COMP NEWS – Over 50 million employees quit their jobs in 2022, signaling to employers a need to retain top talent. In order to meet the challenge, companies are providing “soft benefits.”

In 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 50.6 million U.S. employees quit their jobs in a year, indicating an average of 4.2 million each month. With numbers as big as these and burnout at an all-time high, it becomes increasingly important to take employee retention strategies seriously and explore what they can do to connect with their employees. A Gallup report stated that the cost of replacing an employee could range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. In her book Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business, Leigh Branham recommends companies actively work to retain key employees, at least the top 80 percent. Repeated changes in a business can be harmful, especially due to the damage it can cause to employee morale for those who see colleagues quit or get laid off all too frequently. This is why employee retention strategies are important.

Employees leave for many reasons, and while some include personal conditions like health and relocation of the family, there are many that pertain to the organization. Consumer Affairs reported the top 5 reasons for quitting to be in search of better pay and better benefits, insufficient pay raises, unmet needs by their former employers, and pay inequality. In addition, Flexjobs found a toxic work culture to be the top reason why employees quit. Objectively, all these reasons can be resolved by a company but many fail to do so for varying reasons, from a lack of HR practices to a too-tight grip on company funds. But it does not take too much to understand how to improve employee retention.

Although compensation is a major (and often the most visible) factor in retaining and attracting talent, soft benefits such as career development and advancement can be equally or more influential. One study found that 94 percent of employees weighed the availability of career advancement when determining whether to stay at their job or not.

Career Development and Advancement

Careerbuilder and Silkroad Technology found 1 in 10 respondents had previously left a company because of a poor onboarding experience. Right from the moment an employee joins the company, the kind of training provided becomes important to their retention. Then, over time, with increasing developments in every industry, helping employees stay at the top of their game benefits them and the company’s market performance. A LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report from 2018 stated that 94 percent of employees would remain at a company that invested in their career development. Mentoring provides the same benefits as well, where employees are allowed to feel valued by the company with the appropriate feedback to guide them in their roles.

Another employee retention example is paying attention to an employee’s career projections. Harvard Business Review determined that workers who went long periods without a title change were more likely to move to a different company where they could step into the next phase of their careers. Providing an employee with a clear understanding of their career trajectory can make them more optimistic about growing in their roles within the company.

Work-Life Balance

Next for those wondering how to improve employee retention, assisting workers in maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be crucial. Especially since the post-pandemic era that left many companies with online and hybrid models of work, many employees have struggled to separate their work from their personal lives. Preventing work and calls from spilling into personal hours, providing access to gyms and other personal care and mental health facilities, and regulating working hours in a week are all useful ways of maintaining a work-life balance and avoiding burnout. These can also take the form of defined wellness programs that an employee can avail of. 

An additional step to retain key employees can be negotiating flexible hours for those who might require a different work timing or might have other commitments forcing them to quit. FlexJobs submits that about 79 percent of workers hold that a flexible job could help them increase their work-life balance. Basic contributors like paid time off also contribute to employee retention strategies. Employees who have the option of disconnecting from work to do something they enjoy, whether that is spending time with family or traveling, can come back to work with a more relaxed and optimistic mindset. 

To read more about how employees are retaining talent, click here.

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