Retaining current employees is preferable because recruiting new hires is an expensive procedure. Employee commitment to their employer and work is gauged by their level of engagement. Employees are less likely to quit when they are extremely engaged and content. Here are some tips on remote employee retention.

Why does Remote Employee Retention Matter?

Remote work employee retention is significant because once you find the perfect candidate for a remote position, losing them can result in a loss for the business. In the era of remote work, employee retention has become more difficult. So, we will provide you with a few remote employee retention strategies. But before that, let’s see why remote work employee retention is important.

1. Reduced costs

Hiring a new employee is more expensive than retaining an employee. Companies must spend a lot of money hiring, training, and retaining new employees. That means high employee turnover is equivalent to higher costs for the company. Also, finding the perfect employee for a job is difficult and time-consuming. 

2. Increased teamwork

A good work environment is essential for your teams to collaborate efficiently. Retention strategies for remote employees not only keep the employees but also boost overall team collaboration. As a result, highly efficient teams enable a company to achieve its objectives. 

3. Better employee experience

Retaining employees also have a positive impact on employee experience. Companies implementing the ideal remote employee retention strategies make the employees feel a sense of belonging and purpose. They consider themselves part of the organization and focus on maximizing their productivity. Hence, when companies consider employee well-being, it improves their overall organizational experience. 

Read more: Employer of Record Software

Strategies for remote employee retention

Just like you have a strategy and process for hiring employees, set up a solid strategy for employee retention. Ensure that your company is an attractive workplace for the employees. Here are a few retention strategies for remote employees. 

1. Find the causes of turnover

In 2022, 50.5 million people quit their jobs, the highest record in the past decade. But why? 

While several people leave their jobs due to poor pay, 82% of employees say that their reason to quit would be lack of progress, low pay, bad leadership style, lack of flexibility in schedules, and poor employee benefits. If companies successfully identify the cause of turnover, they can address them to ensure remote employee retention. 

2. Build an open work environment

Several employees stick to a company because of its work culture and open environment. So, maintaining a flexible schedule and providing employees with a flexible work environment helps you retain them. So, implementing policies that promote a flexible work environment can improve remote employee retention.

Additionally, ensure the work environment is comfortable and open enough for employees to voice their opinions and ideas. Overall, provide them with a work environment that feels safe and that is focused on employee well-being and satisfaction. 

3. Create a reimbursement policy for remote workers

When working in an office setting, employees anticipate that the company will cover the majority of costs for everything from equipment and internet to power and heating. 

In traditional offices, employees are provided with the equipment and other resources required for work. It must be the same for remote employees. They must be provided with all the necessary remote productivity tools and resources to perform their job responsibilities. 

However, there are companies that do not allow remote employees to the office equipment and resources. Also, they do not reimburse remote workers for purchasing resources or tools. This often leads remote workers to file lawsuits against the company. 

So, when building retention strategies, consider employee retention in remote work, and plan accordingly. This will ensure the remote employees are satisfied with the company’s decisions. Team members who receive additional support and don't have to pay to set up their home office to perfection will be much happier and more loyal to their employers.

4. Set Up a Feedback System in Place

A proper feedback system helps companies during appraisal. Also, it motivates the employees and encourages them to perform better. Most importantly, remote employees can understand their performance and improve in the required areas with a proper feedback system.

A feedback system is one of the most crucial remote employee retention strategies. It sets a benchmark for the employees to perform better. Also, companies must be open to taking feedback and making improvements for the betterment of the employees. 

5. Provide employees with competitive benefits

The better the benefits, the lower the attrition rate. Companies must ensure offering employees competitive compensation and benefits to retain them. They must adapt to the evolving employee needs and expectations. So, try offering employees the flexibility of remote work, time off, discounts, health benefits, and other competitive benefits apart from good pay. 

6. Set up skills development programs 

Another important aspect of retaining employees is investing in their growth and development. So, companies should plan development programs like webinars, networking opportunities, training sessions, special projects, etc. to support the employees’ overall professional development. 

These development opportunities also keep the employee motivated as they understand that the company is invested in their growth. Hence, they plan on staying long-term. 

7. Make sure the pay is reasonable

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 63% of U.S. employees said that compensation and benefits are important factors. 

There is a correlation between wage and job satisfaction, but only on a comparative basis. Employees are more likely to leave one company and join a rival if they are aware that they could earn much more money doing so. 

So, for remote employee retention, look into the salaries that competing companies are offering for identical remote positions. You may then evaluate the competitiveness of your compensation packages by comparing them. As opposed to a time when a different commute or complete relocation would be in the cards, remote working implies that little about an employee's life would change if they transferred businesses.

9. Make more room for flexibility

Finding a healthy balance between work obligations and personal obligations has several benefits. Flexible work schedules are a welcome benefit because of this.

The method for managing flexible schedules will change depending on how your organization contracts with its personnel. Regular check-ins with managers will be necessary for salaried employees to track their progress and ensure that projects are progressing as planned. The tracking of freelancers' and hourly workers' time will need to be more meticulous.

The ability to create one's schedule and fit their career around their home life will be a significant bonus for individuals with hectic domestic schedules or for those who would choose to work alternative hours.

10. Provide training that benefits their career progression

Job satisfaction contributes greatly to remote employee retention. It stems not only from the work they accomplish now but also from the awareness that they are contributing to greater and better things in the future.

A powerful strategy is to provide workplace training programs for employees so they can develop new abilities and improve their career chances within the company.

Training in areas like team communication, negotiation, and leadership will keep employees happy because of the benefits it offers the individual. They can also be thought of as an investment in the company as a whole. Team members who have received better training will be more productive and benefit any firm.

Read more: Hiring Remote Employees

11. Assist struggling employees to perform better

Some individuals will find it more difficult to adjust to the altered situation than the rest of the team. As a result, it is important to pay close attention to every team member and identify individuals (especially remote workers) struggling with their responsibilities. That’s because struggling employees are more likely to quit due to issues with their new workplace.

These situations involve the aforementioned requirement to solicit comments. The easy step of asking team members what they think of the current setup and if they have any problems or input to offer to ameliorate it will go a long way to helping you shape your retention strategies. You do not need to fumble blindly in your attempts to improve remote employee retention rates when they are stuck at home.

Hold one-on-one meetings with your remote employees to learn about their issues. Schedule daily or weekly calls to take work updates and resolve any issues they face. This will help them adapt faster to the new work environment. Hence, you can get better with remote employee retention. 

12. Maintain transparency with employees

Keep the work culture transparent to ensure that your employees feel like an important part of the organization. For remote work employee retention, ensure to update your employees with every event. Communicate the promotions process clearly and share the company updates with all your employees to make them feel significant. This helps in promoting team spirit and collaborative work culture. 

In the end, it makes sense to implement a combination of the advice given above to create a company that can bring job satisfaction to all employees. You can make your company as effective as possible locally and remotely by maintaining engagement and loyalty over time.

We hope that you found this blog insightful.

Contact us at Recrew now if you are looking for a remote job.

If you are a company looking to hire global, remote talent, contact us at Gloroots.