In today’s competitive job market, retaining top talent can be a challenge. More and more, employees are seeking workplaces that offer more than just good money. They are looking for organisations that value their well-being, offer flexibility, and encourage a positive work culture. In fact in a recent study- flexibility and work life balance was ranked higher than money as an incentive for people moving jobs. Finding good staff is expensive and time consuming so effective employee retention strategies are very important in helping you keep those staff. Not all staff retention strategies will suit your workplace but introducing some of them will make a huge difference to your employee engagement and satisfaction.

Here are some creative effective employee retention strategies that you can use:

1. Flexible Working

There are some businesses where flexible working may not be as easy as others e.g. a factory line versus an office environment. That doesn’t mean that flexible working is impossible. Flexible working can look different in every organisation. It could mean core hours of 10am-3pm with flexibility for staff to choose their own start and end times. Or it could be the ability to change hours to suit personal appointments. Even something as simple as adjusting start times to accommodate school pick-ups and or drop-offs can make a big difference to your employees’ work-life balance and overall job satisfaction. When you think about it the fact work, school and everything else starts at the exact same time in the morning is crazy!

We know that flexible working has been coming out as the number one effective employee retention strategy in all of the research and it is the most common benefit that job seekers ask for when looking for a new role.

2. Health Cover

Health can be a major stress factor for many people. Offering subsidised health cover as part of your employee benefits package can help ease this burden and show your employees that their well-being is a priority and it is a very effective employee retention strategy. By joining as a group your staff can access better discounts on health insurance.

3. Gym Memberships

We know that regular movement is important for overall health and productivity. Subsidising gym memberships is a great way to encourage your staff to stay active and healthy. This not only benefits their well-being but can also lead to improved productivity and focus at work and is an effective employee retention strategy.

4. Volunteer Days

Offering an allocation of volunteer days is a fantastic way for employees to give back to the community and feel good about themselves and their workplace. This can be particularly appealing to the socially conscious employee and can foster a sense of pride and loyalty towards your organisation.

5. Bring Your Dog to Work

Workplaces that welcome dogs often enjoy lower stress levels, improved productivity, and a lighter mood overall. If feasible, consider introducing a dog-friendly policy at your workplace. Just be sure to have guidelines in place to ensure all staff are comfortable and that the workplace remains safe and productive.

6. Social Scene

Regular social events can help your team bond and build up friendships. These can range from team lunches to company-wide outings. Depending on the size of your company and budgets available these social events can be as simple or elaborate as you choose. Some of our most enjoyable social events we have had are playing board games at lunchtime for example.

Regular social activities can boost morale, foster a sense of community, make your workplace a more enjoyable place to be and prove to be an effective employee retention strategy.

7. Birthdays Off

Who wouldn’t love a day off on their birthday? Offering this small but meaningful perk can show your employees that you value them as individuals and appreciate their contributions to the team. This won’t suit all employee retention strategy budgets, but even a half day would be a great perk.

8. Start at the Beginning: Welcome Pack

After spending the time to attract the best candidates in this candidate short market, an effective employee retention strategy can be rolled out from the very first day that a new staff member starts. A welcome pack filled with branded swag can make new hires feel valued and excited to be part of the team. It’s a small gesture that can go a long way in making a good first impression and setting the tone for a positive working relationship.

9. Quarterly One-to-One Meetings with Senior Managment

A regular one-to-one meeting with senior management where staff can ask them anything. It is a good idea to have some structure around this meeting so staff know in advance what they can ask and it helps them to come up with questions and feedback in advance. Here is a sample of the structure of the one-to-one meetings can be:

• An overview of the companies future plans
• Any questions staff have around the future or other questions
• Any suggestions around improvements that the company, management and staff can make
• Any ideas that the staff have
• What would the staff like to see happen in the next year

Meetings like this show the staff that their opinions and ideas are important and that they are appreciated by the management. This is very effective is the suggestions are implemented or acted on. You could also send out an email detailing what has changed in response the feedback given. This will really boost this effective employee retention strategy.

Effective Employee Retentions Strategies Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many creative ways to retain staff, and these are just a few ideas. Some of these effective employee retention strategies will work for your workplace and some won’t. The key is to listen to your employees’ needs and preferences and implement strategies that will boost your employee engagement and satisfaction. An organisation that strives to create a workplace culture that values and supports their staff will have increased employee retention rates.

Do you have any other creative staff retention ideas? Let us know below.

If you are looking for staff our consultants in Allpro Recruitment would be happy to help, you can contact them here.