According to a recent survey by Glassdoor.com, the cost to recruit, interview, onboard, and train a new staff member is approximately $4,000. This amount could be much higher depending on the position, so managing turn-over costs is important. What’s the best way to manage costs? Focus on employee retention—keeping the staff you have now.

There’s no reason to overhaul your entire talent management/human resources department to improve retention. You do need to focus on the entire lifecycle though, from onboarding to exit interviews. Here are five effective retention strategies you can adopt today at little or no cost to your organization.

Encourage Hiring Managers to Assess Values

Does your organization have a values statement? Are employees asked to focus on “integrity, trust, and building community,” or “honesty, public service, and safety”? Whatever your values statement, ask hiring managers to write questions to assess alignment with values in the appraisal interviews. Skills can be developed but it is a challenge to teach principles or personality. Hire people who genuinely want to work for your organization and who are committed to its mission and values. 

Begin at the Beginning

Keeping staff begins on the very first day. Make people feel welcomed and ready to trust that they made the right decision to join your organization by offering a clear and concise onboarding process. In addition to handing out keys, badges, and explaining payroll processes, tell new staff about the structure of your organization, your culture and values, and each department’s mission and goals. If possible, schedule an orientation day to include all new hires across the organization. This helps break down silos, allows people to forge new friendships, and lets them know they are not alone in being “new.”

Prioritize Employee Well-Being Programs

Low employee morale and burnout are the leading causes of employee turnover. Focusing on employee well-being helps staff do their jobs better and ensures that they remain committed to the organization. Fostering well-being is as simple as encouraging regular work hours and lunch breaks, providing safe and ergonomic work spaces (in the office and for employees working from home), and offering workshops or brown bag sessions on self-care. Educating employees on managing stress, maintaining fitness, and preventing illness empowers them to take responsibility for their own well-being. But these programs are only effective if leadership is modeling the behavior. Encourage managers and supervisors to participate in well-being programs and take regular breaks and vacations to model the behavior for subordinates. This will decrease burnout in management ranks and increase their ability to lead their teams.

Provide Independence 

Have you ever heard someone say, “I love to be micro-managed!” Encourage leadership to demonstrate trust in employees by allowing them to do the job the best way they know how; to provide coaching and feedback only when necessary; and to allow different members of the team to take the lead on projects. Giving employees autonomy builds trust, morale, and leadership skills.

Keep Your Finger on the Pulse

Your organization may conduct exit interviews to find out why people leave their jobs, but do you interview staff to find out why they stay? Host open forums and send surveys to employees on a regular basis to gauge employee satisfaction, burnout, engagement, and other factors that affect retention. Keep your finger on the pulse of employee satisfaction. Learn why people stay in their jobs and share these findings with leadership.

It’s simple really. Hire for fit, ensure smooth onboarding, prioritize well-being, provide independence, and keep your finger on the pulse of employee satisfaction to improve employee retention and lower turnover costs.