It’s easier to retain talent than to look for new recruits

One of the most efficient ways for business leaders to ensure growth and development is to retain the talent they have, thereby limiting the amount of time spent searching for new recruits.  

Recruitment challenges will persist as we move into the new year, creating further challenges for companies across the board. For this reason, employers need to find a way to retain high engagement levels.

Higher engagement rates are synonymous with higher retention rates, not to mention that from a financial perspective, it costs companies less to focus on retaining employees as opposed to hiring new ones.

Here are five approaches business leaders can take to improve employee retention.

1. Involve subordinates in the business planning process

By promoting transparency and offering your employees a strategic insight into how the company is being managed, you’ll foster loyalty, while also preparing a leadership pipeline. You can do this by creating an open sharing space and using it regularly. Teams will evolve much more rapidly, using the knowledge shared.

2. Promote wellbeing

Get to know each other in a different environment and connect people with the same interests. It’s a great opportunity to get some of those chair-numbed muscles going and bond in a friendly competition. More importantly, get employees excited and striving for what’s coming. Excitement is a positive feeling and positive feelings lead to higher engagement rates.

3. Give your employees the opportunity to design their own path

Encourage individuals to design and own their career paths, instead of relying on the company or on their manager. Employees need to take initiative and set career goals for themselves. This could be done during an appraisal, where the manager and employee discuss future goals together and employees get to have their say.

4. Give back to society

Get involved in social and charity initiatives. Giving back creates a positive mentality. It also fosters pride and loyalty. It could be interesting to ask the opinion of your team on who should benefit from such initiatives. You never know – you might be helping their own friends and family through their suggestions, or you might simply be supporting a cause they believe in. It is also recommended to change the organisations you support through your company’s CSR, hence inspiring different members of your team.

5. Recognition goes a long way

While the above points all involve some form of investment from your company’s end, the simplest, yet most effective way to boost engagement is to recognise your team’s work. Sometimes we tend to take the simple things for granted, but a “thank you” or a “well done” every now and then goes a long way in enhancing engagement levels…and the good news is, it doesn’t cost anything.