To keep employees happy and productive, managers need to know what type of work culture they have. While there are no complex rules when deciding how best to measure performance-retention across different industries or companies inexistent. However, if you want your staff members to stay engaged, consider giving them opportunities to respect their needs as human beings while still challenging them creatively every day!

When surveyed, employees indicated their top reasons for leaving a position were:

· Not getting along with their direct supervisor.

· Desire for more money.

· Need for better work/life balance.

· Lack of career growth, challenging assignments.

It’s noteworthy that three of the four top reasons are non-financial. Employers can address these issues but frequently only pay lip service to enhance the employee experience significantly. 

So, what’s an enlightened employer to do?

• Actively demonstrate that you value the unique needs of each employee.
• Tailor your HR and benefits programs to your workforce (flexible work schedules, choices in health plan options, PTO banks, etc.)
• Publicly recognize outstanding performance and employee achievements.
• Teach supervisors how to be good coaches and managers.
• Provide ongoing training on handling conflict, delivering complex messages, and conducting practical performance discussions.
• Ensure alignment between business goals and employee rewards.
• Appropriately mix base and variable pay.
• Unambiguously link performance to rewards.
• Delineate between rewards for top and bottom performers.
• Nurture the employee ecosystem.
• Make sure employees understand what it is the organization values.
• Practice what you preach—hold managers accountable for their actions and for tolerating or ignoring unacceptable behavior.
• Focus attention on high performers; deal effectively with marginal performers (Is an “up or out” philosophy suitable for you? Or, is a culture of mediocrity acceptable?).
• Ask top performers what makes them successful at your organization and why they stay.
• Ask employees what is and what is not working and act on their input.

Companies should ensure that they have systems for gathering and analyzing data on the drivers of turnover, such as employee satisfaction levels with their supervisors, managers, and companies, job dissatisfaction, and workplace discrimination. The more detailed the retention measurements and root causes, the better employees will respond in kind.