Prevent Employee Retention Issues by Investing in Employee Engagement

No matter how great of a workplace you are, you can never reduce your turnover rate to 0. There will always be employees who leave your company for many reasons. 

However, if your employee retention rates are consistently low, it can become a huge problem, costing you millions of dollars in lost revenue and hiring expenses. 

Low retention rates are an even bigger problem if you don’t react on time - or if you react at the last minute when there’s already a huge retention crisis happening at your company. 

This would result in sudden turnover costs, decreased productivity, a negative impact on company morale, and difficulties in attracting top talent to replace those who have left.

While you can’t stop every employee from leaving, you can encourage them to stay longer with your company by keeping them engaged. 

In this article, we’ll discuss why and how you can prevent employee retention issues by investing in employee engagement early on. 

The Link Between Employee Retention and Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the driving force behind employee retention. 

While employee retention strategies focus on how to make your employees stay with your company, employee engagement strategies focus on how to make them happy so that leaving the company doesn’t even cross their minds. 

In other words, good employee engagement prevents employee retention problems. A study by Deloitte found that engaged and satisfied employees are 87% less likely to leave the company than unengaged employees.  

So, instead of reacting to an urgent employee retention crisis, you’re better off implementing long-term employee engagement strategies. 

Driving Performance and Retention Through Employee Engagement

If you establish a strong system for employee engagement, you'll find that your employees are not only less likely to seek jobs elsewhere but also perform better. 

Research suggests that engaged employees are: 

• 22% more productive
• 4.6 times more likely to perform their best work 
• 87% less likely to leave the company

What’s more, a study by Gallup found that disengaged employees are 18% to 43% more likely to quit than engaged employees. Another study found that improved employee engagement can lead to a 150% surge in employee performance. 

Base Your Employee Engagement and Retention Strategies on These 5 Areas

There are 5 key areas of employee engagement that every company must address. These are: 

• Work environment, 
• Relationships at work,
• Company culture, 
• Employee input in the company’s growth,
• Employee personal development.

If your employees are happy with these five aspects, they won't consider leaving, and you won't need to come up with countless ways to encourage them. 

Instead, they'll feel fulfilled and purpose-driven at work, which will motivate them to stay with the company.

Here’s how to improve employee engagement in each of these 5 areas. 

Work Environment 

When employees feel unsafe, they tend to disengage quickly. On the other hand, a safe work environment creates a positive atmosphere where employees are motivated to perform their best and are more likely to stay with the company for the long haul. 

But what does creating a safe work environment mean? 

It means creating an open, transparent, and inclusive space where employees feel safe to share their opinions and feedback and are encouraged to actively contribute to the company’s growth and success.

Aside from that, creating a safe environment also means fulfilling basic employee needs, like ensuring work-life balance with flexible schedules or remote work options and fairly compensating employees based on their roles, skills, and industry standards. 

Relationships at Work 

Engaged employees are more enthusiastic about going to work because they’re excited to work alongside their colleagues and managers. On the other hand, employees who are happy to see their coworkers tend to be more collaborative and productive at work.  

You can strengthen relationships at work by creating team-building activities, such as outdoor retreats, brainstorming games, and team lunches. 

What's more, you can foster a sense of trust, respect, and inclusion within your team by encouraging open communication and celebrating diversity. 

Company Culture 

Company culture isn’t just a buzzword to put on your job ad. Your company culture can have a significant impact on employee engagement and, therefore, retention. 

By intentionally building a company culture of trust and collaboration, you can create an environment where employees feel valued and supported, which can lead to higher retention rates. 

What's more, hiring employees who share your company's values and align with the way you do things ensures that they are more likely to be engaged from the start and contribute positively to the overall workplace atmosphere.

Employee Input In Company Growth 

Nowadays, employees want to do more meaningful work, even if it means earning less money. 

When they feel like the work they do doesn’t matter, they’re more likely to leave. Because employees are now more purpose-driven than ever before, companies can prevent them from leaving by acknowledging and rewarding them for their contributions. 

A study by Perceptyx found that companies that listen to their employees well are 11 times more likely to have high employee retention levels.

For instance, initiatives like idea collection that encourage employees to share their ideas and feedback can make them feel like they’re part of the company’s growth and success. 

This creates a sense of community and belonging that is hard to let go of in case they ever think about leaving. 

Employee’s Personal Development

Employees want to grow, both professionally and personally. Once they feel they’ve hit a ceiling on growth within their current roles, they’re more likely to disengage or quit altogether. 

According to research by the Pew Research Center, 63% of surveyed employees left their jobs due to a lack of growth opportunities. 

In other words, providing employees with opportunities for personal and professional growth can prevent them from leaving. 

For instance, Google’s 20% Time program is an excellent example of how companies can give their employees an opportunity for personal development while encouraging innovation they can benefit from. 

Overall, making sure that your employees feel safe, taken care of, and heard can help you not only increase their engagement levels but also prevent them from leaving.