Did you know that the average employment turnover rate in the United States is 16.4 percent? Staff attrition — whether through retirement or resignation — has a detrimental effect on any business. You need to hire new staff, train them, then try to retain them — a time-consuming and expensive process. What if fewer employees left your company in the first place? What if your website convinced them to stay? Here are a few website development techniques to reduce retention and improve productivity.

Boost Morale

More employers are using their websites for employee development and retention. In 2016, 87 percent of millennialssaid professional development is very important, while 76 percent of employees said career growth opportunities were one of the top three non-financial motivators at work.

Why not use your website to advertise professional development and career growth opportunities? Set up a special employee portal where you post job openings, training days and courses. Unlike your regular company website, the employee portal can only be seen and accessed by staff, using a login and password. This provides you with the privacy you need when discussing company information.

Internal employees who use your portal are likely to feel inspired when they see there are multiple opportunities for career development.

Using your website as an internal job board not only boosts morale but improves engagement between you and your employees, too. An intranet area of your site lets you post information that is relevant to employees in various departments. Staff can check these pages during the working day or at home.

Provide Guidance

Research shows that when an employer provides feedback and praises good efforts, staff are less likely to leave a company. So why not use your website to communicate with your staff and increase productivity? You could set up a page that lists the best performing members of staff from the last month or quarter, for example. Or post tips on how staff can become more effective at their job.

Providing guidance to your staff on your website helps build a stronger workforce. This, in turn, could result in stronger sales and a stronger business. Thirty-nine percent of employees don’t feel appreciated at work, and staff are two times as likely to be actively disengaged if they are ignored by management. Be different — provide positive feedback on your website!

Increase Fun in the Workplace

Add a bit of fun to the work environment reduces staff attrition rates. It creates bonds between employees and management, and staff are more likely to be productive in the workplace. You can use your website to introduce various social activities for employees — days out, meals, theater trips, etc. — outside of work. But you can also create fun elements during the working day.

Use your website to host a weekly competition, for example, where the winner wins a small prize. The competition should be related to your business – who knows the most about a new product or come up with the best new strategy. These activities get employees on all levels involved in pertinent business decisions in a way that is interesting and engaging.

Deliver Constant Communication

Whether you company decides to feature an employee of the week – with a photo and a brief biography, or post a monthly newsletter – consistent communication is key. Communication lets your staff know that you’re thinking of them and their needs in addition to the needs of your costumers and your sales goals. For employees, this builds their confidence the in the workplace, knowing they are part of the ongoing thought process at the company.

Building an employee portal helps you boost morale, provide guidance and increase fun in the workplace. Want to optimize your website for employee development? Contact us at WebTech Marketing Services to get started today!