A recent Willis Towers Watson study showed that although hiring has increased in recent years, so has turnover and attrition. More than 50 percent of all organizations globally report have difficulty retaining some of their most valuable and high-performing employees. Retaining employees has become so challenging that 87 percent of HR leaders now consider improved retention to be of high or critical priority for their companies over the next five years.
And while you may think that salary increases for all employees is the most obvious way to keep great talent around, that’s not necessarily the reality. According to Glassdoor, 4 in 5 employees would prefer more benefits or improved perks over a pay raise.
Entrepreneur recently rounded up five effective ways to retain employees without increasing salaries. Read on to explore some perks that are meaningful to the majority of surveyed workers.
1. Healthy snacks
Entrepreneur reported that 60 percent of employees consider office snacks and meals as one of their top three perks. Having a well-stocked kitchen or break room, or offering free lunch is a great, and inexpensive way, to increase your employee retention.
2. Pay for volunteerism
Millennials in particular place a high value on doing work with social value and on actively volunteering in their communities. Companies that offer paid volunteer days, like Novo Nordisk who offers their employees 11 paid volunteer days a year, are hugely desirable among this demographic of the workforce.
3. Say “thank you”
A whopping 70 percent of employees told employee engagement company Reward Gateway that morale and motivation would improve “massively” if their managers said “thank you” more. When people feel that their work and sacrifices are noticed and appreciated, they’re more likely to show loyalty, even if it comes at a small cost to themselves.
See the full list of strategies that reduce costs and boost employee retention on Entrepreneur.
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