You spend a lot of time and effort to recruit and hire the right people for the right job—only to have them leave after a couple of months. Or perhaps you lose long-term employees who take great skills and knowledge with them. Either way, turnover is expensive and frustrating.

There are many reasons employees contemplate leaving an organization, including lack of work-life balance, professional development or accountability; inadequate pay; and the feeling of being undervalued.

Let’s explore what employee retention is, why it is important, how to measure it, and how to start an employee retention program.