If you’re wondering how to retain employees, you’re not alone. In 2022, a record 50.6 million U.S. workers quit their job.

Like it or not, the fact is that resignations have been historically high for well over two years now.

It’s wreaking havoc on businesses’ profitability and ability to achieve key business goals.

And the worst part?

The majority of businesses have no idea what to do about it!

If you’re serious about making a difference in turnover and retaining great people, this is your resource! 

How to Retain Employees: Make Leadership a Top Priority 

Have you ever heard the saying people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses?

It’s true!

Leadership is hands down one of the biggest factors in whether you can retain your best employees.

Great leadership at the top isn’t enough, either. Your company needs excellent leadership from the C-suite to the ground floor.

If your CEO is an amazing person but the middle manager an employee deals with daily is a micromanager, it will be tough to retain that employee.

Great leaders care about their employees, give their people room to make mistakes, support them in pursuing their personal and professional goals, and coach their team members to help them reach their full potential.

And that’s just scratching the surface!

If you’re serious about retaining top talent, you need to invest in a proven leadership development program and commit to elevating your leadership. 

How to Retain Employees: Leverage 1:1 Conversations to Greater Effect 

Every company has 1:1 conversations.

Too bad most of them absolutely suck! As an employee, they’re uncomfortable and seem like a waste of time.

As a manager, they’re awkward, and if you do have a performance issue to address, it’s tough to know how to broach the subject.

But 1:1 conversations can be one of your most powerful tools for engaging and retaining your teams – if you approach them from the right perspective.

It’s not just about boosting employee performance; it’s on an opportunity to get to know your people on a personal level and build genuine relationships.

From there, you can have employee-driven conversations focused on their OWN goals in the workplace and their personal life.

Learn more about how to engage and retain employees with 1:1 conversations in this blog post. 

Invest in People Analytics 

We all know people are different. And yet, at most companies, the strategy for retaining employees is entirely uniform.

The company or leader offers everyone the same perks, rewards, and incentives.

But since we KNOW people are motivated by different things and wired differently, this doesn’t make any sense!

With people analytics, you can find out what truly drives your people.

You can find out which individuals thrive as part of a team, which work best independently, which people will benefit from close direction, and which want to chart their own course.

Additionally, you can build teams that “click” – matching people with personalities that will mesh and complement one another.

How often have you seen a team of very talented individuals fall apart because of personality clashes or infighting?

It’s no surprise that this dramatically undercuts employee retention. Instead, use people analytics to design teams that work.

Learn more about this approach by reading our blog on the subject. 

How to Retain Employees: Invest in Your People 

It can be hard to find money in the budget to invest in your people, but there are many ways to make it happen.

Investing in your people doesn’t have to mean offering inflated salaries or outrageous benefits packages.

For example, one simple way to invest in your people is to make sure your teams are adequately staffed.

Having the training, tools, and support your team members need to do their job effectively is also essential. But it pays to think even bigger if you’re looking to go the extra mile and retain awesome people for the long haul.

Could you reduce the amount of tedious busy work for your employees?

Could you leverage software or even AI to free up more of your employees’ time so they can focus on solving bigger, more complex challenges than filling out administrative forms or other mindless tasks?

Offer Competitive Compensation – and When it Makes Sense, Perks and Rewards 

Offering competitive compensation and benefits is an obvious first step when considering how to retain employees.

However, compensation is far from the end-all, be-all of retaining great employees.

The fact is that there’s always someone else who will offer more money, perks, rewards, etc.

Providing perks like hybrid work, remote work, and flexible scheduling is good, but you have to balance keeping people happy with the customer experience and the business’s health.

These perks will never retain people alone – because someone else will offer them.

Additionally, these perks can hurt either customer experience or the business’s health by undercutting team performance.

The bottom line is carefully considering which perks make sense before giving away the farm.

The Answer for How to Retain Employees Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated 

We’ve got you covered if you’re still wondering how to retain employees. We’ve worked with countless organizations to help them develop customized solutions to slash turnover for good – and retain their best people for the long haul. 

Schedule a consultation with us today and learn how to start retaining the people who power your company’s success.