5 employee retention strategies HR can put into action right now

The key to employee retention isn’t just about drilling down to find the reasons for turnover at your organization. You also need to understand the reasons why your employees stay and double down on those things.

In an episode of the HRMorning podcast “Voices of HR,” Paaras Parker, the chief HR officer at HR and payroll software company Paycor said, “What are … the behaviors, the types of recognition, the variety of different levers that actually are within your circle of control to ensure that the people that you want to stay, stay? … Then drive your areas of focus, drive your milestones, drive your outcomes on what’s going to get the right employees to stay in the right types of roles, versus getting too bogged down in the plethora of reasons that people leave.”

This shift in perspective allows HR to proactively create a work environment that can foster engagement and satisfaction, ultimately reducing turnover.

4 other paths to employee retention

Investing time in enhancing the factors that motivate employees to stay is one of several employee retention strategies Parker recommends.

Embrace different definitions of “high potential”: Individuals willing to try new things and who demonstrate potential for growth are desirable because then you have an idea who your next-generation leaders might be. However, not all high-potential employees aspire to leadership roles.

While you want to identify and recognize those who excel in their current roles, instead of pressuring them to pursue traditional leadership positions, a more strategic employee retention move would be providing them opportunities for growth and development within their current career paths.

Create a culture of open and honest communication: Employee retention involves regular conversations between managers and workers about development opportunities and career trajectories within the company, even if there are limited promotion possibilities.

At Paycor, Parker said, they have “quarterly connect” conversations, where direct reports are encouraged to contribute their ideas and perspectives.

“Some of the best discussions are when somebody says, ‘I want to be [in this other role].’ Usually my [response] is, ‘Tell me more about that. What about that job excites you? What about that role is going to give you something better, different than what you’re getting today?’” she said.

Ensure clear and consistent performance expectations: To foster an environment where employees are accurately recognized and motivated to excel, Parker said, “I think a leader’s responsibility is ensuring that … they’re having really good conversations around what ‘good’ looks like, what ‘great’ looks like, and what ‘killing’ it looks like. … We have to revalue good. … And we have to be really clear when we share that feedback with them.

“Oftentimes … good people leave and we’re surprised because … we’ve been telling them they’re great … In their minds, they think, ‘Well, maybe somebody will treat me great for being great.'”

Approach diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as an ongoing commitment: Integrating DEI and diverse thinking styles into all aspects of the organization can contribute to employee retention because it leads to a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued and heard.

“My expectation is we get to a milestone and then we figure out how do we do that better? How are we more welcoming for the next person? How are we more equitable in how we talk about this topic the next time?” Parker said.

Parker emphasized that employee retention strategies aren’t one-size-fits-all and should be tailored to consider the diverse needs and aspirations of employee populations (e.g., early-in-career talent, mid-career talent, etc.).