I just read an interesting article from HR.com called “Why They Stay or Why They Go:  The Keys to Good Employee Retention.”  This was a pretty easy read with some pretty straightforward data that focuses on three key areas of employee retention:

Overall Compensation

Job Satisfaction

Career Progression

That all makes sense to me, but they also point out that these factors do not always weigh equally on an employee’s decision whether they should stick it out or move on.  For example, a person may feel they are underpaid but they really love their job and feel like their skills are progressing, so they may stay with their current job.

I think there are many other categories or subcategories that may influence this decision such as “work/life balance” or “length of commute,” but I can certainly agree with what was chosen in this article.

One factor that could enhance efforts to improve employee retention is an employee recognition program.  This can be seen as a piece of their overall compensation or an added benefit if they are able to earn enough points to redeem for that flat screen TV they really wanted but did not want to use their credit card to get it.  This can also be a factor in job satisfaction, if the employee feels wanted and appreciated for doing their job, this could ease the pain of feeling undercompensated in their paycheck.  Finally, if you created your employee recognition program to include an element around training, they may see an element of career progression.

As we all know, it is far easier and less expensive for a company to retain their current employees rather than recruit, hire and train a new group.  If you do not currently have an employee recognition program or have not considered one before, we strongly recommend you consider this in 2015 as an enhancement to your employee retention initiatives.  If you tie these programs to specific areas that impact your business, they can also help your bottom line by reducing costs (training, efficiency, etc.) rather than being seen as an expense.

by Mike Sullivan

Mike has more than 15 years of experience designing and implementing incentive and recognition programs. He specializes in employee recognition and multi-step channel sales incentive programs. When not tending to his clients’ needs, Mike can be found wetting a line on a local waterway or traversing a hiking trail with his wife Michelle.