5 Reasons Enterprise Social Should Be Part of Your Employee Retention Plan

No one would argue that losing high performing employees can be a real blow to an organization. Finding and training a new employee can cost up to twice that employee’s salary. So how do you keep employees from leaving? Many companies are turning to social technology as part of their employee retention strategy.

Enterprise social technology tools are designed to help employees stay connected and easily share knowledge.

• Individuals can post, share and comment on content.
• Answers are easier to find, saving time and limiting frustration.
• Employers can track content performance and employee engagement.

In the battle to retain top talent and keep employees happy, here are five reasons why social tech tools are important weapons in your arsenal:

Create networks, not hierarchies.

Rather than a formal, organized structure, the networks that are created through enterprise social create a culture of collective knowledge where information and ideas can come from any point within the organization. This empowers employees and makes them feel truly invested in their jobs.

Give employees a voice and validation.

By creating an online environment where employees can contribute and provide feedback, you’re letting people shine that might normally shy away from participating in brainstorming or commenting. You’re also giving employees another outlet to communicate.

Turn the whole organization into the training group.

What if organizational training wasn’t just up to a handful of people in your company and what if it wasn’t confined to a couple of specific events? What if training in your organization was social and collaborative and ongoing? That sounds like a pretty great place to work, huh?

Connect employees and build relationships.

Whether your teams are in multiple locations, frequently on the road or maybe just sit in different parts of the building, your social solution becomes your online water cooler where people can virtually gather and collaborate.

Make it easier for employees to do their jobs.

How frustrating is it to not be able to find answers when you need them? Instead of completing the task at hand, you’re searching for information and wasting time. Enterprise social solutions have powerful Q&A and search functions and create a central place where knowledge is stored. Less frustration equals higher satisfaction.

So if you’re looking for ways to retain employees and improve overall employee fulfillment, make sure that enterprise social is part of your strategy.