Employee Retention Rate: How You Can Drive Up Your Numbers

How to Boost Your Employee Retention Rate: An RPO Agency’s Insight

“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” – Douglas Conant, Ex-President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company

Whether you are running a small-scale business or a large multinational conglomerate, it is always a desirable point of business when the company maintains a high employee retention rate. It not only speaks volumes about the work environment within your business but it also directly influences economic viability. As anyone who has run a business or handled recruitment processes will know, it is an expensive affair to bring on new employees. From investing time and money into getting them up to speed and getting them the resources they need to get the job done, it’s an avalanche of expense.

The money aside, a high turnover rate also has a demoralizing effect on your internal team. Side effects could include lowered productivity, loss of faith by clients, stakeholders losing confidence, and so on. The fact of the matter is if someone at work sees a lot of their friends and colleagues jumping ship it will make them wonder why everyone is so keen.

Now when we consider the current situation of the world with the Covid-19 pandemic, the multiple hits to the economy, rising expenses of living, and so on, it’s not a good time to lose employees. That is why in this article we here at Bumsa Talent Solutions want to give you some valuable insights from the perspective of an RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) agency. We will explore some of the key employee retention strategies you can employ!

To have a high employee retention rate, you need to have good quality hires to begin with.

Table of Contents

1) Good Quality Hires is a Key Starting Point

Before you can even think of increasing your employee retention rate, you need to have a strong base, to begin with. This means that you need to make quality hires and vet your candidates thoroughly. What that boils down to is ensuring that you hire someone you know for a fact, will stick around for a long time.

A good way to identify the ideal candidate is to look at their past work experiences. Are they job hoppers or have they stuck around for a decent amount of time. If you hire these kinds of candidates there is no guarantee that they would stick around for a long time and it ends up being a gamble. Now, if you are hiring someone who is just starting their career, you might want to look for other signs of commitment such as their history of dedication to team sports, long-standing hobbies, and so on. You need to be able to read people.

2) Competitive Pay and Benefits is the Way to Go!

Salary is a top priority for most employees, which is not likely to change any time soon. You could have the best perks in the business, but if your employees can’t afford to pay their bills with the salary you pay them, well they are not likely to stick around. When you give them the initial offer, make sure to account for the role, the skills of the candidate, their experience, and even their location. Check out what the competition is also offering and try to match or exceed that the best you can.

However, if you are not in a position to offer the highest market salary just yet, you might want to offer competitive benefits. A good life or health insurance policy goes a long way in building your employee retention strategy.

“If you don’t create a great, rewarding place for people to work, they won’t do great work.“ – Ari Weinzweig, CEO of Zingerman’s

Employees want to work for a company wherein they have the necessary room for growth.

3) Offer Employees Room for Development

In today’s rapidly changing market landscape employees are not just looking for better pay, but room to grow within organizations and advance their careers. Many businesses look to hire top-tier talent, but few offer them opportunities for growth or advancement within the company. This won’t do anything for your retention rates.

When you hire the most skilled workers in the industry, make sure to have the infrastructure to offer them these growth opportunities. Something as simple as a training program can go a long way.

4) Give Importance to Socializing

Yes, you are running a business, but it is people that keep it rolling. The keyword here is people -humans who have human problems. They will have a ton of problems in their lives outside of work. You need to let them know that when a major issue arises work is something they don’t need to worry about. Make time to catch up with your staff, stay connected with the team, and have team-building exercises. A big reason for high turnover rates is due to employees feeling underappreciated.

If you want to maintain a decent employee retention rate, you want to appreciate, connect with and recognize employees for all their efforts. It’s a great way to build loyalty.

“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.“ – Margaret Cousins, Irish Author

5) Transparet Communication is the Path to Success

Another major reason for a company’s employee retention rate dropping is a lack of communication. Yes, it’s as simple as that. When senior members fail to share necessary information with their subordinates it creates a disconnect.

It may lead to employees underperforming, not being able to get the job done, and ultimately result in job dissatisfaction. Keep everyone who needs to know, in the loop.

Transparency encourages growth and shows that you are not afraid to be wrong or learn from your mistakes. It essentially sets the tone for the others and breeds a strong work environment.

These are just some of how you can boost your employee retention rate in your company. However, if you truly want to take things to the next level, you will want to approach an RPO agency. Recruitment process outsourcing agencies help you source, screen, and place some of the best candidates. They are also great resources to have on your side when you are going through a change (e.g. downsizing or expansion of the business).