While economists debate whether the US is headed for recession, there is no doubt that the world faces significant economic uncertainty in 2023. However, the US job market remains highly competitive. In October 2022, more than four million Americans left the workforce, leaving 10.3 million jobs open. With the unemployment rate at just 3.7 percent and only six million Americans currently looking for work, businesses continue to struggle with employee retention.
With the present market reality, companies can’t risk their most valuable asset – talents. Better planned employee retention strategies can help the business 2023 efficiently.
The impact of staffing goes far beyond temporary disruptions. First, it is expensive – changing an employee cost from a third to double the annual salary. Apart from that, high turnover affects the rest of the workforce — and the company’s customers. When employees watch their colleagues leave, their workload often increases. This can lead to decline and stress. Frustrated and overworked employees are unlikely to perform at their peak, which means the company’s product or service suffers and customers interact more negatively with the company. Its implications are difficult to fully assess.
So, how do we tackle this? Here are some employee retention strategies to try.
- Invest in employee career
- Manage managers
- Recognize contributions
- Re-evaluate compensation
- Benefit packages
- Work-life balance
- Improve culture
- Flexible work
- Team building
Let’s explore some of them in detail.
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Invest in employee career
LinkedIn reports that more than 90 percent of employees would stay back if they had career development options. In today’s economy, workers understand that in order to stay competitive and move up the ladder, they need to keep their skills at a high level.
Organizations can take advantage of their employees’ desire to develop by offering structures such as mentoring programs and investing in additional training for their employees. Online professional training programs can assist companies in retraining and upskilling their employees, which increases their skill base and increases employee satisfaction.
Manage managers
Many resignations have to do with bad managers. Well, sometimes that’s true. Multiple surveys state that more than 80 percent of Americans would quit their job because of a bad boss. Fortunately, leadership skills can be practiced. Companies should ensure that performance appraisals consider leadership skills and provide coaching and training to managers at all levels, especially first-time managers.
Re-evaluate compensation
In today’s competitive market, rewards are an integral part of any company’s employee retention strategy. No matter how valued an employee feels, they are likely to look outside their current company if they feel their work is underpaid. Companies that offer transparency about their salaries and a clear and simple salary policy are more likely to hire.
Industry salary packages can change as per the economical conditions of the field or the company. Reward the top performers with the industry best salary packages. Point bonuses and regular raises can help an employee feel valued.
Improve culture
While organizational culture may seem subjective, its impact on retention cannot be denied. In fact, company culture is one of the most important factors in job satisfaction. Although the building blocks of a strong culture vary somewhat from workplace to workplace, strong corporate cultures share key characteristics. It includes:
- clearly expressed values and their application
- value and seek the voice of employees
- uphold diversity, equity, and inclusion
- implement support management
