3 Employee Retention Risk Management Strategies

Employers throughout the economy are having a hard time finding high quality candidates to fill jobs. Before a new employee begins work, the employer has already made an investment in the employee’s success. That investment only grows as the employee accumulates institutional knowledge and develops new skills.

Losing a good employee represents a loss of value for a business. In many cases, an employee’s resignation can have a negative impact in other ways: disruptions to client relationships, dampened morale, and disrupted projects. Retention therefore needs to be thought of as an important risk management topic.

Retention strategies vary from industry to industry. Here are three principles that tend to be relevant to all:

• Plan for natural turnover. Some amount of turnover is inevitable. Employees will leave when they retire, get sick, move away, or win the lottery. An employer should acknowledge natural turnover in its retention planning, for example by encouraging employees to give notice well in advance of leaving, celebrating departing employees, and involving remaining staff in the process of planning for next steps.
• Good hires stay longer. Effective retention strategies begin before an employee is hired. Robust screening processes, including thorough background checks and detailed verification procedures, are crucial for avoiding costly and time-consuming hiring mistakes. In a tight labor market, employers may be tempted to take shortcuts or disregard warning signs that come up during screening.
• Better safety practices mean happier employees. Employee retention is often a hidden bonus that comes with developing a strong safety culture. Employees are more likely to want to stay with a business that demonstrates a commitment to keeping them healthy and safe. Good safety programs also give employees ample opportunity to express their concerns about the hazards of their work. When employees feel respected and empowered, they are less likely to jump to a competitor.

Gunnin Insurance is a full service insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm. We give clients the tools, knowledge, and support they need to build comprehensive risk management strategies to take the business from where it is to where its leaders want it to be. Give Gunnin a call today to tell us about your business’s risk management and workers’ compensation challenges.