There are numerous employee-retention strategies out there and it is recommended that human-relations departments keep track of certain data. These statistics of retention rates and the cost of turnover will provide companies with an effective way to set new HR initiatives. Finding out more about employee retention can provide a better overall business model.

Calculating Retention Rates

This is a helpful tool to calculate your company’s retention rate. It should be done at a specific time, such as quarterly or bi-annually. You should divide the number of employees that left during that specific period by the total number of employees at the end of that period to get the percentage, which is your retention rate. The normal range for the retention rate in a lot of companies is between 70 percent and 85 percent. It can vary depending on the size of the company and the industry that you work in.

Retention Rates and Small Businesses

Employee-turnover rates can cost small businesses a lot of time and money. Why? Because the turnover can disrupt the flow of the functioning workforce. This can leave gaps in the company due to the missing employee and creates more work for the remaining employees to pick up. It also means that a new employee has to be recruited and then trained, which requires time and money. Turnover might be inevitable for some companies, but having a retention strategy in place can save the small business more time and money in the long run.

Checklist for Best Practices

Here are tips for you to follow for your employee-retention rates and schedules.

• Use proven retention strategies and do not guess
• Benchmark all of the employees’ retention rate
• Don’t assume that all of your employees are happy
• Implement a health-benefits program for your employees
• Provide different types of benefits for the different types of employees that you have
• Conduct exit interviews to find out which benefits those employees valued and to receive overall feedback on the company