Clear Career Paths: Providing Transparent Opportunities for Internal Promotion and Growth

As a business leader, finding a great employee can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Although the Great Resignation is over, employees still have a great deal of leverage in the workplace. If they feel they are not appropriately valued in the workplace, they will be quick to abandon ship. To avoid this, business leaders should take steps to promote employee retention.

According to reports, hiring a new employee takes an average of 44 days—and in hiring, “average” should be considered lucky. If you don’t want to settle for a suitable candidate and wait to find the “perfect” candidate, be prepared to spend even more time (and money) on the hiring process. However, if you want to avoid this altogether, you can emphasize retention and ensure that your best employees stay with the company long term.

Compensation and Employee Retention

One key factor in employee retention is competitive compensation, with low pay being one of the most common reasons for an employee to leave a job.

With the transparency of job listings on the internet today, employees can easily see what other companies are paying their employees for similar positions and job duties. If you are paying your employees far beneath the market average, they will likely be on the lookout for positions that pay them more appropriately for their value.

When a top-performing employee comes to you asking for more money, it’s important to weigh the costs of giving them a raise against the potential consequences of denying their request. If you refuse to give an employee the money they ask for, they may look for new jobs and leave the company for a higher-paying position elsewhere. At that point, it may be cheaper just to give them what they are asking for than to hire someone to replace them. After all, studies show that the average cost per hire is approximately $4,700—and that’s not to mention the loss in productivity until a new hire reaches the same level of proficiency as their predecessor.

However, business leaders should remember that compensation takes more forms than money. Other forms of compensation include benefits packages, extra PTO, work outings, flexible work arrangements, and more. Essentially, employees want to feel like they are valued in the workplace, and money is only one of many ways for an employer to show this.

Another way leaders can show their employees that they are valued is by offering them growth opportunities. Employers should strive to provide clear career paths, including transparent opportunities for internal promotion and growth. This makes it clear to employees that they can have a long-term home at the company and build a career there, not just work there as a job.

Creating a Supportive Work Environment for Employee Retention

Top employees also want an environment where they feel welcome, comfortable, and eager to do their best work. Business leaders should emphasize creating a supportive work environment that values employee contributions. Something as simple as saying thank you or giving a public shoutout during a meeting for a job well done can make an employee feel valued and respected in the workplace.

Furthermore, employees want to know that their input is valued and respected by their employers. By establishing open communication channels, leaders can create a culture where employees feel comfortable sharing their feedback and ideas. And while it is not practical or possible to act on every single suggestion, employees do not want to feel like they are shouting into the void. If they consistently give their feedback only for their leaders to ignore and not implement any of it, they will quickly grow disillusioned.

Remember, as an employer, trust is hard to gain but easy to lose. It takes time for employees to build trust with their leaders and loyalty to their company, but one significant misstep—or, worse yet, a pattern of missteps—can cause this rapport to come crashing down. A single employee’s dissatisfaction can also have wide-reaching consequences that affect more than just that individual. One employee can quickly spread negativity across entire teams and organizations like wildfire.

When a business hits the jackpot and develops a strong team, the goal is to keep that top talent on board for as long as possible. Although retention can be difficult, by taking steps like offering competitive compensation and creating a workplace culture where employees feel valued, businesses are making an investment in their employees that will pay off in loyalty and retention.

Tiffani Martinez is a native Floridian and the Human Resource Director for Otter PR. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Keiser University with a BA in Business Management and a focus in Human Resource Management. Tiffani excels at putting the “human” back into “Human Resources.” She comes from a non-profit and Property and Casualty insurance background with focused knowledge of the needs of Florida residents. Her tenure in non-profit led her to manage one of the top 100 largest churches in the nation with more than 2,000 members. Her passion is conflict management, where she strives to take in all perspectives and ensure that all parties are respected and heard with fairness and empathy.

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