Retention Strategy | Meaning and Definition

What is Retention?

Employee Retention, or simply Retention meaning corresponds to the ideas and strategies put forward by a company to make their employees stay.

What are Employee Retention Strategies?

A retention strategy is the list of plans and ideas created by an organization with the motive of reducing attrition and employee turnover and, in turn, increasing employee engagement and retention. Although some amount of turnover is necessary, developing a strategy to prevent voluntary turnover as much as possible can save a lot of money and time for an organization. Well said, it is cheaper and easier to develop and train existing employees than to hire and train new ones.

Importance of Employee Retention

The employee Retention policy focuses on retaining employees, which also bears several other positive outcomes. Some of them are listed below:

•       It lowers hiring costs as well as employee turnover, which also saves time.
•       The employee feels satisfied at work and happy, which increases work productivity as a result of a good retention strategy.
•       The strategy may also develop strong work bonds and relationships, which is by far the best for a working environment.
•       Stronger work relationships also reduce work-related stress.
•       It results in less burnout.
•       Employee Retention Strategy is not only efficient for reducing employee turnover, but it also improves the employee experience, company culture, and business outcomes consequently.

What are the elements of an employee retention policy?

While developing retention strategies, one should focus on the areas that can be influenced to increase the happiness points of an employee. Some of these include:

•       Culture – Organizations having a positive outlook on developing a culture for everybody without discrimination uplifts the employee’s mood and also helps with work burden.
•       Environment – A quiet and calming place to work in is the prime demand of an employee. Encouraging such environments, flexible work hours, or work-from-home alternatives can really help.
•       Benefits – Providing benefits such as healthcare should be the main focus.
•       Rewards and Recognition – Appreciation for hard work bringing great results to boost employee confidence.