Employee Retention Tactics: Mitigating Events Like The Great Resignation

As COVID-19 subsided, many employees resigned from the jobs they held throughout the pandemic and moved on to other opportunities. In fact, more than half of employees planned to look for a new job. This type of mass resignation puts businesses in a tricky position. This is why you need the best employee retention tactics to keep your most talented workers at their jobs. So what really works to retain employees? Here are 4 employee retention tactics to use in your organization.

Recruit the right way 

An effective employee retention plan begins with the recruitment process. You’ll find it easier to hold onto talent if you’re hiring the right people from the start. Almost one-third of new hires quit their jobs within the first six months, so getting your hiring in order is vital. 

If your new hire turnover rate is high, then it’s time to look at what could be going wrong in your hiring process. Are you focusing too much on hard skills and ignoring vital soft skills in interviews? Writing ineffective or inaccurate job descriptions? Not using the latest hiring best practices? Figuring out where you’re going wrong here now can help you get hiring right in the future. If you need more support, Cangrade’s Pre-Hire Assessments can help you make better hiring decisions so you get the right fit for the role more often.

Onboard effectively 

Onboarding the new employees you’ve worked hard to hire is often an afterthought. But that’s a mistake. Onboarding is a valuable chance to make a great first impression on employees and an effective employee retention tactic. In fact, 69% of employees are more likely to remain with a company for three years if they have a good onboarding experience. 

Onboarding effectively means setting up new employees to succeed from their very first day. It also means making sure they feel connected to their manager and teammates, which is even more important if part or all of your team works remotely. Assigning an onboarding buddy or mentor can help your new team member find everything they need and fit into the group smoothly. 

Offer competitive compensation 

One of the best employee retention tactics is to pay your people fairly and in line with market values. 10% higher base pay makes employees 1.5 times more likely to stay at their current company when moving into a new role. 

Even if your team members enjoy their role – they’re engaged, interested, and enjoy your workplace culture – if you’re not paying them what they can get elsewhere, they’re likely to leave to get a raise. And since the cost of employee turnover can be anywhere from one-half to two times an employee’s yearly salary, a raise in pay rates will likely save you money in the long term. 

Train and develop talent 

When employees don’t feel there’s room for them to progress in their career path at their current organization, they’re likely looking for another job. And plenty of employees feel stuck right now – more than 38% of all professionals, according to Robert Half. 

Offering development opportunities and ongoing training not only helps your team members get better at their current jobs, but it’s also an effective employee retention tactic that will pay off down the road as well. And these opportunities don’t always need to be promotions, though those are important as well. Offering development options like mentoring programs and a conference attendance budget also helps employees learn new skills and progress in their careers. 

Key Takeaways 

The best employee retention tactics help your business hold onto your valued employees, even during difficult times or a war for talent. The key to keeping employees at your company? Hire wisely, treat them fairly, and give them a vision of their future career to look forward to. 

For more information on how Cangrade’s solutions can support your retention efforts, contact us.