Building a Retention Tool Kit

What is a Retention Tool Kit? A retention tool kit is a collection of tools and ideas that you use to keep your employees engaged, benefitted, and on your team for longer periods of time. Did you know that the cost to replace an employee who leaves is 50 percent of that person's salary? What do we need to do? Build a better mousetrap? No, but if you develop a Retention Tool Kit specific to your business and USE it all the time with all of your people, you will improve your retention rates, distinguish yourself as an employer of choice, and have happier employees overall. In this five-part series, we will define a typical tool kit, identify what it contains, discuss each kit section and provide ideas in each of the areas.

As I mentioned, a retention tool kit is a collection of ideas and incentives for you to keep your employees happier and for longer periods of time, thus improving your retention rates. Not too different from the tool chest in your garage, one tool won't fix all. So, what is the first step? You need to find out more about your employees. Who are they, why do they work, what kinds of recognition do they respond to, and what keeps them motivated. There are many ways to find out what drives your employees, and of course, employee surveys, feedback from current employees about their concerns, and exit interviews will shed some light on your best retention approaches and efforts. A caution in using exit information to improve your retention - you have already lost the employee. The idea is to keep them.