Role of motivation in employee retention

The Great Resignation did not just happen because the employees globally decided to quit their jobs as a collective action. It is the result of a change in priorities triggered as the pandemic took over the world, and people lost their lives, health, loved ones, jobs, and much more.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.3 million individuals quit their jobs in December of 2021 voluntarily making employee retention a challenge for the HR professionals within organizations.

When 40% of people in the workforce are seeking new opportunities and are unhappy with their existing jobs, it really is alarming.

Why is employee retention happening?

There is an ease of exploring job opportunities through online mediums, more options surfacing for freelancing, and ease of moving between industries which implies that employers need to re-evaluate their motivation strategies for employee retention.

To know how to retain employees, it is important to first identify the causes behind quitting. 

Here are some of the most common causes in different industries:

• Extended employment in challenging environments (as identified by Mckinsey)
• Unimaginable workload with no time for leisure
• Lack of support from management and/or colleagues
• Lack of professional growth

What role does motivation play in employee retention?

Motivation is what drives human behavior, whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic. In simplest of words, employees quitting from a job itself is a behavior which is driven by some intrinsic or extrinsic motivation such as seeking better work-life balance or better opportunities, etc. 

So to retain employees, the employers need to ensure that there are factors that motivate an employee to stay.

How can companies use motivation for employee retention?

Organizations seeking to prosper; can not be complacent to or ignore the stooping rate of employee retention. And neither assume that employees will stay with them due to the cutthroat competition in the market. Employee retention should be a focus, especially for employees with in-demand skills.

What organizations need to do foremost is to understand that they need to motivate employees with what employees need and not what employers think the employees need.

Moving on, here is how organizations can use motivation for employee retention:

• This one is cliche’ but offers a competitive wage to start with. It may feel like a huge expense at the moment but the right talent can take your organization forward.
• Re-evaluate the company’s mission or sense of purpose. Humans need a sense of purpose to attach themselves with and this is what drives intrinsic motivation within employees,
• Do not just stop at a competitive wage but look at the whole package being offered.
• Offer Flexibility. If nothing else, the pandemic has shown people that a great number of jobs can be done with flexible settings.
• Offer professional growth and the capacity to grow in one’s role.
• Simple ask! Ask your employees what it is that they value.

A helpful tool could be our employee retention software. It allows you to create an inclusive and rewarding workplace that your employees love and cherish.    

Learn more in our related articles such as Why employee retention is important or What is good employee retention rate.