Retention Strategies

Research has identified successful strategies to help you keep your valuable employees. Save money and be and "employer of choice".

Best Practices

Child Care: Creating Family Friendly Workplace
Information for creating family-friendly workplaces through assisting employees with child care problems. Tips from the Department of Workforce Development Child Care Section.

Employer Options for Child Care: Effective Strategies for Recruitment and Retention
This employer handbook produced by Penn State University shows how workplace child care can help attract and retain the best talent. The handbook outlines twelve child care options in a detailed, step-by-step format.

Hiring, Retaining, and Advancing Front-Line Workers: A Guide to Successful Human Resources Practices is a practical guide for improving employee retention. This is one study provide by Jobs for the Future, a non-profit research and advocacy group supported by many public and private partners. A no cost registration is required.

Wisconsin Forward Award. The mission of Wisconsin Forward Award, Inc. is to promote and recognize the adoption of high performance management principles and practices by Wisconsin organizations in order to achieve world-class status for Wisconsin products and services; help meet international competition; and enhance continuous learning, quality improvement and performance excellence. The primary program focus is to:

Advance the competitive advantage of Wisconsin businesses and organizations;
Provide recognition as well as a method for self assessment to assist Wisconsin enterprises achieve world-class customer-focused quality; and
Promote continuous learning and performance improvement

Supervisor Training Programs

Research shows workers do not leave jobs, they leave first line supervisors. Investment in supervisor training can save time and money.

A.R.T.: Attract, Retain and Train the Right People. Training for managers, supervisors and human resource professionals to improve employee retention, employee productivity and reduce recruitment costs. This program offers attitudinal training coupled with effective and easy to use management techniques that you can apply immediately.

Business and Employer Events. Wisconsin Job Centers, in collaboration with local business groups and other partners, sponsor workshops, seminars and conferences for employers. These events cover important topics for recruiting, managing and training employees.

Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses including low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops. In addition, the SBDC provides counseling to help clients manage and run their businesses more profitably.

Wisconsin Technical Colleges provide both customized training and regular supervisory training courses.

Support for employees

Helping your employees with balancing work and home can reduce turnover and save you money. Keep your employees on the job by connecting them to available support services.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to qualified low-income workers. EITC reduces the income tax a family owes, and at times, provides a refund greater than taxes owed. EITC also allows employers to deduct less taxes from there employee earnings. You can help your qualifying employees have more take home pay. The IRS has easy to use assistance.

The Child Care Tax Credit is a federal tax credit for families with children under age 17 designed to lessen the impact of income taxes for families raising children. Qualifying persons get back some or all of the federal income tax withheld. Some workers whose earnings are too low to owe any taxes can get cash back from the credit.

Many low-income working families will qualify for the Wisconsin Homestead Tax Credit. It is designed to soften the impact of property taxes and rent on persons with lower incomes. For renters, only a portion of the rent they pay is recognized the same as property taxes.

Other Resources

For additional advice, information and tools on retention topics see Other Retention Resources.