How To Improve Employee Retention and Motivation: 9 Tips

When it comes to building a team of skilled workers, recruitment and onboarding are only part of the process. Focusing on engagement, retention, and motivation once individuals join an organization is just as important—if not more so.

Each time a worker leaves your team can lead to company knowledge walking out the door, lost productivity, and increased costs to recruit, hire, and train a replacement. On the other hand, when top talent remains at your organization, they continue to build skills and make positive contributions toward overall business goals.

Learn how to improve employee retention and motivation with top tips and best practices.

1. Provide competitive compensation and benefits

Top workers are more likely to stay with companies that offer competitive compensation and benefits. In fact, according to a global research study from Adecco Group, salary is the top reason workers consider changing jobs. Conduct regular market research to ensure salaries across roles, levels, and departments at your organization are competitive. Some factors to take into account when you conduct research include the role, years of experience, education level, and worker’s location.

Salary is only one piece of an overall employee compensation package. Other benefits that can help attract new workers and engage and retain existing team members include but aren’t limited to:

• Paid time off (vacation, sick, and public holidays)
• Family leave
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement plans
• Quarterly or annual bonuses
• Profit sharing
• Stock options
• Home office supply reimbursement
• Professional development reimbursement
• Tuition reimbursement
• Wellness stipends
• Mental health resources
• Community service opportunities

One thing to note is that most comprehensive benefits are intended for in-house employees. If your team engages independent talent, they’ll be compensated for their work on an hourly or project basis.

2. Encourage flexibility and work-life balance

Many organizations had no choice but to quickly pivot to remote, flexible work arrangements when the global pandemic hit in early 2020. While some companies have since implemented return-to-office mandates and other similar policies, they face resistance because many workers now recognize the benefits of increased flexibility and don’t want to return to the old ways of working.

Research from Slack found that 94% of respondents want flexibility in when they work and 80% want flexibility in where they work. Additionally, the Adecco Group study shows that a desire for better work-life balance is the second most cited reason for wanting to change jobs, after salary.

Some of the benefits of remote and flexible work include no commutes, a healthy work-life balance, and fewer distractions. Employees now expect companies to trust them to deliver business outcomes no matter where or when work gets done.

Consider the following options to build trust with your team and encourage flexibility:

• Offering remote work opportunities
• Providing flexibility for team members to choose which days to work in the office if your organization has a hybrid work policy
• Embracing flexible schedules
• Setting expectations that workers don’t need to respond to emails or other messages outside their set working hours
• Encouraging staff members to block time on their calendars as needed to focus on priority work or handle personal obligations
• Reducing the total number and lengths of meetings
• Making meetings optional and sharing recordings with individuals unable to attend
• Implementing “no meeting Fridays” or selecting another day of the week to limit non-urgent meetings
• Providing wellness programs, fitness center reimbursements, childcare stipends, and other benefits that support work-life balance

3. Provide clear career paths and leadership opportunities

Driven team members are eager to grow in their careers and will often seek opportunities elsewhere if opportunities for career advancement aren’t available at their current organization. According to a study from Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc., 73% of workers today want to know about career opportunities inside their organization. Additionally, workers who don’t have visibility into internal career opportunities are 61% more likely to have plans to quit their job.

Developing defined career paths and offering leadership opportunities can help you retain and motivate in-house employees at your organization. Some ways to do so include:

• Outlining clear career paths for each role across all levels and departments
• Sharing career paths with team members by posting documentation on a company intranet or shared drive
• Highlighting success stories about workers who have have made promising transitions in their careers at your organization
• Checking in with employees to discuss career goals
• Sharing new open roles internally before seeking external applicants
• Encouraging employees to take on leadership roles
• Implementing a succession plan to prepare team members to take on new roles when the time comes
• Providing opportunities for team members to gain leadership experience by managing projects
• Offering opportunities and training for internal mobility, meaning taking on a new role in a different department or focus area—rather than exclusively following a straight career path
• Creating a mentoring program that pairs employees with experienced professionals—either at the company or externally—who can provide guidance and support.

4. Invest in talent development

Motivated workers want to continually improve their skills and develop new ones to ensure their skills remain relevant as the world of work evolves. Additionally, as business needs shift, workers must adapt to the latest in-demand skills to continue driving positive business outcomes. Because of this, offering talent development resources is essential to engaging and retaining top-performing workers.

A survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults from the American Staffing Association and The Harris Poll found that while 80% of respondents believe an employer’s professional development and training offerings are an important consideration when accepting a new job, only 39% say their current employer is helping them improve or gain new skills.

No two workers have the exact same learning style so offering a variety of career development options is important to helping all team members reach their full potential. Some options include:

• A comprehensive onboarding process for new hires
• Performance reviews
• Individual development and performance improvement plans
• Skill and talent assessments
• Stretch assignments and experiential learning
• Mentorship opportunities
• Online learning platform access
• Team or company-wide training sessions
• Stipends for professional development events and courses
• Tuition reimbursements for advanced degrees or certifications
• Opportunities to manage other team members or oversee and manage projects with independent talent

As you outline talent development strategies, keep in mind that formal options such as performance reviews and development plans are meant for in-house employees. To drive success with freelancers, provide concise project descriptions, well-defined milestones, and feedback on specific deliverables.

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5. Share recognition and feedback

Proactively sharing recognition for achieving goals and delivering business outcomes can help motivate and retain your best workers. In fact, research from Workhuman and Gallup found that workers who receive recognition are four times as likely to be engaged and 56% less likely to look for new job opportunities. However, only 23% of individuals surveyed strongly agree that their organization has a system in place to recognize work milestones.

Here are some ways to more intentionally share employee recognition and feedback with your team:

• Showing your appreciation by saying thank you to individuals or the entire team in an email, direct message, or meeting
• Calling out direct, positive feedback on a specific project
• Highlighting individual workers’ achievements and milestones during team meetings
• Giving praise to an individual or several workers on a team email, chat, or other communication channel
• Scheduling time to celebrate team accomplishments
• Recognizing workers with team or company awards for going above and beyond or embodying the organization’s values
• Sharing positive comments from customers, managers, and peers
• Using positive reinforcement to recognize progress toward goal achievement
• Passing along constructive feedback as needed to motivate workers to continue to improve
• Rewarding top-performing workers with promotions, bonuses, and other incentives based on business needs and available resources

6. Encourage team members to share feedback

Collecting feedback from team members is just as important as sharing feedback with direct reports. Creating a safe space and encouraging workers to share feedback can help show that their opinions, thoughts, and concerns are valued by the organization.

Listening to and acting on employee feedback can significantly impact employee satisfaction and retention rates. According to a survey of 4,000 workers by The Workforce Institute at UKG, 63% employees feel their voice has been ignored in some way by their manager or employer. Additionally, 34% of employees would rather quit or switch teams than voice their true concerns with management.

Consider the following options to solicit feedback from team members:

• Asking for feedback directly during one-on-one meetings with direct reports
• Setting aside time during team meetings to discuss feedback
• Hosting recurring town hall-style meetings featuring business leaders to address worker feedback
• Including a feedback submission form on your company intranet or other internal communication channel
• Distributing engagement surveys to collect anonymous feedback from team members on what motivates them and ideas for improving the employee experience

In addition to collecting feedback, identify next steps to address key points shared by workers. For example, several questions may be asked during a town hall meeting, or engagement surveys may show a trend related to lack of career progression at the organization. Given this information, your team can outline how you’ll develop clear career paths and provide resources for workers to grow in their careers. Be aware that soliciting feedback raises expectations of action. Have a clear communications plan in place to share with your team what you will be doing.

7. Communicate effectively

Transparent communication can help leadership teams build trust with workers across the organization. However, research from Future Forum shows that while 81% of executives surveyed believe their leadership team is transparent about sharing company developments, only 58% of employees surveyed agree.

Given increased adoption of remote and hybrid work, communication is more important than ever. Messages and updates that were previously shared in person can be misinterpreted via virtual channels in the absence of effective communication.

Some ways to communicate with teams effectively include:

• Ensuring all written and verbal communication is clear and concise to avoid miscommunication
• Hosting recurring—monthly or quarterly—team or company meetings to discuss business goals, priorities, and any strategic changes
• Centralizing information related to the company mission, vision, goals, and other critical information on shared communication drives or the company intranet
• Explaining the reasoning and context behind business goals and decisions
• Utilizing the right communication channels depending on the scenario—for example, scheduling a meeting for brainstorms or strategic discussions or sending an email for quick, non-urgent updates
• Conducting training to set expectations about communication cadence and tools
• Encouraging open, two-way communication and feedback among all team members

8. Foster a positive work environment and sense of community

Because individuals spend such a significant amount of time at work, feeling a sense of belonging and community is critical to engagement and retention. According to McKinsey research, 51% of employees surveyed who left their companies during the Great Resignation quit because they didn’t feel a sense of belonging.

An intentional approach to a positive work environment and community helps team members feel accepted and included, bring their authentic selves to work, and be motivated to drive positive outcomes for the business.  

Here are a few examples of opportunities that can help your organization foster community and belonging:

• In-person and virtual team-building activities
• Celebrations for individual and team achievements and milestones
• Projects involving multiple departments to facilitate cross-team collaboration
• Programs that pair each new employee on a team with a seasoned team member to learn more about the organization as they get started
• Team community service projects and volunteer days
• Employee resource groups to help team members connect with others across the organization about shared interests, communities, or identities—examples include working parents, women, LGBTQIA+, veterans and military, and culture or ethnicity-based groups

9. Conduct exit interviews

When team members leave your organization, conducting exit interviews can help you understand why they’re leaving (if turnover is voluntary) and identify ways to improve the worker experience to boost employee retention over time. During exit interviews, your human resources or talent management team can ask individuals about the positive and negative aspects of their experience at the organization and request feedback on areas for improvement.

In addition to individual feedback, consolidating and comparing results from all exit interviews can help your team uncover trends to decrease your overall employee turnover rate. For example, you may realize based on feedback from several departing team members that more flexible work options or career development opportunities are needed to retain workers.  

Some questions to consider asking during exit interviews include:

• What were the most positive or rewarding parts about your role?
• What were some of the top challenges or drawbacks of your role?
• Did the job align with your expectations during the recruitment and interview process?
• Based on your experience, how can the organization improve recruitment and onboarding for new team members?
• Did you feel supported by your colleagues, HR department, and management? What could have been done to offer more support?
• Did you receive enough resources and opportunities to develop skills and grow professionally?
• What are your thoughts on the company’s overall compensation, benefits package, and work-life balance?
• What are the top reasons you decided to leave the organization?
• Is there anything that would have changed your mind about leaving? If so, what?
• What were some of your criteria for choosing your new role or employer?

Find motivated workers on Upwork

Engaging and retaining top workers on your team can help support continued business success and growth while minimizing costs associated with turnover and recruiting new team members.

If you’re looking for motivated individuals to drive positive business outcomes on your team, access independent professionals with more than 10,000 skills across a variety of specialties on the Upwork Talent Marketplace™. Leading companies engage talent from Upwork to quickly fill skills gaps, scale up and down as business needs shift, and reduce operational costs.

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