Businesses are suffering through uncertainty and damage and its effects are influencing employees’ opinions about their current or other workplaces. But what exactly is employee retention?

Employee retention strategies aim to retain the workforce, improve satisfaction and motivate employees. Retention is directly related to engagement. Engaged workers, satisfied with their job and employer, do not quit. In fact, companies that invest in employee retention strategies have lower turnover rates.

The costs of an employee leaving a company are high. The organisation loses the money invested in the worker, in the process of onboarding, training, coaching, etc. Moreover, this company will need to find a new employee to replace the one who left, which leads to spending more money in the search and hiring process. Now that companies are trying to cut costs to improve business recovery after the crisis, it is imperative to be strategic about where funds are allocated.

Therefore, improving recruitment and onboarding processes is an efficient employee retention strategy. A 2018 study by Jovite showed that “33% of new employees quit” in the first 90 days. This is mainly because companies are failing to identify who fits their culture during the recruitment process, or they are not onboarding people effectively. Thus, familiarising new workers with the workplace culture, values, policies, scheduling team activities, or even elaborating 90-day plans, should be done from day one. These can be started digitally, depending on the company’s policies and then improved through face-to-face interactions.

Another important retention strategy is to provide training/coaching/mentoring, as these practices help employees develop their skills/abilities and discover new talents. Helping the workforce to grow professionally is a way to show that the employer cares and is willing to invest in their workforce. Digital systems where employees can self-learn and self-evaluate are a great alternative to spending hours training a new recruit, as they are cost-effective, easy to use, readily available and of course, time-efficient.

Offering good salaries can also be an effective strategy. Plus, implementing a culture of profit-sharing, which means sharing a percentage of profits, sales, etc. with the workforce, or offering bonuses, such as vacations, extra salary at Christmas, can be ways of retaining and motivating employees. It makes them look forward to working with the company in the future.

But more than offering monetary compensations, employers must offer promotions. It is an effective way to show someone that they are doing a good job and allow them to grow while making them feel appreciated. Digital incentives are an innovative method to do this virtually.

In addition, efficient communication and feedback have proven to be important in retaining workers. Frequent and open communication is essential for building good relationships. Although carrying this out virtually can be challenging, the use of tools and constant guidance can serve the same purpose. In addition, feedback is also crucial as it is a way to help workers improve and grow.

Besides, if companies want to increase employee retention rates, they must help workers understand the difference between working hard and overworking. It is away to make them adopt healthy working habits. As many will continue working remotely, personal and professional lives are likely to get blurred, causing burnouts. To do this, employers should implement policies, like encouraging healthy hobbies, happy hours or even forbidding the sending of emails outside of working hours.

How companies choose to treat their employees will determine their level of commitment post-crisis. If done in a successful way, employees will have heightened levels of loyalty and appreciation for the company. The flip side would be the inefficiency leading to copious amounts of employees leaving, which could set companies back significantly. Therefore, to prevent this occurrence, companies must utilise an efficient Post-Coronavirus Employee Retention Strategy.

References:

1. 2019 RETENTION REPORT, 2019, Work Institute
2. Why 33 Percent of New Employees Quit in 90 Days, March 2019, Psychology Today
3. What Is Employee Retention? Definition, Strategies, and Ideas, With Examples, January 2020, HR Technologist