Employee retention strategies are a critical element to the success of any business. Repeatedly recruiting and training new employees is costly and time-consuming. And when workers leave, institutional knowledge takes a big hit and organizational performance declines.

In Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.’s conversations with Lehigh Valley employers, retention of talent is always ranked as a top priority, often higher than recruiting new talent. That’s mirrored in a recent national survey of human resources professionals by the Society for Human Resource Management, where retention was cited as the top workforce management challenge.

So, how can businesses keep their employees long-term? 

They want to feel valued. They want to be heard. They want to know they have a path to advance their careers, leaders at three Lehigh Valley companies said at a meeting of LVEDC’S Education & Talent Supply Council held virtually on April 26.

The council supports strategies that position the Lehigh Valley to attract, develop, and retain the talented people that employers need. It asked leaders at Sharp Packaging Services in Upper Macungie Township, MKSD architects in South Whitehall Township, and Tyber Medical in Bethlehem to share their retention practices so others could learn from them.

“People want to go to a place where they feel comfortable, they want to go to a place where they feel respected. They want to go to a place where they feel valued. Creating that and finding what motivates your employees, by asking them, by engaging with them, is super, super important,” said Todd Zimmelman, Head of Talent Development & Employee Engagement at Sharp Packaging Services.

“People have been telling us, we want to feel that what we're doing is valuable to you, that we're doing a good job, that it's making a difference,” said Silvia Hoffman, President at MKSD architects.

Employees who have a positive experience promote the company and help to recruit others, even if they may not know they are doing it, said Toby Borcoman, Chief People Officer & Vice President of Human Resources at Tyber Medical.

One person showed up at Tyber to apply for a job after overhearing a satisfied employee talking while standing in line at a bank.

“These are the stories that go out and about at the Wegmans and the Giants and the Starbucks,” Borcoman said.

An ample supply of talent is the “secret sauce” that’s allowing the Lehigh Valley’s economy to continue to grow, said Don Cunningham, LVEDC’s President and CEO.

Feel valued

MKSD architects makes it a priority to help employees learn what their strengths are and build on those strengths to grow, Hoffman said.

The firm created a quarterly coaching process where each employee meets with a senior manager and a partner to set goals for the next three months and reflect on the previous three months.

“Were you able to accomplish the goals that you set? And how can we help you do that? What are the roadblocks that we can remove for you?” Hoffman said.

“It's a really great feeling when you see someone accomplish something that they set out to do, that you can help guide them toward success, whether that's architectural registration exams or working on a different project type, or things like that,” she said.

MKSD created “knowledge committees,” groups of three to five team members in specialties such as interior design, construction administration, and technology. Several times a year, during an office luncheon, the committees share information about what they do, to help their coworkers increase their knowledge.

“That's also a way to really keep people engaged, and to help them feel valued in sharing their knowledge with others,” Hoffman said.

Show career paths

A few years ago, Tyber Medical created written pathways for advancement at every position, Borcoman said.

“What I love about what we've done is it's very available to employees, even when they're on their first day of employment, so they can see where they can get to next,” he said. “It's just so exciting to see folks come in on internships and co-ops and become full-time employees that get promoted down the road, which is happening a lot.”

“I love to tell the story of my Uber driver that was hired here, four years ago, that's been promoted into a team lead position now. He's able to say he had no experience, but we showed him where he could get to and by golly, he's really, really exceeded all expectations,” Borcoman said.

Listening is important, he added.

He recalled when a food truck visited and he saw an employee who wasn’t eating. He asked why and the employee said they were vegan. Three weeks later, Tyber brought in a vegan food truck.

“It's just little things that you jot down that really, really helps, in my opinion,” Borcoman said.

Be responsive

Sharp Packaging Services is launching Sharp Pulse, a new employee survey platform. Via email and mobile devices, the company will survey workers anonymously and privately, then act on the responses. The surveys, which will be short with three to five questions, can be sent to all employees or to only select groups.

The idea came from previous surveys that said employees wanted more of an opportunity to be heard, Zimmelman said.

“We can get specific real-time information about how employees are feeling about certain topics like rewards and benefits, and all those things that are important to everybody. And with that we can then make actionable changes. We don't have to shoot in the dark about what we think the employees want,” he said.

Sharp offers employee wellness programs that include resources for mental health. It offers financial wellness programs with resources about investing and managing retirement funds. The offerings include recorded webinars that employees and their families can watch at any time. Sharp also offers on-site leadership training.