Good Communication Leads to Employee Retention: Why and How

Good employees are hard to find. So when you do finally hire a team you love, you'll want to hold on to it. But as difficult as it is to hire amazing employees, sometimes—keeping them is even more of a challenge.

How are the employee retention rates in your company? Does it experience a lot of churn? If so, time to start looking into the way things are run and what could need improvement.

There are many things you can do to improve your employee retention rates. Some are complex and require a lot of effort—others, meanwhile, are more simple. A little open and honest communication goes a long way.

If you'd like to learn how to retain employees, this guide can help. Read on for all the details on how to hone your communication and retention strategy today.

Communication and Employee Retention

Did you know that when asked what they valued most in an employer, an overwhelming amount of millennials said they wanted a collaborative and innovative culture? Another survey found that millennials need

• goals and expectations to be clearly established
• given all the information they need to get the job done
• reasonable goals and deadlines

Do you see the common thread through all of the items on this wishlist? Proper communication allows employees to do their jobs effectively, to feel included in something bigger, and to know exactly where they stand.

It makes perfect sense that employees need open and honest communication from their employers—and that they're willing to leave if they think they can find that elsewhere. What's more, communication works both ways.

If an employee feels as though they're not being acknowledged or listened to this can lead to unhappiness and job dissatisfaction. If this does occur, they probably won't want to wait around too long in a role.

What Is Your Communication Strategy Currently?

So, you'd like to improve your communication strategy in order to retain more employees and foster a better work environment. How can you do this?

First, you should take an audit of your current communication strategy. Do you have any formal lines of communication in place for employees to offer suggestions, voice concerns, or make complaints? If not, this is something you should rectify.

Try having regular meetings (even once a month is enough) where everyone is free to bring up any issues or topics they want to raise. Make it an open and inclusive space.

You should also look at your internal communications policy. Often, companies focus too much on external communications and forget about the importance of effective internal communications. Give your employee communications the same attention and care you would those of any external stakeholder.

Improve Your Employee Retention Rates Today

If the idea of a complete communications overhaul seems a bit daunting at the moment, don't worry. We're here to help. So, Get in touch with a member of our stellar team today to see how we can help you improve your communication and increase employee retention.