How to reduce employee turnover: 14 effective strategies

Take a look at these 14 strategies for improving engagement and retention at your organization.

What we'll cover

If employee turnover is causing problems at your organization, take a look at these strategies for improving engagement and retention.

The Great Resignation may be over. But employee retention is still a challenge, particularly for companies with a large frontline workforce.

Frontline organizations have it hard because reaching frontline employees — who work in various locations across different shift patterns — isn’t easy. Deskless workers can end up feeling disconnected from their organization, which leads to disengagement and churn.

Engaging and retaining frontline talent may be tricky. But it’s well worth the investment. When you reduce employee turnover across your entire organization you boost productivity, morale, and business results.

Here, we look at the primary causes of employee turnover in 2024 — and at 14 strategies that will help you improve employee retention at your organization.

Primary causes of employee turnover in 2024

33% of hiring managers in the US believe employee turnover will increase at their company in 2024. And Forrester predicts an employee experience (EX) recession, where reduced spending on employee engagement initiatives leads to increased attrition.

Of course, there will always be some turnover in your organization. However, you do have the power to address many causes of employee turnover within your company. Gallup recently looked at the most common reasons people leave a job. They grouped these reasons into four categories:

Engagement and culture. Employees left because they didn’t feel aligned with the role or company culture. They left because they felt like they didn’t belong or because job expectations were unrealistic.
Wellbeing and work-life balance. Workers left because they struggled to manage their work schedule or balance work with personal responsibilities.
Career growth, pay, and benefits. Workers left in search of better pay and benefits. They also sought a culture where learning, development, and career advancement were the norm.
Managers and leaders. Employees left because they didn’t feel respected or appreciated by leadership. They wanted open communication and to be treated equitably.

As you can see, there’s a lot in there that comes down to organizational culture and internal communication — both of which you can do something about using the strategies below.

How to reduce employee turnover: 14 strategies that work

1. Focus on employee engagement

Employee engagement is linked to improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, and higher staff satisfaction.

Engaged employees are also more loyal to your organization. They’d only consider taking a job with another company if they were offered a 31% pay increase. Disengaged employees would leave for a lot less.

You can improve employee engagement by building a strong workplace culture and by looping all workers into company comms. Many of the strategies on this list support engagement and employee retention, too.

2. Cultivate a positive workplace culture

Research from MIT Sloan Management Review says that a toxic culture is by far the strongest predictor of employee turnover. In fact, it’s ten times more important than compensation in predicting attrition.

So how do you create a non-toxic culture that supports a positive employee experience?

Employees want to be part of a culture that is fair and trusting. A culture where transparency is the norm, stress is kept to a minimum, and workloads are reasonable.

In a positive culture, employees also understand the purpose of their work. They’re familiar with company goals and values — and know how their work fits into the bigger picture.

Internal communications have an important part to play in all this. With the communication channels, leaders and managers can amplify company culture. They can share workplace updates, highlight workplace values, and involve teams in decision-making.

3. Improve your onboarding program

Those first few months of employment are the riskiest in terms of retention. Up to 20% of turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment.

If you’re not sure whether your onboarding program is doing its bit for employee retention, start by surveying existing employees. Find out what they thought of their onboarding experience. Ask if there are any areas for improvement.

Then, use your findings to create an effective onboarding program, providing new hires with the following as standard:

The opportunity to make meaningful social connections
Clear expectations and goals
An understanding of company culture and values
Ongoing support from a mentor or manager

4. Embed training and development in company culture

When employees feel like they’re standing still in their careers, they feel less satisfied in their roles — and find less meaning in them, too. So it’s important to embed progression into your company culture.

When creating training and development plans, try to involve employees in decision-making. 90% of employees say having a say in the skills they learn is an important part of their employee experience.

It’s also important to make training opportunities available to everyone. Many frontline employees say they don’t get the right resources or support to advance their careers. This can leave them feeling disengaged and more likely to look for another job.

Of course, sometimes, there simply aren’t enough rungs on the career ladder for employees to progress within your organization. But if an upward move isn’t possible, there are other options.

Stretch assignments, a lateral move, and cross-training programs all help employees develop new skills and prepare for the next stage of their careers.

Bear in mind that managers benefit from training, too. 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by managers. So team leaders may need training to become more effective coaches and communicators.

5. Make internal communication channels more engaging

If you haven’t already, now’s the time to work on your internal communication. Too often, employees are left out of the loop. Or they’re bombarded with so many messages that they start ignoring them.

We know that employees who get enough information to do their job well are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. And there are lots of ways to improve workplace communication.

Try to make your internal communications:

Personalized — so employees only receive relevant internal communications
Two-way — so employees can take part in the conversation, posting comments and giving feedback
Real-time — so employees get critical comms quickly

You should then use internal communication metrics to track your performance. By looking at measures like message open rates, response times, and communication tool usage, you get a clearer view of what’s working — and what isn’t.

6. Launch a recognition program

Recognition is another retention strategy that needs to be firmly on your radar.

A recent Gallup and Workhuman report revealed that, by making recognition an important part of company culture, a 10,000-person organization can save up to $16.1 million a year in reduced employee turnover costs.

Recognition reduces employee churn. And the best programs allow managers and peers to provide timely, personalized praise.

It’s worth noting that recognition doesn’t have to come from managers and leaders. And peer-to-peer appreciation has some surprising benefits. 75% of employees say that the act of giving recognition makes them want to stay at their current organization longer.

7. Facilitate informal co-worker connection

Employees who have a work best friend are less likely to leave. That’s because belonging and connection are two key elements of the employee experience.

But co-worker connection doesn’t always happen organically. It’s something that managers and leaders have to facilitate.

In-person activities work well for office-based teams. You can plan social activities, like team-building days and coffee mornings.

You also need to allow enough time in the day for informal chats to take place. Stressed, overworked employees are unlikely to spend much time catching up at the water cooler.

When employees are working away from the office, either at home or on the frontlines of your organization, you need an alternative solution. That solution tends to be tech-based.

Using an employee app or a mobile employee intranet you can:

Give employees intuitive, social-media-style tools for co-worker communication
Encourage employees to set up interest groups to find like-minded co-workers and plan social activities
Get managers to use tech tools too, encouraging connection and promoting employee posts

8. Champion flexibility

In workplaces without flexibility, employees are more likely to feel undervalued and unable to express their opinions. But when employees are highly satisfied with work flexibility, they’re 384% more likely to stay for a year or more at their current employer.

Supporting flexibility and work-life balance looks different for different organizations. But don’t rule it out for frontline employees.

Communicating shifts in advance. Incentivizing less appealing shifts. Co-worker shift-swapping tools. There are ways to make flexibility work for everyone.

Neiman Marcus Group, a luxury retailer, has done just that. The firm offered its sales associates flexibility over which store and department they worked in — and over the days and hours they worked. The result? An impressive 20% reduction in turnover.

9. Keep an eye on compensation and benefits

We’re going through a period of inflation. So compensation and benefits packages are on the rise. You need to keep an eye on competitor packages to ensure you don’t lose employees to higher offers.

But, as we’ve already touched upon, salary isn’t the only thing that keeps an employee working for your organization.

A sense of purpose, connection, and work-life balance can be just as important. So if you aren’t in a position to raise salaries right now, consider whether there are any other levers you can pull.

10. Make it fair for the frontline

When an employee feels unfairly treated, they’re much more likely to leave. So it’s crucial that leaders, particularly those responsible for a large frontline workforce, make the employee experience equitable.

We also know that deskless employees are less trusting, less engaged, and more likely to experience burnout than their desk-based peers. So frontline and remote working organizations need to ensure that their employee retention strategies apply to all employees.

Employee engagement initiatives, workplace connection, flexibility, training, and development. Make these things available to everyone if you want to make a real difference to your turnover stats.

11. Invest in health and wellness

Deloitte research shows that Gen Z workers don’t feel they’re getting the mental health support they need in the workplace. And 86% of employees would leave a job if it didn’t support their wellbeing.

Health and wellness initiatives are no longer a nice-to-have. For many employees, they’re an essential part of company culture and something they look for when deciding which company to work for.

There’s debate over the value of some popular workplace wellness programs. But we know that companies with honest feedback, open communication, and mutual respect have higher levels of employee emotional wellbeing than those without. Corporate volunteer days have a positive impact on worker wellbeing, too.

12. Encourage collaboration

Effective teamwork helps to create a positive working environment. Co-workers share knowledge and resources. They support one another. And everyone pulls in the same direction.

If you’re looking for ways to improve collaboration in your workplace, take a look at these ideas:

Solidify relationships with team-building activities
Recognize group effort, not just the achievements of individuals, as part of your recognition program
Promote open and honest internal communication
Give remote and frontline employees the communication tools they need to collaborate, regardless of location or work pattern

13. Promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)

There’s a clear moral obligation to support DE&I in the workplace. But there are benefits for your organization, too.

DE&I initiatives lead to:

a 50% reduction in turnover risk
a 75% reduction in sick days
a 167% improvement in employer net promoter score

Better workplace diversity makes people feel like they belong and reduces employee turnover.

But to make a success of your DE&I efforts, you need to embed this ethos into your company culture. That may mean changing how you manage recruitment, onboarding, and employee advancement opportunities.

You need to move beyond mere compliance to build on DE&I in a tactical, integrated, and sustainable way.

14. Get to grips with retention and engagement data

Any good strategy relies on metrics. You need data that shows where you started, where you’re at now, and how you can continue to improve.

So use an employee intranet or app to gather the employee retention and employee engagement data you need. Then, dive deep into that data to discover insights.

By analyzing the data alongside employee feedback, you’ll find data-driven ways to improve employee retention at your organization.

Using an employee app to improve employee retention

Employee retention is about improving employee engagement, internal communications, and company culture. The right tech makes it much easier to do all three.

With a mobile-first employee app, like Blink, you can reach employees via their smartphones. You can share company news, highlight company values, and involve everyone in company comms.

Blink is an easy-to-use tool that connects every employee, whether they’re sitting behind a desk or working on the frontlines of your organization. It provides all the following features.

Two-way communication

Leaders can share updates and critical comms. Employees can post and comment. So everyone gets to take part in the company conversation.

Recognition

Blink’s recognition features make it easy for managers and co-workers to celebrate great work. So you make appreciation an integral part of company culture.

Surveys and polls

Quick pulse surveys. Annual feedback. Employee engagement polls. Managers find it easy to seek employee opinions, helping workers to feel listened to and valued.

Mobile access

Our employee app is available on mobile and desktop devices. So every employee is included in company culture and comms.

Content hub

Employees can access all employee apps and resources from the same central hub. So they enjoy a friction-free digital experience.

Analytics

Use Blink analytics to track which of your employee retention strategies is having the biggest impact — and find areas ripe for improvement.

Find out how one of the largest transit providers in the UK used Blink to reduce employee turnover by 26%. Read our Stagecoach case study.