In a strong company culture, business leaders communicate their vision with authenticity and simplicity. In a supportive culture, leaders show gratitude and appreciation to employees, and not just by writing checks. Retention strategy goes far beyond raising wages and offering whatever fringe benefits the competition is dangling. 

Great leaders include workers in decision-making processes, listen to them, and give honest, respectful feedback. Leaders ensure the same behaviors permeate all their business relationships. It is my experience and belief cultural fit is the most important aspect of retaining great employees. Retention starts with first being able to clearly articulate what the organizational culture is. What are the aligned values, beliefs, behaviors and experiences that make up the organization's environment? 

Study after study reveal employees who fit well with their organizations, have greater job satisfaction and are more likely to remain with their organizations, and showed superior job performance. A strong team with shared values is more nimble and can adapt more readily. If you can combine finding the right people who share the organizational cultural beliefs with effective and ongoing training and professional development, you will see winning results. 

“Retention starts with first being able to clearly articulate what the organizational culture is.”

If you want to reduce employee turnover and increase employee satisfaction, make a concerted effort to constantly improve. Prioritize check-ins, offer flexible schedules when feasible, improve ongoing communication, bolster  recognition and invest in ongoing mental health education. Your employees’ overall well-being, and your entire organization will be stronger for it. 

Organizational culture comes about by defining an unwavering collective sum of beliefs, experiences and behaviors. Employees must believe in the organization’s mission and have an intimate understanding and connection to their cause. 

Some tips organizations can apply to their employee retention strategy. 

Invest in Well Being 

Post COVID, 42 percent of employees shared they were uncomfortable talking about mental health and personal issues with their manager. Leaders should encourage open door policies and safe spaces regarding their employee’s personal issues. According to Made of Millions Foundation, employers investing in workplace mental health stand to gain a 3x to 5x return on their investment and are more likely to retain their workers. 

Overcommunicate 

Communication is more important than ever these days. With employees feeling isolated, additional communication is critical to help employees feel  valued, connected and better about themselves and their contributions to the  organization. 

Recognize achievements, milestones and special occasions.  A 2021 survey from Great Places to Work found that employee recognition was most important to almost 40 percent of employees and would result in them producing better work more often. In addition to consistent recognition of employees who go above and beyond, companies should acknowledge  birthdays, anniversaries, births, etc. Personal recognition helps employees feel  more connected, valued, motivated and productive. To be successful, make sure recognition is specific, timely and aligned with company values. 

Invest in culture. 

When people are quitting, organizational leaders should be asking whether their company culture is weak, if not toxic. Leaders who break promises and make unreasonable demands on people’s time are toxic. Daily meetings, emails paperwork and daily grind may bog down company culture if they are seen as burdensome, pointless, or demeaning. This results in turnover which has high costs— both hard and soft. 

As Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” To be clear, this in no way implies strategy is not important. He was eluding that an empowering culture was a surer route to organizational success. 

Conclusion- As Sir Richard Branson is noted for saying “clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients, which in turn takes care of the organization.”