14 Professional Strategies to Enhance Employee Retention in 2024

Employee retention is a hot topic these days, as record numbers of people are thinking of or actually quitting their jobs. This “great resignation” has companies worried. At the same time, some employees are “quiet quitting,” which means they only work their required hours and duties, nothing more. There is no more engagement, which, as we know, can boost productivity. 

To top it all off, experts think we are still not clear of economic pressures and are still under the threat of a looming recession soon. 

Losing good employees is expensive and hurts productivity. So today, we’ll explore 14 workforce stability tactics to keep your staff happy and engaged. Keep reading to discover these tried-and-true employee retention strategies. 

1. Check Why People Leave

To boost retention, one must first do some homework. Look at why people are quitting now. You can do so by reviewing exit interviews and feedback surveys, which should be an integral part of HR. See what people say about their reasons for leaving or feeling disengaged at work.

Then, naturally, make a plan to fix the most prominent issues. This data-driven approach works better than guessing what might help.

2. Beef Up Onboarding

Great onboarding sets the tone for what’s to come during an employee’s time at your company. Make new hires feel welcome immediately—stretch programs beyond week one to fully integrate people.

It’s not a bad idea to give each newcomer a mentor, either. Doing so gives them someone to ask the “dumb” questions. Of course, teach your mentor to say, “There are no dumb questions.” This reassurance and support help them learn the ropes faster and bond with a teammate. They will integrate into the team and feel at ease quickly. 

3. Offer Growth Opportunities

Stats tell us that 67% of employees crave career growth. Unfortunately, for 49% of them, it’s not always clear how they can achieve those goals. It’s on you to make it easy to spread their wings. You can: 

• Offer classes, workshops, and chances to learn new skills. 
• Help pay for outside conferences. 
• Aid their quest for degrees and certifications. 
• Pay some or all tuition and fees. 

This investment pays off in loyalty. 76% of workers would stick around longer at companies that did this.

4. Foster Great Culture

Culture is another massive part of retention to improve your 2023 employee retention rate. Millennials and Gen Z, especially, would not even apply for a job if the culture didn’t match up with their ideals. You’ll want to promote flexibility and work-life balance. Make time for fun with team events and socials.

Also, nurture collaboration and open communication. Keep info flowing and ideas sharing.

5. Recognize Achievements

Validate hard work and extra effort. Follow this link to see how the data highlights recognition boosts engagement by 14%. Celebrate big and small wins by mixing formal rewards with spontaneous shout-outs. But be mindful of what your employees want. Introverted folks might be averse to public recognition. 

6. Encourage Feedback

Next, be sure to ask for input often. Check-ins should happen one-on-one and in groups. Periodic surveys offer insight, too. This feedback fuels better policies and fixes problems sooner. Over time, as suggestions are implemented, employees feel heard and valued.

7. Offer Good Pay

Money matters, especially lately with the aforementioned high inflation. Review compensation regularly to keep paychecks competitive within your company, but also the industry as a whole. Let’s break that down for a minute. It means looking at what one gets paid compared to the other at home (i.e., your company) and what they would be getting paid if they left for your competitor.

Consider performance bonuses, too. Profit sharing is another idea. As always, solid healthcare, retirement savings, etc. only sweeten the pot. 

8. Embrace Flexibility

Employees want remote work, compressed weeks, and alternative shifts whenever feasible. Now, we know it’s not always achievable, but that’s where flexibility is important. Look at the long term. Sure, you might get that project out quicker if everybody works overtime for a month straight, but you may lose star players due to burnout. 

Speaking of mental health, you must provide generous paid time off. Employees need to recharge and handle personal stuff without taking unpaid leave.

9. Support Work-Life Balance

That brings us to our next point: urge folks to use all their vacation days. Many employees report feeling bad or guilty about taking vacations. Some even forego vacation time altogether! Make sure teams have adequate staff to cover colleagues who are out and that they know there is no reason not to take PTO. 

Another way you can be supportive is to offer programs to aid health and well-being. Onsite gyms, yoga classes, and nutrition guides can all help, and access to mental health resources provides essential support.

10. Invest in Wellbeing

Speaking of well-being, go beyond basic health insurance. The next in our list of employee retention strategies, wellness initiatives boost spirits and retention.

Ideas include:

• Fitness contests
• Workshops on financial health
• Ergonomic equipment
• Healthy snacks in breakrooms
• Stress management seminars 
• Any other life skills

11. Promote Diversity

Inclusive cultures keep employees happier and more loyal. Make sure DEI policies and programs are top and center. Then, hire diverse talent and ensure their voices are heard.

Before that, you should teach everyone respect and equity to prevent mishaps. It’s the little things, however, like acknowledging different holidays and events. Celebrate what makes each person unique. Use it to strengthen your teams!

12. Track Engagement

Analytics and data play a vital role here. We know that lack of engagement often precedes exit, so monitor it closely using pulse surveys and other simple checks. Watch for dips that indicate problems. Then, dig into the reasons and respond. Staying on top of things prevents little issues from snowballing into something much bigger that you’ll have trouble reigning in. 

13. Grow From Within

Remember how we talked about offering growth opportunities? Once your employees are well-trained, there is no better show of faith than promoting from within. 

Internal mobility fights turnover, so expand lateral moves between departments. Make sure your people know about open jobs, so you can prioritize current staff over external recruits. 

14. Review and Refresh

One mistake we see many make is they implement retention tactics and then never revisit them. Check at least annually to see what’s working and what’s not. Ask employees for input on your efforts to keep fine-tuning and adapting to evolving workforce expectations.

Final Thoughts

Employee retention requires more attention than ever and you can buck these quiet quitting trends with the 14 company retention techniques we covered today.

Show employees they matter through words, policies, and actions. Most people will eagerly stay when they feel engaged. As for you, you’ll keep turnover low even in turbulent times.