Does your company have active employee retention strategies? If you don’t, you’re not alone—according to a Watson Wyatt survey, it’s estimated that more than 50% of employers have no formal employee retention strategies in place. Employee retention strategies can include obvious things such as wage increases or benefits packages, but they can also include smaller, more creative strategies. Have you considered implementing one or more of these retention strategies in your company?

1. Establish a healthy work/life balance – Giving employees time to recharge and unwind is essential to their overall productivity. There is always work to be done, but by avoiding overworking employees, you help keep them happy and healthy instead of stressed and burned out. The right balance can be hard to achieve, but once you get there, your employees will be both appreciative and more productive.
2. Show employees their results – People like to know when they’re doing a good job. While a general acknowledgment of an employee’s contributions to a project or effort is always great, there is something special about seeing the numbers. Give your employees the opportunity to see how their work has directly impacted the company’s customer services, sales, marketing, or any other area. Let them take pride in their work and feel like they are a valuable part of the team.
3. Celebrate special events and milestones – Make an effort to celebrate big (and little) things that happen within the company. This could include things like work anniversaries, company milestones, completions of company-wide projects, or even simply an extremely productive week.
4. Have fun! – By creating an environment that employees enjoy, they begin to look forward to coming into the office during the week. In addition to creating a comfortable environment, it is important to have fun around the office. Celebrate random holidays, create opportunities for employees to bond and mingle outside of a work setting, establish employee wellness programs, or create fun competitions between different departments.

Employee retention strategies include more than just salary and benefits. Choosing the right strategies for your company can be a complicated process and it helps to have reliable information about what your employees want and need. Do you need help conducting surveys within your company to gather that kind of information? Contact HSD Metrics® to learn more about our many different employee survey services, including ExitRight®, SurveyRight℠, and ReferenceRight®, to help your company gather feedback and identify challenges associated with employee retention. Based on the information gathered by HSD Metrics, your company can create retention strategies tailored to your organization, employees, and company culture.