8 small ways to improve employee retention today

In today’s competitive job market, retaining talented employees comes from the small, everyday actions that make the biggest difference. Whether you’re looking to build a more supportive culture or simply strengthen employee engagement, these small steps can add up to powerful results over time.

Retention is a top problem for companies. As a result, HR leaders often turn to large, costly initiatives to address the problem. But in truth, smaller, consistent efforts that make employees’ day-to-day lives simpler and easier are often what keep them around.

In this article, we’ll cover small, daily actions that can help encourage long-term commitment to your company.

Onboarding can make or break an employee's experience at your company. Instead of lengthy presentations and swag, ensure new hires feel welcome and aligned with:

• Personalized welcome messages or a clear “what to expect” guide
• Thoughtful and structured one-on-one meetings with their new team
• Immediate mention of professional development and learning opportunities
• Onboarding content that doesn't overwhelm or bore them (think microlearning modules, short videos, and more)

Receiving feedback can drastically improve an employee’s engagement at work. But often, managers are only giving employees this feedback during scheduled annual reviews.

Instead, leaders should:

• Follow up and offer constructive feedback consistently after major projects
• Create an open-door policy that enables employees to comfortably ask for feedback whenever they need support
• Schedule review times at more frequent intervals (e.g., bi-weekly, monthly).

Employees want to learn and grow—even if they’re not ready to change roles. To ensure that employees feel nurtured and can see a future for themselves at your company, whether related to a promotion or not, be sure to offer:

• Short, self-paced learning materials that help people build skills at their own pace
• Curated learning content that matches their individual interests and career goals
• Self-serve access to any kind of learning they want to take on

A culture of recognition can go a long way. Instead of waiting to congratulate employees once they receive a promotion or complete a huge project, be sure to:

• Give shout-outs in meetings or in front of leadership
• Mention employee accomplishments in internal newsletters or collaboration channels like Slack
• Create milestone moments to celebrate throughout the year

Now more than ever, employees want flexibility and autonomy. Meet them where they are with accommodations like:

• Adjusted hours to accommodate caretaking, parenting responsibilities, and more
• No-meeting blocks so employees can focus on deep work
• Flexible learning formats (podcasts, quizzes, courses, etc.) so employees can choose how and when they want to learn

Managers can make or break an employee's experience on the job. Ensure your managers are equipped to mentor their employees and guide them by:

• Offering access to self-paced courses on leadership on topics like emotional intelligence and conflict navigation
• Encouraging task and project delegation
• Giving them direct access to employee learning progress

Legacy systems can slow down a workforce and cause major headaches and frustrations in the daily lives of employees. In fact, the majority of US employees report feeling frustrated with the legacy technology systems they’re using at work and agree that up-to-date technology could boost their productivity. Instead, take on systems that:

• Have great user experience
• Are flexible and adaptable to your workforce needs as you scale
• Give employees what they really need to complete their jobs

Psychological safety is the collective understanding within a team that it's okay to speak candidly and take risks at work without worrying about backlash. It enables employees to take risks, be creative, and ultimately, creates a happier workforce. To create psychological safety, be sure to:

• Create open lines of communication between employees and managers as well as executive leadership
• Take an iterative approach, reframing mistakes as stepping stones on the path of progress
• Encourage failure as a necessity for innovation so employees feel comfortable taking risks

Small changes aren’t flashy, but they’re powerful.

Tools like Go1 provide small, meaningful improvements to employees' learning lives. With flexible content formats like podcasts, micro learning modules, and more—all curated to fit employees’ exact learning preferences and interests—Go1 empowers everyone to learn when and how they want to.