How Can I Improve Employee Retention with Higher Employee Engagement?

Here are a few tips on how to improve employee retention with higher employee engagement

What is employee retention?

Employee retention refers to any effort taken by an organization to reduce employee turnover. Employee retention is not only providing employees with competitive compensation and benefits and the necessary tools to perform their work but also is influenced by the overall employee’s experience in the workplace.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the primary ingredient of creative, collaborative organizational cultures. Employees who are engaged experience better well-being and find work more rewarding. Engaged employees are committed to their work, colleagues, and ongoing development. The organization itself benefits from increased productivity and better outcomes. Employee engagement is linked to dedication – finding inspiration, motivation, and your flow at work.

The connection between employee retention and employee engagement

Employee engagement is one of the most vital measures that predict employee turnover. As employee retention strategies involve improving the overall employee experience in the workplace to retain talent for a more extended period, and employee engagement is best understood as a reflection of the quality of everyone’s work life, an organization’s retention strategies have direct and measurable impacts on overall employee engagement.

The most effective employee retention strategies

While there is no universal way to retain talent, we have tried to gather a few of the most effective retention strategies that also impact employee engagement.

1. Recognition and reward

Retaining employees will always be more accessible with a sense of recognition or acknowledgement of the potential for increased reward. The base of the employee value proposition is that employees will perform their duties in exchange for their salary and benefits. But employees do not just want to be paid more. They also want to feel like valued members of the organization, with oversight on tangible impacts they are having on the success of the business.

Make space for all level employees in team meetings and company all-hands to individual successes. Since it can often be challenging to discuss salary, employee engagement surveys are very helpful. Not only do they remove the potential awkwardness of team leaders asking directly, but also enable employees to be vocal in a confidential and free-of-judgment space.

2. Work-life balance

Organizations that restrict the working life of their employees without reasonable explanation risk alienating the employees and dissuading prospective ones. An employee engagement survey can help clarify exactly what the employees want, giving you a better overview of how those needs vary across the organization.

3. Professional growth

While promotions are an unavoidable part of career growth, there is far more you can do to make the employees feel fulfilled. Professional growth can take many different shapes, from an employee upskilling to expand their responsibilities in their current role to providing opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration. Job satisfaction is far more critical when it comes to employee retention than dangling the prospect of future promotion, so ensure that the employees feel valued, challenged, and fulfilled in their day-to-day jobs. The best way to discover what an employee wants from their professional growth is to ask. It also provides managers insight into who is comfortable with their existing workload and who is looking for the next step forward.

4. Belonging

A sense of belonging not only increases psychological safety among employees, encouraging them to provide feedback more consistently, but it also consolidates an employee’s relationship with the broader business, improving overall employee engagement in the workplace. Regarding retention, the value of a sincerely inclusive work environment cannot be overstated. Rather than developing a separate step in the employee retention strategy focused on employee engagement, businesses need to consider how each action impacts employee engagement.

5. Provide the essentials

Ensuring that the employees have smooth onboarding, seamless salary payments, suitable tools to do their work, and a schedule that is fair and equitable. Equally as important is ensuring the employees can have an open and honest conversation with management about anything to carry out their tasks effectively.

6. Enable honest communication

One of the great ways to improve engagement and retention is by improving the methods of communication and collaboration at every level. An employee engagement platform that enables confidential feedback can be a good option for opening the direct scope of communication.

7. Be transparent and fair about pay

If employees believe they are being underpaid compared to their colleagues, that can motivate them to quit. Directly tackle the gender pay gap and match market rates for job roles to create an environment where everyone feels seen and supported.

8. Prioritize training and development

Consider how you can encourage employees’ specific needs, from developing new skills training to prospecting potential career growth. It can mean creating internal mentorship programs, providing access to relevant eBooks or educational videos, allocating budget money for employees to take external or internal training courses, or enabling short-term, cross-departmental gigs. If your employees see that you are invested in their professional maturation, regardless of their path, they are more likely to stay with your company.

9. Implement benefits that matter

Providing access to health advantages—from medical insurance to wellness and fitness classes—and social opportunities such as cinema outings are some good ways to help the employees’ personal and professional lives simultaneously. If you are a smaller organization with limited resources, you can provide the employees with the option to give feedback on what support matters most, promoting a culture of communication and improving the chances that your employees are satisfied.

These abovementioned strategies can effectively help you to keep your employees engaged. But have you used any other techniques to keep remote employees engaged? Are any not listed here? Let us know.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the primary ingredient of creative, collaborative organizational cultures. Employees who are engaged experience better well-being and find work more rewarding.

What is the connection between employee retention and employee engagement?

Employee engagement is one of the most vital measures that predict employee turnover. As employee retention strategies involve improving the overall employee experience in the workplace to retain talent for a more extended period, and employee engagement is best understood as a reflection of the quality of everyone’s work life, an organization’s retention strategies have direct and measurable impacts on overall employee engagement.

What is the most effective employee retention strategy?

An effective strategy can be making space for all-level employees in team meetings and company all-hands to individual successes.