It’s often observed that a company’s culture can be an invaluable tool for recruitment. Many top talents will actively seek companies that have flexible, supportive, collaborative, and empowering cultures in place, sometimes prioritizing culture just as much as they do salary and benefits. If this is true, then it stands to reason that culture can be a tool for retention, as well.

During the midst of the “Great Resignation” and the “quiet quitting” phenomenon, many managers and leaders are looking for ways to keep their employees from abandoning ship. Your culture can play an integral role in accomplishing that.

4 Ways to Use Culture for Employee Retention

How can your culture be an effective tool of employee retention? Here are four quick recommendations.

1) Convey a clear sense of purpose.

First and foremost, understand that providing employees with a real sense of meaning is one of the best ways to engage and retain them. Not only should your company have a clearly articulated sense of why it does what it does (in other words, what problems it solves, or how it makes the world a better place for its customers and clients), but there should be an obvious “why” behind everything your employees do each day. Managers, it’s your job to remind your people of the “why,” ensuring that what could otherwise feel like busywork is animated with purposefulness and meaning.

2) Ask employees about their work-life balance needs.

Too often, leaders and managers make the mistake of dictating work-life parameters to their employees. A better approach is to engage your people in the work of culture-building. In team huddles and one-on-ones, ask about your employees’ work-life balance non-negotiables. You will likely find that their requests are not unreasonable: Some built-in personal fitness time each day, the ability to log out of their work emails by 5:30, or simply a desire not to receive texts from their boss over the weekend.

3) Provide autonomy.

Study after study confirms that the companies with the highest levels of engagement (and retention) tend to be the ones that provide their employees with the most autonomy. Look for whatever opportunities you can to allow your people to make their own decisions, to show initiative, and to work independently. Let them know that their manager is there to guide and support them as needed, but that they don’t have to feel like they are constantly being micromanaged.

4) Have fun.

Retention is a big problem in workplaces that are dull. If you can incorporate fun into the workplace, you’ll find that people tend to stick around for longer. Part of that might mean organized fun, like a company trip or a happy hour. Part of it might mean flexibility in scheduling, allowing employees to go for a morning bike ride if they so choose. But a big part of it is working fun into the work itself, allowing your employees to let loose a little bit. You might be surprised at how transformative this can be!

Let’s Brainstorm Retention Strategies

What every business really needs is an employee retention strategy. That’s something we’d love to help you draft. Reach out to WhiteWater Consulting whenever you’d like to chat!