How to reduce employee attrition with a well-being program

Forrester finds that with Limeade employees feel more connected to their employers and stay employed longer, resulting in a 3.5% reduction in employee attrition and a savings of $4.2 million.

Understanding how to reduce employee attrition and burnout is a top priority for senior leaders at almost every organization. Despite employee well-being making headlines during the pandemic, “Gallup reported a sharp drop in the percentage of employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall wellbeing.”

We’ve seen the buzzwords and recent trends — the Great Attrition (Great Resignation or Great Re-Evaluation) and Quiet Quitting — employees are exhausted and feeling disconnected from their employers more than ever. Not only are employees leaving their jobs, but employees in the U.S. were the most likely (40 percent) to have left their old job without a new one, which is unprecedented.  

Why are employees leaving their jobs?

Due to high attrition, senior leadership desperately wants to understand why employees leave. They constantly struggle to identify the root cause.

McKinsey research found, “For example, when employers were asked why their people had quit, they cited compensation, work–life balance, and poor physical and emotional health. These issues did matter to employees — just not as much as employers thought  they did. By contrast, the top three factors employees cited as reasons for quitting were that they didn’t feel valued by their organizations (54 percent) or their managers (52 percent) or because they didn’t feel a sense of belonging at work (51 percent).” 

How to reduce employee attrition: 3 tips for a well-being program

Forrester research found that the more engaged employees are, the more likely they are to stay for at least the next 12 months. This is also consistent with Limeade Institute research. In the current work environment, and as we move into 2023, it’s critical for employers to focus on strategies to improve employee engagement to retain their best employees. 

To support this investigation of identifying how employers can support their workforce during this paradigm shift, Forrester recently published ‘The Total Economic Impact Of Limeade’ study. The study explores the results Limeade customers experience from their health and well-being programs. Below are three significant findings from the study on how Limeade customers reduced employee attrition by 3.5%, saving $4.2 million. 

1. Drive awareness and participation in other company benefits 

Most employees struggle to navigate the benefits and resources at their organization and many HR  leaders don’t have an effective way to create better awareness for their  programs — leaving most underutilized.  

The Forrester study highlighted how Limeade customers saw an increase in participation in ancillary benefits and resources after they integrated them into their well-being program with the Limeade solution. Higher participation rates showed that employees were utilizing their existing benefits and in return felt more informed and supported by their company which linked these improvements to reduced employee turnover.  

“The number one thing that we hear is when the benefits offerings are good, employees feel secure and cared for and are more likely to stay than they are to leave. [A third-party consulting firm we engaged] found that our employees feel that we are doing well in the well-being arena, and that is a reason to stay. It makes a big difference.” 

2. Provide personalized content and resources to increase employee satisfaction 

In our world of overwhelming content and communications, it’s all too common that employees receive something that isn’t relevant to them. This results in them either ignoring it or getting frustrated by the experience. Employees are bombarded with so much noise that when they do experience something that’s relevant and personalized, they take notice and appreciate the streamlined approach  

By offering personalized streaming content and resources that are highly relevant and aimed to meet an employee’s individual needs, Forrester found Limeade transforms the traditional wellness programs employees are used to. As a result, employees feel more connected to their employers and stay employed longer. The feeling of a personalized experience also led to greater engagement with their well-being experience and higher satisfaction rates amount employees than their previous wellness program. 

“Our satisfaction rating with our previous vendor, I don’t know if we ever got above a 3.7 out of 5. And with Limeade, now at the end of our third year, we are at a rating of 4.5 out of 5.” 

3. Amplify care and create a deeper connection to company culture and leaders with information and communications  

The top three reasons leading employees to quit were that they didn’t feel valued by their organizations or their manager or because they didn’t feel a sense of belonging at work. A study by the Limeade Institute found when information flows freely within an organization, employees are more likely to report favorably on feeling connected to what was happening within the organization (86%), feeling valued (88%), trusting the organization (91%) and their overall employee experience (92%).  

After interviewing Limeade customers, the Forrester study supported the findings: Limeade helps companies amplify care from managers and leaders to every employee. They can leverage communications, nudges and activities to improve connections and share important information. A Limeade customer expressed that:

“More-informed employees often felt a deeper connection to their employer and its leaders. This connection tied employees to their organizations and encouraged them to contribute to higher business goals.” 

In a highly competitive job market where organizations risk turnover from their unhappy and happy employees, a reduction in employee attrition is more important than ever — for both morale and your bottom line. Read the full study here: ‘The Total Economic Impact Of Limeade’.