5 Employee Retention Statistics You Need to Know

HR leaders are likely feeling some whiplash from the number of employees who have come and gone in the past few years. Although employee turnover rates have dropped a bit, retention remains a major challenge for HR – especially for consistently high turnover industries, like hospitality. Fortunately, recent employee retention statistics show that there are steps you can take to improve employee retention rates.

Check out these statistics about employee retention to stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices for keeping employees feeling welcome, engaged, and motivated to stay in your organization.

Employees who make internal career moves are more likely to stay 🧭

All too often, employees leave their jobs because they’re looking for opportunities to grow. A culture of internal mobility shows employees that they can scale their career development without leaving your organization.

So it should come as no surprise that employees who believe their company will help them find where they belong are far more likely to stick around. According to LinkedIn Learning’s 2023 Workplace Learning report, an employee who’s made an internal career move by the two-year mark has a 75% likelihood of remaining with their company, compared to a 56% likelihood for those who haven’t.

Take steps to support a culture of internal mobility – and don’t be shy about sharing opportunities for career changes with employees. Nudge managers to help team members find where they fit best in the company, even if that means moving to another team or department. To prevent managers from hoarding promising talent, incentivize and reward successful placements.

As employees meet learning and development goals, deliver information on roles they could qualify for within the company based on their evolving skill sets. Include the full range of opportunities, from traditional promotions to lateral moves into new departments.

Hospitality employees want to feel welcome 🏨

The hospitality industry was among the hardest hit during the pandemic, and it’s still recovering – to the tune of 1.3 million job openings. With such a scarcity of talent in hospitality, it’s more important than ever for hotels and other hospitality employers to retain high performers.

Still, a whopping 82% of hotels surveyed by the American Hotel and Lodging Association report are struggling with staffing shortages – so much so that 75% are increasing wages, 64% are offering more flexible hours, and 36% are expanding benefits. And despite these changes, 87% report they’re still unable to fill open roles.

That could be because hotel employees want to receive the same treatment they provide ‌their guests. Industry experts suggest developing an authentic, inclusive culture of hospitality to improve employee engagement and retain your best employees.

Wyndham Australia recently reworked its onboarding process to deliver a white-glove customer service experience to new hires. The team at Wyndham Australia used the latest tech to engineer an onboarding experience that engaged them with the company culture before their first day – resulting in increased retention and a higher employee NPS rating.

Professional services rival hospitals for highest turnover during COVID 💻

Professional services is another industry that experienced a lot of turnover during the pandemic. According to PwC’s recent Saratoga benchmarking survey, turnover in professional services in 2021 nearly matched turnover in hospitals and health systems, at 19.5% and 19.8%, respectively – far and away higher than in any other industry. And 2021’s nearly 20% turnover rate is significantly higher than 2020’s 13.1%.

So what steps do you need to incorporate into your employee retention strategy to counter the trend?

Professional services firms have a competitive edge when it comes to flexible options for when, where, and how work gets done. But that also can be your Achilles heel: the average employee today wants to feel connected – which is far more challenging to facilitate in a distributed work environment.

The good news is that you can give employees options for hybrid and remote work while strengthening the sense of connection that fuels job satisfaction and retention. Use technology to prompt employees to interact with each other and with your employer brand. Foster intentional experiences to help employees feel right at home.

Recognition could be your retention superpower 🙏

We all like to feel recognized and celebrated for our accomplishments – and that positive sensation could have a huge impact on your bottom line.

According to Gallup and Workhuman’s proprietary research, employees who receive regular recognition are 56% less likely to seek opportunities outside their current employer. Developing a culture of recognition is a low-cost way to minimize the high-cost risk of losing an employee. Plus, your workforce deserves to be celebrated for all of its hard work, which can increase morale and improve employee happiness.

Use your workflow software to nudge managers to shout-out employees on the regular – whether that’s during one-on-one check-ins between managers and employees or during your company conference, in front of the whole workforce.

Retention has to remain a priority 🚩

One thing’s for sure: Retention still ranks high on HR’s list of priorities – and that’s not likely to change.

Turnover rates aren’t dropping back to their pre-pandemic averages anytime soon, Gartner reports. In fact, the firm expects nearly 20% higher turnover rates than before. You need to be proactive to reduce turnover and keep top-performing talent happy and engaged.

Now is the time to re-engineer the employee experience to deliver the culture, relationships, and connections people want from work. Don’t leave any experience to chance. From onboarding to resignation, make every moment in the employee lifecycle matter. When employees feel happy and connected to their colleagues and your company culture, they’re more likely to stay and grow with you.

Want to learn more? Check out our ebook, 3 Kinds of Connection That Cultivate Belonging.