Implementing Employee Retention Strategies = #Relationship Goals

It’s no secret that the largest percentage of most businesses’ profit and loss statement is wages and salaries. Attrition within the first 90 days is a bit hit to P&L – up to 33% an individuals’ salary or more if occurred before Day 45!  There are many negatives to losing an employee early beyond financial loss. It can really hurt morale, due to feelings of time wasted and starting back at the hiring drawing board. If discussion and implementation of employee retention strategies isn’t happening at your company, it should be! Here are some reasons why and a solution to consider.

Not Married Yet!

Most companies assume the onboarding process is complete at offer acceptance – but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Research shows that the onboarding process needs to continue with frequent contact after hire, especially within the first 45 days and even up to 90 days post hire.

Because in this competitive job market, just because your new employee agreed to your offer, it doesn’t mean they are fully committed.  They’re not married to the job — yet. In fact, 20% of all attrition occurs within the first 45 days after hire, and 17% within the first 90 days.

Why is this? The top three reasons new hires (even very qualified ones) leave too soon include miscommunication regarding job responsibilities, feelings of unpreparedness for the role due to poor training, and lack of a supportive community in the workplace.

Competition is Fierce

The issue of attrition is a long-known one, but it’s worse today than ever before. In this tight job market, unemployment rates are at record low, and job-seekers have many suitors. In fact, unemployment rates are predicted to continue to drop slightly lower in 2019, from 3.9% to 3.6%. Because of this, candidates know they have options, and they’re not only looking for top dollar, but the most ideal overall employment situation possible.

All About Engagement

So if you’ve made a great hire, and you want to keep them engaged and productive, what’s the solution? Should you consider investing more in corporate gimmicks, like free lunches and a ping pong table in the breakroom? Possibly, but surface level solutions won’t work in the long run. Like any successful relationship, commitment and communication is key.

What we’ve seen time and time again is that a happy marriage between a job and an employee requires a clearly defined and regularly practiced employee-focused engagement and training program, not just for 30 days, but during an extended onboarding period, such as 90 days from hire.

During this time, your employee should have the chance to speak with someone regularly whom they feel safe with, in a setting where they can disclose their real concerns and questions. They should have regular opportunities get clarification regarding job responsibilities, check-in on training progress and roadblocks, while feeling truly supported regarding challenges and accomplishments in their new position. Your goal should be to provide an employee to trainer/HR person ratio of 5:1, which will allow for the appropriate amount of time to focus on the development of each new hire.

From what we see day in and day out, this is a far cry from what is happening today in many businesses. A medium-sized company has a training class of approximately 10-20 new hires with only one training manager to oversee them all. This is a recipe for attrition, because new employees, just like new relationships, need time, attention and care if you want them to blossom.

A Solution to Consider

If you’re thinking that all this talk about employee retention strategies sounds good, but that you don’t have the time, expertise or staff to get it done, we have a solution. At KO, we follow retention best practices and have a 5:1 ratio of staff solely dedicated to employee engagement during their first 90 days from hire for all our clients. This means if you begin hiring through us, you will become part of the family and our time-tested, successful traditions. Here’s a breakdown of the three main ways we help clients with employee retention strategies every day.

1. Hiring Check-Ins: We schedule check-ins with newly hired staff, providing that outlet employees need that is separate from their employer, and where they feel safe to disclose their challenges. We then provide you with feedback and recommendations on a regular basis, so you have the insights you need to potentially make adjustments with retention in mind.
2. Training: We offer individual training programs custom to each hire, in areas such as technological abilities, communication to customer service skills, TCPA Compliance, call management, first call resolution and handling rebuttals.
3. Efficiency: When it comes to making the employee training and engagement process efficient, we have you covered. A great advantage is that we can tailor training and communication sessions to meet your needs, including scheduling them outside regular work hours which keeps your new employee focused while on the job.

Worth the Work

And the payoff? Our employee retention strategies are proven to reduce early attrition by 25%! In addition, you can expect to see improved employee satisfaction, productivity, and quality of work.

Employee retention shouldn’t be an afterthought. It needs to take high priority to positively affect your P&L, keep morale high and allow your business to thrive. If you’d like to discuss this topic and how KO can assist your business in finding and retaining high quality talent, get in touch. We’ll help you create some long-lasting relationships to show off and be proud of! (aka #relationshipgoals!)