Retention specialists work to keep employees, students, or customers loyal to a workplace, college, or product. They analyze why people leave and implement programs to reverse the trend, such as mentoring, communication enhancements, and flexible schedules. They also help with time management, test-taking, and writing skills for students, and handle customer complaints to maintain a healthy customer list.
Retention specialists might work in the corporate world to retain existing customers, at a college to help students stay in school, or at a company to deal with employee turnover. The job may involve fostering loyalty to a workplace, college, or product. Retention experts often analyze why employees or customers leave and implement programs to reverse the trend.
Employee turnover can be costly and disruptive for businesses large or small. Advertising, recruiting, and training new employees can strain other employees’ budgets and workloads. A retention specialist tries to attract and retain valuable employees. Some companies appoint an existing worker to the position, while others may hire a person to do the job or use a consulting firm.
Low job satisfaction can cause an employee to look for a job change and lead to absenteeism. The retention specialist can analyze the employee’s unmet needs to discover strategies to increase job satisfaction. He or she can implement additional training to promote employee growth and the opportunity to advance in the workplace. A retention program can also include an employee recognition program to reward valued team members for exceptional performance.
This employee retention specialist typically weighs the cost of turnover against the expense of implementing programs to increase employee loyalty. Mentoring programs can be successful in helping newly hired workers adjust to their new jobs. Company-wide enhancements to communication efforts can promote teamwork and improve retention rates.
Some companies offer flexible schedules to attract employees who need to balance work and family responsibilities. Management can consider the financial, lifestyle, and parenting issues that workers face and develop programs to address those needs. Parental responsibilities can be reduced through flexible hours or allowing parents to work from home.
A student retention specialist often works with students at risk of dropping out of school. He or she can help with time management skills to increase the amount of time students dedicate to studying. Some colleges offer test-taking tips to reduce anxiety and help students succeed, as well as strategies for taking notes during classes. Additional programs can improve writing skills for students who are weak in this area.
Customer retention specialists handle customer complaints and work to resolve issues to maintain a healthy customer list. They might reach out to a customer who cancels a service to explore ways to keep the customer’s business. Customer retention specialists can also reach out to buyers when the purchase rate drops.
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