What do my Employees Need? How to Increase Employee Retention Rates 

Now, more than ever employees are honed in on what they truly want from a company. With ever-changing times, such as a pandemic and inflation, employees are letting us know it’s more than just higher compensation and better benefits they are looking for.

As an organization, it’s important to know what your employees want from your company to truly enjoy their roles. 

Of course, all employees want competitive rates and better benefits, but in reality, they want more than just that. So if you want to increase retention rates, then it’s important to ask the question, “What do my employees want to be satisfied in their role here?”

A study from Forbes found three factors that contributed to employee satisfaction

• Permanent flexibility
• Commitment to health and well-being
• Working with a purpose

It can be difficult to keep up with the needs of employees, but without direct feedback and understanding from your employees, it could be misaligned with what you have in mind. 

Thinking you know your employees versus getting direct feedback from them can mean the difference between keeping an employee for 5+ years or keeping an employee for one year.

3 Key takeaways you need to know

1. Investing in your employees increases company profits and return on investment
2. Inclusive work environments and positive company culture make employees feel valued and involved
3. Effective feedback and clear communication ensure employees’ concerns are being heard and prioritized

Why Employees Leave the Company

There are many reasons why employees leave a company. Some move out of the area, have family obligations they need to take care of, or want to pursue their passions in other ways. 

According to NerdWallet, the top five reasons employees quit are related to

• Dissatisfaction
• Higher pay elsewhere
• No growth opportunities 
• Stress from being overworked and underpaid
• Poor company culture

It may seem impossible to make everyone happy in their roles, but knowing your employees and rewarding them for hard work can go a long way in increasing your organization’s employee retention rates. 

So, how do we fix it?

Get to Know Your Employees on a Personal and Professional Level 

Building relationships is incredibly important in employee retention rates, it makes an employee feel like you care about their wellbeing. 

Whether you have a large or small company, learn your employee’s names, positions, and a little bit about their personal life so you can make deeper connections with them. 

• Find out what motivates them, and how you can integrate that into their career
• Listen to their input and make them feel heard and seen
• Be there for them, and offer support when you can. 

If you know your employee is a single parent and their child is sick, give them the option to work from home, flex their time, or offer unlimited paid time off so they don’t have to take unpaid time off or use what’s left of their 60 hours of paid time off.

With the rising inflation rates, some employees may not be able to afford gas to get to work. If you can, offer remote options so they don’t feel financially stressed or embarrassed. 

Finding different ways to compensate your employees doesn’t always have to involve pay raises. 

You also need to take into consideration that your employee’s needs vary based on different factors, such as 

• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Life stage
• Ethnicity 

All employees have different struggles so it’s important to focus on their demographics. 

If you have employees who are 60 and older they typically want a company that prioritizes health care, whereas Millennials and Gen Z want more focus on flexibility.

50% of respondents say that flexibility of hours or location has become more important to them when it comes to looking for a new job opportunity. The next is work-life balance at 45%, health coverage benefits at 41%, pay at 36%, and workforce culture at 36%.

A study by linkedin

This is why feedback from your employees is crucial! 

Pay has less to do with employee retention anymore. 

There is more focus on flexibility, work-life balance, and health coverage benefits.

Here are some ideas that your company can focus on:

• Work from-home/remote/hybrid options
• Flexible hours to deal with child care, family care, and family concerns
• Unlimited paid time off (PTO) options or generous amounts of PTO
• Benefits programs
  • Mental health care – 67% of employees with a mental illness report it is challenging to access care
  • Gym reimbursements
  • Wellness programs/company challenges. This can include workforce challenges such as 5K’s.
  • Invest in better health coverage such as high deductible plans, supplemental health benefits, critical illness insurance, health savings accounts, and telemedicine
  • Tuition reimbursement plans or student loan repayment plans
  • Better parental leave options

Recognize and Reward Employees for Their Work

It’s important to get to know your employees but it’s also important to make them feel valued in the workplace. 

A 2022 survey found that “when employees feel recognized for their work they are 56% less likely to look for new opportunities. Even so, only 19% of employees feel that their organization has a strong culture of recognition.”

There are many ways organizations and employers can recognize their employees, but here are some examples

• Notice their wins and help them with their losses, this builds confidence in their role
• Invest in their career – a LinkedIn study found “94% of employees say they would stay with their company longer if it invested in their career development.”
• Provide yearly salary increases and keep pay competitive

Know your Competitors and See How Their Incentives Compare to Yours

It’s also important to know how well your employee incentives stack up with your competitors. Can you offer the same or better benefits as another organization? 

Think about your organization’s budget as well as your employee retention rates. If you’re unable to provide raises that match your competitors, are there other ways you can incentivize your employees and retain them? 

Gaining employee feedback is essential if you cannot keep up with your competitors’ rates. 

If your company offers great leadership, growth, better benefits, flexibility, and builds meaningful relationships with them, then you are on track to increasing your retention rates. 

The best way to gain honest employee feedback about your organization is through eNPS surveys and company culture surveys. 

What is an eNPS Survey?

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) surveys are tools organizations use to measure and improve employee satisfaction and engagement levels so you know if your employees would rate your organization as a great company to work for. 

Benefits to using them

• Easy to use for employer and employee
• Immediate results for fast action 
• Genuine feedback from employees
• Can conduct surveys frequently

What is a Company Culture Survey?

A company culture survey “assesses the overall culture, values, and norms within an organization.” This survey is important to use when you are trying to identify areas of your company that need improvement to align with the company’s mission.

Increasing employee retention rates not only creates a positive company culture but also increases your company’s profits and return on investments.

Consistent feedback from your employees will help you focus on what changes need to be made in your company to increase employee retention rates. This includes building relationships with your employees, knowing what they are looking for in a company, and also taking into consideration what your competitors are offering so you know where you need to focus on with your employees.

Start Leveraging eNPS Surveys and Culture Surveys to Learn how to Best Improve Your Engagement Rates.

At Peoplelytics, we strive to find ways to help you increase retention rates, employee satisfaction, and employee engagement. We focus on helping you gather the most informative feedback to be able to make changes based on what your employees are looking for in a company so you can focus on retaining employees and not wasting money on hiring and training. 

We provide surveys to fit your company’s needs while also offering 50+ pre-built surveys, so you can cut down on time wondering what you want to ask your employees. Click here to get started with your free 14-day trial.