No one needs to tell an employer that employee turnover is an expensive affair. The cycle of recruiting, onboarding, and training are costly, but employee turnover costs more than monetarily. It also brings down the morale of the entire team and brings in a prevalent sense of pessimism and doom.

Since we can all agree that turnovers are best avoided, what’s the ideal scenario? People staying with the company, at the cost of their own well-being? Hell, no. Employee retention shouldn’t be about making employees stay back grudgingly, but making the workplace so good that no one would want to leave.

I agree that it sounds wistful, but it is also very possible. In fact, there are countless companies like Zappos, Google, and Twitter that are legendary in making their employees remain in love with them.

Here are 5 strategies to ensure that our best employees stay with you, and happily so!

1. Ensure that your open-door policy is open enough.

You may have an open-door policy on paper, but is that enough? If your employees are hesitant to walk up to the HR with a concern that is damaging their performance at work, your open-door policy is a pointless bauble.
Most people leave companies not because of the pay, but because of bad managers. And people rarely voice this resentment. So it's your job to ensure that everyone in your organization is offered ample opportunities to speak their mind, discuss their concerns, and share their feedback.

Maybe you should put in more thought into those annual employee surveys. An annual wish wash won’t fool anyone, you know?

2. Allow your employees to have bad days.

If only I could stress this enough. It’d do everyone a load of good if you don’t expect your employees to keep it together all the time. We all slip, make mistakes, and we’ve all benefitted from second chances.

Organizations are becoming increasingly aware that their employees are most productive when they are appreciated and cared for. Proving how much someone cares about his job shouldn’t be at the expense of his mental and physical wellbeing. Letting them off the hook occasionally and just allowing your employees to have a lousy day at times would fetch you more goodwill than a pay hike would get.

Let them know that you care about their mental health and well-being. And that you wouldn’t hold against them for not being constantly up to the mark. Such thoughtfulness will pay off well, in the long run.

3. Ensure their growth.

A career dead-end is exactly that. A frustrating point beyond which there is no advancement.  On the contrary, when employees are offered better goals, you are offering them a powerful incentive to stay over the long haul.

Promotions, career advancements, challenging roles, rewarding opportunities, and offering resources to learn and evolve would be appreciated by the employees who are worth keeping around. Often, your team will see and appreciate your efforts to ensure their growth as your investment in their future, and they’ll be grateful.

Furthermore, when your employees see that they are getting better at what they do with each day in your organization, they are more likely to stay with you.

4. Ooh! The perks!

I am yet to meet someone who doesn’t appreciate their office perks. They needn’t be all over-the-top, extravagant perks. It doesn’t necessarily have to be rooftop meetings or biannual Las Vegas trips to be appreciated.

Simpler, cheaper, but thoughtful gestures like ice cream Fridays would work too! Give your own spin to the tale with gamification, insurance benefits, unlimited vacation, stock options, or even a day off on their birthdays.

Excuse the cliche, but thoughts do count!

5. Be the kind of brand that you’d want to work for.

When you are less of a money-mongering business but also don’t shy away from doing good, your employees will follow your lead. Also, they tend to get proud of their work, which makes them stay with you longer.

Mind you, CSR gimmicks won’t cut it.

When you have a brand personality that you can be proud of, you’ll find more people eager to work with you.

Care about a cause? Concerned about the environment, education, or equality? Encourage volunteering!

People tend to be proud of their jobs when they contributing towards a cause. One way to achieve this is by encouraging your employees to volunteer their time for a cause they are passionate about.

While these are some practical advice that works like a charm, employee retention ideas aren’t all a one-size-fits-all program. You may need to experiment and find the sweet spot that works for your organization the best.

If you care enough about your employees and it is evident in your strategies, chances are that your employees will notice too. And they would want to work with you for a good, long time!