Attracting top talent is difficult—retaining employees may be an even greater challenge. In fact, retaining employees is so challenging that by 2030, it’s estimated that retention will cost $430 billion annually. However, employee retention must be one of your most important HR functions. Not only is retaining your best employees important to company culture, efficiency, and effectiveness, but it will also save you money.

A recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the average cost per hire is just over $4,000. This number is the average across all the companies SHRM surveyed. Now take that number and multiply it by each position you need to fill…it adds up.

Of course, retention is just part of the challenge—attracting employees is an entirely different obstacle to tackle.

Here are a few key tips to attract and retain employees.

Attracting Employees

5 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before Recruiting

If you’re in the process of recruiting a new employee, you need to create a game plan—you can’t begin your search without ask five very important questions:

1. Why is this position open and why do we need to fill it?
2. How urgently does this position need to be filled?
3. What kind of person is needed to fit our company culture?
4. What skills are needed?
5. Is there opportunity for growth in this role?

By answering each of these questions, you’ll be able to effectively create job descriptions and postings that will make any candidate aware of what the job will entail. This will also help you develop a checklist when reviewing applicants—who will fit culturally, who will fulfill their duties, and who could be a potential leader.

Make Your Benefits Package Known to Candidates

Everyone is interested in what they will be paid while working for you, but they’ll also be curious about how else they’ll be compensated. Statistics show that 60% of employees are interested in their employer providing a wider mix of voluntary benefits.

For example, if your company offers its employees wellness programs, this should be advertised to all job seekers. A benefit such as a wellness program has proven to be successful, as 40% of workers say they are encouraged to work harder and perform better and 26% miss fewer days of work by participating in such programs.

A benefit like such is great to attract and retains employees.

Be Diverse

Diversity is important—you can’t run a business with employees that act, work, and think the same way. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become such a sought-after trait of a business that 70% of job seekers said they want to work for a company that demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion. However, 47% of talent professionals told LinkedIn that hiring managers are not held accountable for interviewing a diverse slate of candidates.

If you want to stand out to candidates, you need to break this trend and put more of an emphasis on your DEI.

Retaining Employees

Help Your Employees Avoid Burnout

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed…burnout is an occupational phenomenon.

Burnout is not easy to spot; however, it is something you always need to be on the lookout for.

A study conducted by Gallup of approximately 7,500 full-time employees concluded that 23% of employees reported feeling burnt out at work very often or always, while an additional 44% reported feeling burnt out sometimes.

In an effort to mitigate burnout, it’s important to conduct regular employee evaluations with the use of an evaluation template and provide adequate time off for whenever your employees need it.

Adapt Your Company’s Culture

Company culture encompasses a wide range of ideals. Whether it be a greater acceptance of mental health initiatives or enhancing your learning and development options, the culture of your company has to be that of greater acceptance and a willingness to advance.

According to NAPEO, only 32% of employees strongly agree that they can be their authentic self in the workplace; this is a rather exclusive number.

A separate study states that only 25% of employees feel connected to their company’s mission.

If you want your employees to enjoy working for your company, and you want them to buy in to what you’re trying to accomplish, you must promote inclusivity and development—two different concepts that tie into each other.

Development should start in the early stages of onboarding as 20% of turnover happens within the first 45 days of work at a new company. The earlier you begin developing your employees, the more empowered they will feel.

Partner with a PEO

A professional employer organizations (PEO) help small and mid-sized businesses accomplish their human resources goals by offering Fortune 500-level benefits, payroll assistance, workers’ compensation insurance, recruiting guidance, and much more.

PEOs can provide inclusive resources, such as a business owner’s guide to recruiting, interview questionnaire forms, and onboarding checklists that are sure to enhance your efforts to attract and retain employees.

Businesses that work with a PEO experience turnover rates that are 10 – 14% lower than businesses that do not.

This is pivotal for your business considering the average cost of an employee leaving your company is approximately 33% of their annual salary and the cost of replacing a trained employee can be over 200% of their salary.

Partnering with a PEO will help increase your retention while saving you money by offering rates on services you won’t be able to find elsewhere.