There are several ways to increase employee retention, satisfaction and productivity.

Skills - The emphasis an organization places on developing the skills of its employees will have an impact on turnover. An American Management Association study found that skills-enhancement programs to be best for reducing turnover. They're more effective retention tools than any other, up to and including employee stock options.  A survey of 1000 companies with 50 or more employees conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics found a negative correlation between a company’s turnover and its level of training expenditure. Companies with low turnover rates invested more than twice on training than those with high turnover rates.

Leadership - Leadership problems are also frequently associated with turnover. Conflicts with immediate supervisors are often mentioned in exit interviews. Supervisory conflicts are often avoidable and can be addressed by training and improved selection. Good interpersonal skills and fairness go along way in keeping employees on the job.

Communication - Communication systems have two components: formal and informal. Formal communication has to do with information sharing. It can take the form of open forums, newsletters, suggestion boxes, memos, voicemail and e-mail, etc.  People like to be informed and listened to, so opening formal communications can have a positive impact on turnover. Informal communications are less obvious but also powerful forces. Consider the following informal messages: (1) the visitor parking lot is the farthest from the company building, (2) plush offices for executives and cramped cubes for employees, (3) scheduling the company sales conference immediately after a long weekend, requiring travel on the free day.  As these examples show, informal communications often conflict with formal communications. Of course, the most powerful informal communication is the rumor mill. You hope the rumor mill is saying good things about the company. If it isn’t, watch out for turnover!

Job Characteristics - One of the most researched areas is the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover. There is a well-documented body of research that suggests the following job characteristics are most commonly associated with job satisfaction:

Variety - Jobs that offer a greater variety of tasks are associated with higher satisfaction levels.

Autonomy - Jobs that offer greater freedom and choice in execution (i.e., empowerment) are associated with higher satisfaction levels.

Identity - Jobs that offer a sense of ownership and personal accountability are associated with higher satisfaction levels.

Feedback - Jobs that offer intrinsic feedback on quality of performance are associated with higher satisfaction levels.

Significance - Jobs that are perceived as important are associated with higher job
satisfaction.

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