Creating a Retention-focused Culture in 5 Easy Steps

There are many organizations that cannot, or will not, learn how to spell retention. Attrition rates continue to climb while their work environment suffers and is stained with toxicity, bias and resentment. So many executive leaders have professed that people are the top asset that any company possesses, yet those same leaders do little to nothing to invest in, promote or retain their top talent. Whether the economic headwinds are heavy or light, retaining your top talent should always be your top priority for your future success and their career growth.

This is a simple, but effective, 5 step plan to create a focus on retention:

1. Current State of Affairs: The first step in creating a retention-focused culture is to identify your organization's current state related to specific retention plans or programs. Perform a deep dive into your current benefits, perks and programs that drive retention and lower attrition. Look at your regretted and non regretted attrition and turnover metrics. Use data to adjust programs and focus.
2. Who Will Do the Work?: Name who is responsible for creating and managing such programs and provide the necessary resources, holding that person(s) accountable for the outcome of successful retention programs that boost morale, drive motivation and give employees purpose.
3. Where are the Gaps?: Recognize any gaps or inefficiencies that need to be adjusted, and make those adjustments as soon as possible. I look at this as a map at your local mall. 'You are here' is the red star on the map. Your plan is to get certain items at certain stores, so you need to determine the best and most commonsensical approach to getting where you need to go. In others words, how will you close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in the immediate future as efficiently as possible? Assign HR Project Teams to take on these tasks and bring new ideas to the table.
4. Survey Says...: Provide a survey to your entire team around any retention programs to obtain an internal employee satisfaction score. We often look only at customer loyalty when we look at customer satisfaction scores to see how we can retain our customers (also important), however, when was the last time we turned that spotlight on ourselves, learning what our employees think about the current state of our organization? It may be better than expected, but in the event that the current state is lacking, it provides a path forward on what our employees want, and more importantly, need. Invest in those areas.
5. Bring Value: We have all heard that people leave bad managers not companies, but even if your management team is subpar, if an employee feels valued or is valued, they tend to stay. Make your team feel valued, appreciated and necessary. Recognize top performance. Celebrate successes together. Applaud new ideas, creativity, programs, projects and deliverables. Make people feel important and valued.

You do not want (or need) to retain everyone, instead, focus your time, attention and resources on your top performers and your top potential. Always retain the top 3 P's: Performers, Producers and Potential. By doing so, you create a culture of high-performing, valued and growth-focused employees. If you experience a downturn in business, stop the nonsense of attriting by tenure or department, and start focusing on those that perform, produce and have the highest potential to create the best possible version of your future organization. When times are good, promote based upon merit, accomplishments and value to the organization, not around personal relationships, bias or exclusion. By retaining the 3 P's, you set yourself up to handle any future storms and will be able to consistently thrive in your marketplace.

The Academy to Innovate Human Resources (AIHR) wrote this article, 7 Tips for Building an Employee-Centric Culture, where they consider the benefits and value of creating an employee-centric culture. It's a great blog post that you will enjoy.

The 7 keys to creating an employee-centric culture are:

1. View employees as consumers
2. Work on your digital employee experience (DEX)
3. Ask for and act on feedback
4. Foster psychological safety
5. Improve your total rewards strategy
6. Empower your employees to grow
7. Prioritize employee wellbeing

Additionally, AIHR shares a 10-step grid around employee retention metrics focused on why you need to measure employee retention. As a visual learner, I truly appreciate the overview and importance shared here. This is a step-by-step approach that makes commonsense.

I cannot stress enough the importance of creating a retention-focused culture. It creates an environment where employees look forward the day ahead, smile when hearing their alarm clock each morning and anticipate making a positive impact. By doing so, you will reduce your regretted attrition, build strong allies and business relationships, and provide the necessary work environment that employees crave. Lead by example. Be the best version of yourself as often as possible. Treat people how they want to be treated. Respect everyone and their ideas. Build for the future. You can create an amazing retention-focused culture through consistency and follow through.

Mark Krajnik, Chief Executive Officer with Performance Mindset Associates (PMA), is a successful talent strategist with over 30 years of success at top-ranked, global organizations. Mark brings demonstrated skills and a positive impact around retention, behavioral-based interview preparation, performance mindset coaching, mentoring, performance development, change management, team building and streamlined talent acquisition processes. He has also created talent management models that simplify and create a positive difference on your culture and team's performance. Mark will enable and inspire you. If you want to take your organization to the next level, please contact Mark Krajnik at mark@performancemindset.co.