Talented employees have no dearth of opportunities today. So, if a top performer resigns,
you are not left with any option but to accept your loss. But what if we told you that you
could turn this around?
You can make top talent stay by making your company a top choice for them. The key is to
make your organization stand out from the crowd. And this can be done by creating a
powerful employee retention strategy or program that can boost employee morale and
make them more involved in the company’s growth and their own growth in the company.
In this article, we explore some of the most important retention strategies that you can use
to retain top talent. Let’s get started.

Start Early

Often companies retain employees either with an increased salary or benefits once they
consider leaving. But you can start right from the beginning by setting employees up for
success during the onboarding and orientation processes. Employees should be taught
about the company’s culture and how they would be contributing to it. This can set the tone
for their entire employment period with your company.

Create a Culture of Clear Communication

Often, employees become so isolated from the company and their employees that they end
up switching jobs. Therefore, one of the most important employee retention strategies is to
establish clear communication across the workplace. Your direct reports should feel
comfortable putting across any ideas and suggestions without second-guessing them.
Moreover, you should promote positive communication across the entire team and
encourage response. This will help you stay in the loop when it comes to your employees’
workload and job satisfaction.

Ensure Continuous Feedback

Ensuring continuous employee feedback is a critical talent retention strategy that employers
cannot afford to miss. Instead of just depending on performance reviews, take every chance
to share feedback about your employees’ performances in a constructive way.

Talk about their short-term and long-term goals so they have a purpose for staying with you.
Employees should be able to visualize their role in the company in the coming years. So,
discuss their career advancement and create a realistic and achievable growth plan with
them. However, make sure to avoid any ambiguities; do not make any promises that you
cannot keep.

Create Flexible Work Arrangements

After the pandemic, many companies are preparing to go back to the workplace. However,
employees are now accustomed to working from home and many have even achieved a
perfect work-life balance. So, to ensure their ease of working, consider offering flexible work
arrangements. You can go for a hybrid model and give employees the power of decision-
making in terms of when they want to come to work. You can also consider other options,
such as a shorter work week or flexible working hours to relieve your employees’ stress. This
retention strategy will certainly help you retain talent.

Create a Wellness Program

Some important wellness offerings should definitely be a part of your employee retention
program. This doesn’t only benefit employees but the employer too. Keeping employees
emotionally, physically, and mentally fit will communicate to your employees that they are
more than just working professionals in the company. This can help employees feel
supported and empowered, which may reflect positively on their work.
You can offer stress management programs, wellness workshops, retirement planning
services, and fitness class reimbursement. For proactive health support, you can conduct
regular physical check-ups and stress management programs.

Offer Perks and Benefits

Perks and benefits are extremely important to boost employee morale and reengage
current staff. This is because any company may give employees the right salary in the range,
but perks are what make your company stand out.
You can consider offering perks like parental leaves, retirement programs, workplace
lunches, etc. All of this keeps employees refreshed and make them stay with you longer. It
also sets a standard below which they may not accept an offer by other employers.

Talent retention can be a difficult job if your ideas are all over the place. So, make sure to
use all the retention strategies explained above to create a solid employee retention
program.

Further Reading

Idiosyncratic Rater Effect
Empowerment Triangle Model
Employee Commitment Strategy