Guide to employee retention: how to keep your best talent
No business can expand if the people who drive it do not stay long-term
In this guide, we offer hands-on recommendations and tactical perspective to help leaders produce measurable, lasting improvements in employee retention. Our aim is to give you usable guidance not only to keep your top performers, but to maintain their motivation and output for years to come. We explore how to build a strong, supportive remote work culture and which locally tailored benefits shield talent from competitor poaching. We also outline the core principles behind successful, durable remote teams:
- Flexible and asynchronous work
- Communication and documentation
- Connection and belonging
Why does retention rate matter?
Keeping people — and setting up programmes to measure and support retention — is essential if you want your organisation to prosper. With remote work now widespread, many businesses struggle to define what sets them apart and why current and prospective employees should remain with them.
Employee turnover has risen 8.7% since 2019.
By maintaining a strong retention rate, you’ll enjoy:
And, ultimately, a significant uplift to your bottom line. Companies that achieve excellent retention are more resilient and able to grow in diverse economic conditions. When talented people choose to work for you, the possibilities expand.
Increased productivity
Better customer experiences
Reduced recruitment and onboarding costs
Improved team morale
Great word-of-mouth about working for your company
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate your retention rate?
Before you can raise retention, you must first determine your current retention rate.
To calculate retention, begin by selecting the time span you want to evaluate, such as the last year or the previous quarter. Then identify two figures:
The number of employees you had at the start of the period
The number of employees at the end of the period (excluding any new hires)
Next, use the following calculation to determine your staff retention rate:
So, for example, if you began a quarter with 162 employees and finished with 170 employees, 20 of whom were new hires, the formula is:
((170-20) ÷ 162) × 100 = 92.56%
You must exclude any new hires so you do not overstate retention. For instance, if you have 100 employees and add five new ones with no departures over three months, a naive calculation would show 105% retention. Subtracting new hires gives a truer picture.
When assessing longer intervals, some people may join and leave within the measured timeframe. In such cases, calculate a separate new-hire retention figure using only new hires added and new hires remaining. For example, if you hire 20 people in three months and one leaves, the new-hire calculation is:
((20-1) ÷ 20) × 100 = 95%
Generally, retention rates above 90% are regarded as strong. For new hires, you should aim for 95% or more, since you expect most recent hires not to depart within months of joining.
The roles with the highest turnover are Product (36.4%), Information Technology (36%), and Engineering (35.2%).
Employee Retention Tactic:
Try calculating retention separately for in-office teams and remote teams. If there’s a gap, it may indicate remote staff feel less supported than their office-based colleagues.
Why does top talent choose to leave?
Bear in mind that turnover varies by industry: retail, tech and media, professional services, entertainment, and accommodation have lower-than-average employee retention rates. If your organisation operates in these sectors, an optimal retention target may be lower than the global benchmark.
If your staff retention isn’t where you want it, you’ll need to understand the main reasons people leave.
McKinsey’s 2022 Great Attrition, Great Attraction Survey 2.0 gives useful insight. The survey ranks the primary reasons employees quit as follows:
Lack of career development and advancement
Inadequate total compensation
Uncaring and uninspiring leaders
Lack of meaningful work
Unsustainable work expectations
Unreliable and unsupportive colleagues
Lack of workplace flexibility
Lack of health and wellbeing supportA non-inclusive and unwelcoming community
Addressing these issues within your organisation is crucial if you want to benefit from strong remote retention. With these reasons in mind, let’s review the most effective ways to improve retention at your company.
The role of equitable global compensation in staff retention
Employees are likelier to stay if they feel valued and treated fairly. Evidence and common sense show that equitable pay is one of the simplest places to begin.
Why is equitable compensation so important?
When staff believe their pay reflects their skills and compares fairly with colleagues, they are generally more satisfied and motivated.
Equitable compensation is a foundational element of retention. A fair pay philosophy builds trust and confidence among employees, which in turn incentivises performance and longer tenure.
Paying your people appropriately is vital, but the calculations can be complex. To help, see our guide to remote worker compensation.
Remote & Async Work
Developing an equitable compensation package for your employees
When defining a fair compensation package, consider more than skill and seniority. For employees in different countries, several local factors apply. On a country level, think about:
Mandatory employer-provided benefits
The cost of living (and its influence on salary expectations)
Mandatory salary deductions
Employee expectations regarding salary and benefits
By factoring in the above, you can create a total rewards policy — a compensation framework that embeds fairness and value. Your total rewards policy should consider bonuses, benefits and other incentives you provide.
Remember that equitable compensation is a powerful mechanism.
Modern professionals expect to influence their company’s success and see tangible returns. Leading compensation strategies connect employee success with company success. Bob notes compensation must extend beyond market-rate salary to become a competitive advantage. A forward-looking compensation approach combines salary, bonuses, pension and equity with “professional” and “lifestyle” benefits. Designing this mix can be complex, so rely on contemporary HR tech to validate the impact of chosen strategies for candidates, staff and leadership.
Annie Rosencrans, U.S. People & Culture Director @ HiBob
When your compensation strategy meets employees’ needs, you’ll drive motivation and longer-term engagement.
How to construct a benefits program to retain top global talent
Companies that permit remote work tend to have lower turnover than office-only firms. Remote’s research projects this difference to widen to 4.4% in 2023.
If you want to attract and keep a global workforce, you must provide a locally tailored, globally competitive benefits plan.
It’s tempting to offer the same benefits everywhere, but a one-size-fits-all package rarely meets local needs. Benefits design should reflect local and cultural differences whenever possible. This not only helps attract talent but is vital for retention.
Joana Viana, Senior Global Benefits Design & Strategy Expert
To customise benefits packages and remain competitive with local employers, you need detailed local insight.
Let’s consider an example:
In the UK
Offering a medical plan with maternity cover in the UK is unlikely to impress, because free healthcare including maternity care is available via the National Health Service (NHS).
In Singapore
By contrast, offering medical cover with maternity benefits in Singapore can significantly influence perceptions of an employer. In Singapore, maternity care can cost thousands of dollars, so such cover offers reassurance to anyone considering parenthood.
Local insight is unmatched when designing benefits, but gathering it yourself is time-consuming. That’s why we created the Global Benefits Report. This tool helps companies compare preferred benefits across countries and regions quickly.
Want a little extra help with your global benefits strategy?
At Remote, we connect businesses with local benefits experts so you know which benefits are legally required and which are optional. We provide curated benefits plans for every country, saving time and expense for employers.
"Remote helped us build loyalty with employees by providing world-class benefits and the rights that come with being employed locally."
Heather Miki, People Operations Manager @ kWh Analytics
"We wanted to quickly grow our Mexico presence without navigating the intricacies of incorporation, payroll, and benefits management ourselves. Remote allowed us to do exactly that."
Greg Kefer,CMO @ Lifelink Systems
Build a remote-first culture to manage global teams effectively
Remote-first companies do not only benefit remote employees. Adopting remote-first practices creates a fairer working environment for everyone, wherever they are based. Emphasising documentation, asynchronous work practices and a results-focused culture benefits the entire organisation. Below we explain how to establish a remote-first environment.
How to reduce employee turnover with a strong talent retention strategy
What do we mean by remote-first?
Remote-first means treating remote work as the default. Employees at HQ and those who have never been to the office should have the same experience working for your company.
Remote-first culture | In an authentic remote-first culture, every aspect of the employee experience — from managerial support to team bonding, progression pathways and workplace tools — is available to all team members, regardless of their location. |
Culture-building goes beyond social activities; it also concerns how work is executed. We have created a guide on building a robust and supportive remote culture to assist you through this process. What needs to change to go remote-first?
Transitioning from office-based to remote-first presents challenges. Trying to recreate the office in a remote setting leads to partial success at best.
Remote employees cannot pop by a colleague’s desk for quick updates or chat on the way to the parking area. Missing those everyday interactions can leave remote staff feeling isolated, overburdened and less effective. This is often exacerbated by avoidable mistakes new remote managers make:
Common remote leadership mistakes to avoid
If you fail to communicate publicly and frequently, employees may feel disconnected from the organisation’s broader goals.
If you ignore employees’ downtime and message them while they are off the clock, team members risk burning out.
If you do not model a healthy life-work balance, staff may feel pressured to work excessive hours and suffer the consequences.
If you micromanage with constant check-ins or time trackers to reassure yourself, you will drive talented people away.
If you misuse communication tools by DMing instead of posting in public channels, messages get fragmented and people feel excluded.
Making these errors harms the employee experience and undermines your retention initiatives.
Regular employee surveys and exit interviews give senior leaders insight into job satisfaction and areas for improvement. Acting on that feedback helps reduce turnover.
The problem with micromanagement
Micromanagement is a frequent issue in remote work. Many employers feel uneasy about granting autonomy during the workday.
This fear has led some organisations to deploy tracking software on employees’ devices to monitor productivity. The outcome is that experienced employees feel mistrusted.
That distrust breeds resentment and erodes mutual respect. It can also encourage key employees to do the minimum required.
So, what should remote-first managers do differently?
Assess employees by their output and impact, not by hours logged.
Essential elements of a remote-first culture
Having clarified what remote-first culture is not, what fundamentals must leaders establish to succeed with remote work?
Communication
Purposeful communication about progress, performance and recognition is essentiall
Asynchronous work
A way of working that allows team members to be productive and connected across any time zone and at any hour.
Documentation
Every employee contributes to a documentation culture where crucial information is recorded, stored and shared with the whole team.
Connection
Channels for non-work chat help teams get to know each other better.
A closer look at asynchronous work Asynchronous work: a working practice that doesn’t require members of a team to be online at the same time. Asynchronous working, or async, is essential to a high-performing remote team. Working async enables team members to work productively — with access to all necessary resources — no matter when they log on to work. This helps them to maintain work-life balance and enjoy the benefits of flexible working. Asynchronous working is also a valuable retention tool for employers. Employees value flexibility, trust, and understanding. A culture based around asynchronous working shows that your organisation is committed to providing all three, which can help boost retention. Unsure whether asynchronous working is right for your business? Learn more in this guide to async work from Remote COO and CTO Marcelo Lebre.
How supportive remote-first management boosts retention
Cultural change depends on forward-looking managers ready to adopt a new normal. For remote teams to succeed, remote-first culture needs supportive remote-first managers. What does that look like? Excellent remote-first managers combine respect and trust with clear accountability. They do not mind when staff are online, provided everyone attends required meetings and serves customers. They care less about specific hours and more that documentation is current and updates are shared in the right groups. They use 1:1 meetings to connect, gather feedback and nurture culture rather than simply run through task lists.
Remote-first organisations are not about removing responsibility. If anything, remote workers must be more accountable than office-based colleagues. Hire excellent people and trust them from day one; they will repay you by delivering high-quality work quickly.
Job van der Voort, CEO of Remote
Being a strong remote-first manager is not about following rigid rules. It’s about saying, “I trust you,” and seeing that trust returned when staff meet their objectives and provide clear public updates.
Effective employee retention strategies for every business
As the workplace evolves, prioritising robust employee retention strategies is vital. Whether your team is remote, office-based or hybrid, holding on to talent supports culture and engagement.
The following retention ideas can help you achieve that.
1. Foster career development
Offering clear career pathways and growth prospects is important for retention. Mentorship schemes and frequent reviews also boost job satisfaction. Highlight these during recruitment to attract top candidates more easily.
Opportunities for advancement, combined with recognition programmes, strengthen loyalty by showing employees they are valued and have real progression prospects.
2. Create meaningful work
Employee fulfilment comes from meaningful work. Involving staff in projects that match their interests and the company’s goals increases the chance they will stay long term. You can start discovering those interests during onboarding.
When employees see their work make a tangible difference, the experience improves and an inclusive culture grows — one where people feel essential to the company’s success.
3. Set realistic work expectations
Balancing workloads is key to protecting morale and preventing burnout. Providing flexible options and setting attainable goals helps maintain life-work balance. Encouraging leave and offering appropriate resources also supports this balance.
Respecting employees’ personal lives enhances happiness and job fulfilment. When expectations are fair, staff engage more and perform better, improving retention and reducing unwanted departures.
4. Cultivate a supportive team environment
Fostering a supportive atmosphere with team-building and open dialogue builds a culture that raises morale and engagement.
A supportive environment strengthens culture and increases loyalty and job satisfaction. When employees feel included and valued, they are likelier to remain, reducing turnover and creating a cohesive team.
5. Prioritise health and well-being
Supporting physical and mental health should be central to retention. Wellness programmes and remote work options show you care about employee well-being. These measures help staff balance work and life, increasing satisfaction, motivation and retention.
In summary, these retention strategies are key to building a positive company culture and keeping employees on board.
Why remote-first management is so powerful
Employees value flexibility above most other benefits. Remote’s Global Benefits Report shows workers worldwide prioritise flexible workdays over many other perks, including four-day weeks and retirement plans.
What does that mean for managers of remote teams?
Today’s employees want workplaces that fit around their lives, not the reverse. They still aim to do excellent work for strong employers, but they are unwilling to put life on hold to do so.
Prioritise diversity, equity, and inclusion to keep employees connected
Employees increasingly seek diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. Remote-first organisations are well placed to accelerate DEI adoption.
How a more diverse and inclusive culture benefits retention rates
DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is a powerful multiplier for retention. Embedding DEI into your culture gives you:
How to develop a diverse, equitable, and inclusive global workforce
Building a diverse, equitable and inclusive global workforce demands sustained commitment.
Create a remote DEI committee to help you understand your challenges and opportunities.
Solicit honest feedback on your DEI performance from your team.
Develop a formal DEI policy and update it regularly in collaboration with team members.
Embed DEI in recruitment by using inclusive hiring practices.
Support inclusion for underrepresented groups, including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, and neurodivergent employees
Want to become a globally inclusive employer? Get up to speed with our webinar: Building a globally inclusive recruitment strategy.
5 pillars to motivate and retain a high-performing remote team
When a team feels motivated and productive, they look forward to their work. Leaders must maintain motivation and performance across a global team by nurturing the employee experience from recruitment through onboarding and beyond.
Intelligent recruitment
Start well by using values-led, remote-first recruitment practices.
Communicate clearly and transparently
Adapt the interview process to suit candidate time zones
Share insight into what a remote-first culture looks like for employees
These steps help you hire talented people who share your values, fit your team and understand what to expect.
Seamless communication
Good communication underpins employee experience. To improve communication, follow our communication guidelines for remote teams:
Prevent notification burnout. Encourage employees to switch off notifications when they need to focus.
Make updates transparent and searchable. Record important meetings and progress notes, then store them publicly so all employees can access them.
Establish communication norms. Ensure employees know best practices for each communication platform your company uses.
Never sacrifice 1-1s. Regular one-on-one meetings let you learn about employees and give them space to raise issues.
Comprehensive onboarding
Onboarding is a critical lever for retaining remote workers.
Employee turnover can be as high as 50% in the first 18 months. To avoid this, the ideal remote onboarding program should include:
Engaging, self-serve resources
Assigned onboarding buddies
Introduction to company values and culture
Information on company communication norms
Expectations and targets for their first weeks
Regular manager check-ins
Clear progression opportunities and communicated career paths are the most effective way to improve retention (63%) — even more than salary increases!
Smart meetings
Meetings can be disruptive. Excessive meetings reduce productivity and often add little value. Poorly run meetings leave staff frustrated and disengaged.
So what can you do? Consider changing how you run meetings as a remote-first organisation. Our recommendations:
Create an agenda, then cancel the meeting if it can be handled async
Set shorter time limits to keep discussions efficient
Rotate essential calls to accommodate different time zones
Allow non-essential attendees to leave meetings if they are not contributing
Schedule bonding and fun facetime so work meetings can be shorter and less frequent
Run remote meetings with these tips, and meetings become effective communication tools rather than a drain on time.
Supportive management
When you lack face-to-face contact, spotting stress and burnout is harder. Managers of remote teams must be vigilant about preventing burnout.
That could involve:
Keeping up to date with employee workloads
Setting realistic deadlines
Making time for non-work team activities
Encouraging employees to take breaks and book annual leave
Model good work-life balance so staff do not feel pressured to skip breaks
Support employees to avoid burnout; doing so increases productivity and the likelihood they will stay longer with your company.
How flexible work practices can help you retain top global talent
Employees appreciate flexibility, remote options, asynchronous hours and autonomy. Running operations with a remote-first mindset lets you offer those benefits while unlocking gains in productivity, customer responsiveness and accountability.
Flexible working: a top priority for remote workers
Flexible working — the choice to work where, how and when you prefer — is a leading consideration for many employees.
Remote’s Global Benefits Report found flexibility to be important across the board, and particularly for women and younger workers. Women often shoulder more home responsibilities, so flexibility helps them manage competing demands. Young people tend to be more mobile and value flexibility when shaping their lives alongside career development.
Our Global Benefits Report emphasised the importance of flexible conditions for remote and globally distributed teams.
This insight should inform recruitment and pay structures.
You need to act to stop your best people from looking elsewhere. Discover what top performers value and make pre-emptive internal changes to boost retention and show care for your team.
Providing clearer promotion pathways, performance-based pay increases and more flexible working conditions to retain top talent is typically far less costly and time-consuming than losing key people and hiring replacements.
Flexible work is top priority for 29% of employees
But flexibility isn’t only for a subset: it matters for everyone.
More flexible businesses adapt better to difficult times and seize opportunities faster. How can you offer the flexibility employees need? For many, the option to work flexibly will determine where they choose to work and whether they remain. Flexibility is a top consideration for 29% of employees overall, and higher among key groups: Contractors 38% (their #1 consideration); Gen Z employees 35% (their #3 consideration); Women 32% (their #4 consideration)
Offer work conditions that top talent is seeking
Sixty-nine percent of employers believe they offer flexible working, but only 47% of employees report receiving it.
There is a gap between the flexibility leaders think they provide and what employees experience. Possible reasons include differing definitions of flexibility or senior leaders having a different experience to the average employee. Whatever the cause, employers must deliver the flexibility their people need or risk losing them. This perception gap is fuelling dissatisfaction and higher turnover, leaving some employers with unrecognised investments in flexible conditions.
Hidden retention benefits of offering autonomy
Autonomy and trust are central to employee satisfaction. How do you embed a culture of autonomy and trust?
It depends on transparency, clear communication and meaningful support. Such a culture fosters psychological safety, helping employees feel confident and able to perform at their best.
How to improve your flexible working benefits
Flexibility should not mean sacrificing cohesion or career progression. If remote workers have flexibility while others receive promotions and pay rises, they may feel penalised and leave.
By contrast, 45% of on-site employees regard telecommuting as a top-tier perk (almost as important as private medical insurance and paid leave). The implication for global employers is clear: as long as top talent is satisfied with flexible conditions, they tend to be content with the overall benefits package.
So, how can your company become a destination for both flexibility and productivity?
Remote, for example, publishes its entire company handbook publicly.
Walk the walk
Leaders should be open about taking annual leave and following “nonlinear workdays” so employees feel able to do the same.
Judge results and not hours
In appraisals, base ratings on outcomes achieved rather than hours logged online.
Lean into public channels and documentation
No-one is too senior to document work, meetings and plans!
Set a minimum annual leave instead of a maximum
Unlimited leave can create stigma; setting a minimum encourages staff to take more time off and avoid burnout.
The cost-saving benefit of a flexible working offer
Besides being a top perk, flexible working can also give you more latitude in designing global compensation.
Remote workers often value telecommuting as a primary perk — almost as highly as core benefits like private medical insurance and paid leave. When their need for remote work is met, they are generally satisfied with their total benefits package.
Rhiannon Payne, Remote Work Advocate
For many remote employees, the ability to work remotely is the benefit they value most, making them less critical of the remainder of an employer’s compensation package.
Only 36% of remote employees list benefits and perks among their top considerations when evaluating an offer. By comparison, 45% of on-site employees view telecommuting as a top-tier perk (almost as important as private medical insurance and paid holidays).
The takeout for global employers is clear. As long as top global talent are happy with an employer’s flexible work conditions, they tend to be satisfied with the overall benefits and perks package.
Hear expert guidance on managing a global benefits plan by watching Remote’s on-demand global benefits webinar.
You should be able to trust employees from day one. If you cannot, why hire them? Granting trust early and measuring outcomes rather than hours creates an excellent environment for most people and quickly reveals anyone abusing that freedom.
Job van der Voort, CEO of Remote
How to foster transparency and trust for remote and global teams
Remote teams thrive when everyone knows what’s happening. The best way to create cohesion is through transparency before, during and after work is done.
Create clear project outlines and set expectations
If anyone needs the latest project status, they should be able to consult public documentation. If performance data exists, it should be accessible too.
Let employees design their workdays
Some staff are night owls; others prefer early starts. Some work in focused bursts. As long as everyone documents and communicates, the team operates smoothly.
Record, write, and inform
Keep all time zones informed by recording meeting videos and posting regular updates in public places like open Slack channels. Tag people often and create a culture where staff can read updates when convenient rather than staying constantly online.
Communicate in public forums
Communication should be transparent, searchable and accessible. Instead of a direct message, post in a public Slack channel or Notion page and tag the person. That way anyone wanting project updates can find them easily.
Build connections by using face time to bond
Reserve valuable synchronous time for sharing challenges and feedback in a psychologically safe space. Use 1:1s and team sessions to bond and play, leaving substantive work for documentation that allows collaboration without simultaneous online presence.
Demonstrate respect
Respect time zones, preferred hours and remote work feedback. Stay open to improvements. Responsive leaders empower all team members to deliver their best while keeping a healthy life-work balance.
Start implementing these retention tactics to keep star performers
Retaining remote talent today is challenging, but we hope this guide has given you actionable steps to take.
With this guide at your hands, you now know:
Why remote staff retention is important
How to calculate your staff retention rate
What makes a remote employee want to stay at your company
Actionable tactics to improve retention for your remote workforce
The tips in this guide will help you, but there’s always more to learn! If you’re hiring globally, you can always contact Remote to make onboarding, payroll and management of your remote workforce straightforward. We can also help you prepare competitive offers in new markets so your global compensation plan remains effective and compliant.