Employee Retention refers to an organization’s ability to keep its employees over time and reduce turnover. It involves strategies, policies, and programs that create a positive work environment, enhance job satisfaction, and encourage employees to remain with the company long term.
High turnover can be costly, disruptive, and damaging to organizational culture. Strong retention strategies save recruitment costs, preserve institutional knowledge, and foster stability within teams. Retention also signals to prospective employees that the organization values and invests in its workforce.
Employee retention is part of the employee experience and talent management layers of the HR stack. It connects with engagement tools (to monitor satisfaction), performance management systems (to align goals and growth), learning platforms (for development), and compensation systems (to ensure fair and competitive pay).
Retention refers to keeping employees, while turnover measures the rate at which employees leave an organization. They are two sides of the same metric.
Career development, competitive compensation, recognition, engagement, leadership quality, and work-life balance are among the top drivers.
Retention is often measured as the percentage of employees who stay with the company over a given period, such as annually.
Yes. Engagement tools, people analytics, performance platforms, and career development systems provide insights and actions that directly impact retention.
High retention helps build trust, stability, and shared values, while high turnover can erode culture and morale.