Guide to employee retention: how to keep your best talent
No business can expand if the people driving that growth do not remain with it
This guide shares practical steps and tactical thinking to help leaders create a lasting impact on employee retention. Our aim is to give you actionable guidance to not only keep your top performers, but also to sustain their motivation and output over the long term. We examine how to build a strong, supportive remote work culture and which locally tailored benefits discourage competitors from poaching your people. We also outline the core principles behind successful, sustainable remote teams:
- Flexible and asynchronous work
- Communication and documentation
- Connection and belonging
Why does retention rate matter?
Keeping people and putting measures in place to monitor and support retention is essential if you want your business to prosper. In a remote-first world, many organisations struggle to pinpoint what sets them apart and, therefore, why employees should stay with them long term.
Employee turnover has risen 8.7% since 2019.
Maintaining strong retention delivers benefits such as:
Ultimately, this leads to a significant improvement in profitability. Companies with excellent retention are better able to withstand economic shocks and continue growing. When talented people want to work for you, there are no limits to what you can achieve.
Increased productivity
Better customer experiences
Reduced recruitment and onboarding costs
Improved team morale
Strong word-of-mouth as an employer
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate your retention rate?
Before you can lift retention, you need to know your current retention rate.
To work out your retention rate, first select the period you want to measure — for example, the past year or the last quarter. Then identify two figures:
The number of employees at the start of the period
The number of employees at the end of the period (excluding any new hires)
Next, apply the following formula to determine your staff retention rate:
So, for instance, if a quarter began with 162 employees and finished with 170 employees, 20 of whom were new hires, the calculation would be:
((170-20) ÷ 162) × 100 = 92.56%
You must deduct any new hires so you do not overstate retention. For example, if you have 100 employees and add five without any departures over three months, the raw figure would be 105%. Subtracting new hires yields a truer measure.
When measuring longer spans, some people may join and leave within the timeframe. In such situations, calculate a separate new-hire retention rate, using new hires added and new hires still employed. So, if you hire 20 people over three months and one departs, the calculation is:
((20-1) ÷ 20) × 100 = 95%
Generally, retention rates above 90% are seen as healthy. For new hires specifically, aim for 95% or higher, since you expect most new starters not to leave within a few months.
The roles with the highest turnover are Product (36.4%), Information Technology (36%), and Engineering (35.2%).
Employee retention tactic:
Calculate retention separately for on-site and remote teams. If there’s a gap, it may indicate remote staff feel less supported than their in-office counterparts.
Why does top talent choose to leave?
Keep in mind that turnover differs by sector: retail, tech and media, professional services, entertainment, and accommodation tend to have lower-than-average retention. If your business sits in one of these industries, your target rate may be below the global benchmark.
If your retention isn’t where you want it to be, you may be asking why people opt to leave.
McKinsey’s 2022 Great Attrition, Great Attraction Survey 2.0 gives useful insight. According to the survey, the main reasons employees cite for leaving are:
Lack of career development and advancement
Inadequate total compensation
Uncaring or uninspiring leadership
Lack of meaningful work
Unsustainable workload expectations
Unreliable or unsupportive colleagues
Lack of workplace flexibility
Insufficient health and wellbeing supportA non-inclusive and unwelcoming community
Addressing these challenges inside your organisation is vital if you want to benefit from strong remote retention. With these causes in mind, let’s review the most effective ways to raise retention at your company.
The role of equitable global compensation in staff retention
Employees are more likely to remain if they feel valued and treated fairly. Both evidence and common sense suggest that equitable pay is one of the most direct steps you can take.
Why is equitable compensation so important?
When staff believe their pay reflects their skills and is fair compared with colleagues, they are generally happier and more engaged.
Equitable compensation is a cornerstone of retention. A fair pay philosophy builds trust and confidence, motivating employees to perform and to stay with the business.
Paying your people appropriately is vital, but it can be complex. To ensure your approach is sound, see our guide to remote worker compensation.
Remote & Async Work
Developing an equitable compensation package for your employees
When setting fair compensation, consider much more than skill and seniority. If staff are in different countries, many local factors matter. On a country level, consider:
Mandatory employer-provided benefits
Cost of living (and what it implies for salary expectations)
Compulsory salary deductions
Local expectations around pay and benefits
Taking these factors into account allows you to create a total rewards policy — a compensation framework that embeds value and fairness, covering bonuses, benefits and other incentives.
Remember that equitable compensation is a powerful mechanism.
Modern professionals expect to influence their employer’s success and see tangible returns. The best compensation models tie employee outcomes to company performance. Bob observes that pay needs to include more than market-rate salary to create advantage. A progressive compensation mix combines salary, bonuses, pension and equity with “professional” and “lifestyle” perks. Designing the right mix is complex, so use modern HR tech to test the impact of chosen strategies on candidates, staff and leaders.
Annie Rosencrans, U.S. People & Culture Director @ HiBob
When your compensation strategy meets employee needs, you’ll motivate staff and promote long-term commitment to your firm.
How to construct a benefits programme to retain top global talent
Firms that enable remote work report lower turnover than those that insist on offices. Remote’s research estimates this gap will widen to 4.4% in 2023.
To attract and keep a global workforce, you need a locally tailored, globally competitive benefits plan.
Avoid a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Offering identical benefits worldwide rarely meets local needs. Benefits design should reflect local and cultural differences. The best programmes not only attract talent but are essential for retaining it.
Joana Viana, Senior Global Benefits Design & Strategy Expert
To tailor benefits packages and compete with local employers who know the workforce intimately, you need deep local insight.
Here is an example:
In the UK
Offering a medical plan with maternity cover in the UK is unlikely to impress because employees already have access to free healthcare, including maternity care, via the National Health Service (NHS).
In Singapore
Conversely, offering a medical plan with maternity cover in Singapore is more likely to influence candidates. Maternity care can cost thousands of dollars there, so parental healthcare included in benefits provides real reassurance. In Singapore, maternity healthcare can end up costing thousands of dollars, so anyone considering parenthood would feel reassured to have this type of cover as part of their benefits package.
Local insight is invaluable when designing benefits, but gathering it yourself is time-consuming. That’s why we produced the Global Benefits Report. This tool lets businesses quickly compare preferred benefits across countries and regions.
Need extra help refining your global benefits approach?
At Remote, we connect businesses with local benefits specialists so you know which benefits are legally required and which are optional. We also provide curated plans for every country, saving companies the time and expense of doing all the research themselves.
"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 grow our presence in Mexico quickly without handling incorporation, payroll and benefits ourselves. Remote enabled us to do exactly that."
Greg Kefer, CMO @ Lifelink Systems
Build a remote-first culture to manage global teams effectively
Remote-first companies benefit everyone, not only those who work remotely. By adopting remote-first practices you create a fairer experience for all employees, wherever they are based. Emphasising documentation, asynchronous work practices and a results-focused culture improves outcomes for the whole organisation. Here’s how to build your own remote-first environment.
How to reduce employee turnover with a strong talent retention strategy
What do we mean by remote-first?
Remote-first treats remote work as the default. Colleagues at HQ and those who have never visited an office should enjoy the same employee experience.
Remote-first culture | In a genuine remote-first culture, every aspect of the employee experience — from manager support to team bonding, progression opportunities and tools — is equally available to everyone, wherever they are based. |
Culture isn’t just what happens outside work; it’s also about how the work is done. We have produced a guide on building a strong, supportive remote culture to help you through the process. What must change to go remote-first?
Switching from office-based to remote-first brings challenges. Trying to copy office routines into a remote setting will only get you partial success.
Remote employees miss the casual interactions of office life — dropping by desks or chatting on the way to the car park. The loss of those day-to-day moments can leave remote staff feeling isolated, overworked and less effective. New remote managers often make avoidable mistakes that worsen this:
Common remote leadership mistakes to avoid
If you fail to communicate openly and frequently, employees may feel detached from the organisation’s broader goals.
If you disregard employees’ downtime and contact people who are off duty, team members risk burnout.
If you do not model a healthy life–work balance, employees may feel compelled to work excessive hours and suffer as a result.
If you micromanage through frequent check-ins or time trackers to reassure yourself, you will drive away strong performers.
If you misuse communication tools — for example, DMing when a public post is needed — messages will get lost and people will feel excluded.
These errors damage the employee experience and undermine retention efforts.
Regular staff surveys and exit interviews provide leaders with insight into job satisfaction and help reduce turnover.
The problem with micromanagement
Micromanagement is a frequent issue in remote teams. Many employers are uneasy about giving employees autonomy over their workday.
As a result, some organisations install monitoring tools on staff devices to track productivity. The outcome is that experienced employees feel they are not trusted.
This can foster resentment and erode mutual respect. It also incentivises key employees to do only the minimum expected.
So, what should remote-first managers do differently?
Assess employees by their output and effectiveness, not by hours logged.
Essential elements of a remote-first culture
Having seen what a poor remote-first culture looks like, what fundamentals must leaders implement to succeed with remote working?
Communication
Purposeful communication about progress, performance and recognition is essential
Asynchronous work
A way of working that lets team members be productive and connected across time zones and at different times of day.
Documentation
Each employee contributes to a documentation culture where important information is recorded, stored and shared with the whole team.
Connection
Spaces for non-work chat help colleagues get to know one another.
A closer look at asynchronous work Asynchronous work: a practice that does not require team members to be online at the same time. Async working is crucial for high-performing remote teams. It allows staff to be productive with access to necessary resources regardless of when they start work. This supports work–life balance and the benefits of flexible working. Async approaches are also strong retention levers: employees value flexibility, trust and understanding. A culture that embraces asynchronous working signals commitment to all three and can improve retention. Unsure if async suits your business? Read Remote COO and CTO Marcelo Lebre’s guide on async work.
How supportive remote-first management boosts retention
Cultural change needs forward-thinking managers who will adapt. For remote teams to thrive, managers must be remote-first. What does supportive remote-first management look like? Excellent remote-first managers combine trust with accountability. They do not focus on when people are online, provided staff attend required meetings and meet customer needs. They value outcome over hours, insist documentation is current and share updates publicly. They use 1:1s to build relationships, gather feedback and shape culture rather than merely running through tasks.
Remote-first organisations do not remove responsibility. In many respects, remote workers must be more responsible than office-based colleagues. Hire excellent people and trust them from day one, and they will repay that trust with fast, high-quality work.
Job van der Voort, CEO of Remote
Being an effective remote-first manager is less about fixed rules and more about saying, “I trust you,” and having that trust honoured when team members deliver and publish clear updates.
Effective employee retention strategies for every business
The modern workplace is evolving, so prioritising strong retention strategies is vital. Whether teams are remote, office-based or hybrid, keeping talent underpins company culture and employee engagement.
The following retention tactics can help you achieve that.
1. Foster career development
Providing clear career pathways and growth opportunities is key to retention. Mentorship schemes and regular reviews also improve job satisfaction. Promote these benefits during recruitment to attract top candidates.
Opportunities for advancement, together with recognition programmes, strengthen loyalty by showing employees they are valued and can progress within the company.
2. Create meaningful work
Employees are more likely to stay when their projects reflect their interests and align with company goals. Discovering those interests early in onboarding helps place people in roles where their work matters.
When employees see their work make a tangible difference, it enhances the workplace experience and fosters an inclusive culture where people feel integral to business success.
3. Set realistic work expectations
A balanced workload is crucial to morale and avoiding burnout. Offer flexible arrangements, set achievable goals, encourage leave and provide resources to support wellbeing.
Respecting employees’ personal lives improves happiness and effectiveness. Clear expectations lead to higher engagement and lower unwanted turnover.
4. Cultivate a supportive team environment
A supportive atmosphere with team-building and open communication builds a culture that lifts morale and engagement.
Such an environment strengthens culture and increases loyalty and job satisfaction. Employees who feel included and valued are more likely to stay, lowering 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 options show you care about staff wellbeing. These measures help employees balance work and life, resulting in happier, more motivated people and lower turnover.
In summary, these retention strategies matter for creating a positive culture and keeping employees long term.
Why remote-first management is so powerful
Employees now prioritise flexibility above almost everything else. Remote’s Global Benefits Report found that workers worldwide value flexible workdays more than other benefits, including four-day weeks and retirement plans.
What does this imply for managers of remote teams?
People want workplaces that fit around their lives, not the other way round. They still want to do outstanding work, but they will no longer pause their lives to do so.
Prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion to keep employees engaged
Employees increasingly want to work in diverse, equitable and inclusive organisations. Remote-first models are well placed to accelerate improved DEI practices.
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 delivers:
How to develop a diverse, equitable and inclusive global workforce
Creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive global workforce requires sustained commitment.
Set up a remote DEI committee to map challenges and opportunities.
Seek candid feedback on your DEI performance from employees.
Create and regularly update a formal DEI policy in collaboration with the whole team.
Build DEI into recruitment using inclusive hiring practices.
Support underrepresented groups, including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ, and neurodivergent employees
Want to be a globally inclusive employer? Catch our webinar: Building a globally inclusive recruitment strategy.
Five pillars to motivate and retain a high-performing remote team
When a team feels motivated and productive, they are happier to log on each day. Leaders must maintain motivation and performance across global teams by nurturing the employee experience from hiring through onboarding and beyond.
Intelligent recruitment
Start well by using value-led, remote-first recruitment practices.
Communicate clearly and transparently
Adapt interviews to suit candidate time zones
Share what a remote-first culture is like for employees
These approaches help you attract candidates who share your values, integrate smoothly with the team and understand your workplace expectations.
Seamless communication
Good communication supports a positive 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 key meetings and progress, then store those documents publicly so every employee can access them.
Establish communication norms. Ensure employees understand best practice for every communication platform your company uses.
Never sacrifice 1-1s. Make regular one-to-one meetings a priority so you can learn about employees and give them space to raise concerns.
Comprehensive onboarding
Onboarding is an important 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 programme should include:
Engaging, self-serve resources
Assigned onboarding buddies
Introduction to company values and culture
Information on communication norms
Clear expectations and targets for the first weeks
Regular manager check-ins
Opportunities for progression and transparent career paths are the most effective way to improve retention (63%) — even more so than pay rises!
Smart meetings
Meetings can be disruptive. Excessive meetings lower productivity and may not add value. Poorly run meetings leave people frustrated and disengaged.
So what can be done? You might need to rethink meeting practices as a remote-first organisation. Our tips include:
Create an agenda and cancel the meeting if the topic can be handled async
Set shorter time limits to keep sessions focused and efficient
Rotate essential calls to accommodate different time zones
Allow participants who are not contributing to leave meetings
Schedule bonding and fun face time so work meetings can be shorter and less frequent
Run remote meetings with these tips and they will become effective forums for collaboration rather than a drain on time.
Supportive management
When you rarely meet your team face to face, spotting signs of stress and burnout is harder. Remote managers must be vigilant about preventing burnout.
That might include:
Monitoring employee workloads
Setting realistic deadlines
Making time for non-work team activities
Encouraging staff to take breaks and annual leave
Model good life–work balance so employees feel comfortable taking time off
Support employees to prevent burnout; they will then be more productive and likelier to remain with your company.
How flexible work practices can help you retain top global talent
Employees value flexibility: remote work, async hours and autonomy. Running operations with a remote-first approach gives staff these benefits while improving productivity, responsiveness and accountability.
Flexible working: a top priority for remote workers
Flexible working — the freedom to choose where, how and when to work — is a priority for many employees.
Remote’s Global Benefits Report found flexibility matters to everyone, particularly women and younger workers. Women often carry greater family responsibilities, so flexibility helps them manage multiple roles. Younger people are more mobile, so flexibility helps them shape their lives while growing with your firm.
Our Global Benefits Report highlights flexible working as crucial for remote roles and distributed teams.
This insight should shape your recruitment and compensation approaches.
Act proactively to stop top performers from looking elsewhere. Discover what they value and make internal changes to boost retention and show you care.
Providing clearer promotion pathways, performance-linked pay increases and more flexible conditions is usually less costly and time-consuming than losing senior staff and recruiting replacements.
Flexible work is a top priority for 29% of employees
But flexibility is not just for a few people: it benefits everyone.
Flexible companies adapt better in hard times and exploit new opportunities. How can you provide the flexibility employees need? For many, flexible working will determine where they choose to work and whether they stay. Working flexibly is a top consideration for 29% of employees overall, but higher among some groups: Contractors 38% — their #1 consideration; Gen Z 35% — their #3 consideration; Women 32% — their #4 consideration.
Offer the conditions top talent seeks
Sixty-nine per cent of employers say they offer flexible working, but only 47% of employees report receiving it.
A gap exists between the flexibility leaders believe they provide and the experience of employees. Leaders may define flexibility differently or have a different workplace experience from most staff. Whatever the reason, employees want more flexibility and organisations that fail to provide it risk losing talent.
Hidden retention benefits of offering autonomy
Autonomy and trust are major drivers of workplace happiness. How do you build a culture around them?
It rests on transparency, strong communication and meaningful support. This creates psychological safety, so employees feel secure and able to perform at their best.
How to improve your flexible working benefits
Flexibility should not undermine team cohesion or career progression. If remote workers get flexibility while others receive raises and promotions, those remote employees may feel penalised.
Conversely, 45% of on-site employees regard telecommuting as a top-tier perk (almost as important as private medical insurance and paid holidays). The conclusion for global employers is clear: if top talent are satisfied with flexible working, they typically view the overall benefits package positively.
So, how can your company be known for both flexibility and productivity?
Remote, for example, publishes its entire company handbook for all to see.
Walk the walk
Leaders should openly take annual leave and adopt “nonlinear workdays” so employees feel safe doing the same.
Judge results and not hours
When assessing staff, base grades on outcomes rather than time spent 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 carry stigma, but setting a minimum entitlement encourages employees to rest and reduces burnout.
The cost-saving benefit of a flexible working offer
Beyond being a top perk, flexible working can also give you latitude when shaping global compensation.
Remote workers prize telecommuting as a top-tier perk — almost as important as private medical insurance and paid holidays. If remote needs are met, these employees are generally content with the overall benefits package.
Rhiannon Payne, Remote Work Advocate
For many remote employees, remote work is the benefit they value most, so they are less critical of other elements of a compensation package.
Only 36% of remote employees rank benefits and perks among their top considerations when evaluating a job offer. By contrast, 45% of on-site employees view telecommuting as a top-tier perk (nearly as important as private medical insurance and paid holidays).
The takeaway for global employers is clear. If top talent are satisfied with flexible working, they tend to be content with the overall benefits package.
Learn from the experts about 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? Trusting early and measuring results instead of hours lets you create a great environment for most people while quickly identifying anyone abusing that freedom.
Job van der Voort, CEO of Remote
How to foster transparency and trust for remote and global teams
Remote teams function best when everyone knows what is happening. Transparency before, during and after work is the best way to create cohesion.
Create clear project outlines and set expectations
Anyone who wants project updates should be able to consult public documentation. Performance data should also be accessible.
Let employees shape their workdays
Some people work best late, others early. Some prefer short bursts of focused work. As long as updates are documented and communicated, everyone can cooperate effectively.
Record, write and inform
Keep all time zones up to date by recording meetings and posting regular updates in public areas like open Slack channels. Tag people often and build a culture where employees can read updates when convenient rather than staying glued to notifications.
Communicate in public forums
Communication should be transparent, searchable and accessible. Instead of DMing, post in a public Slack channel or Notion page and tag the person you need. This keeps project information available to anyone interested.
Use face time to build connections
Don’t spend valuable synchronous time on work that can be done async. Reserve face time and 1:1s for sharing challenges, feedback and for bonding, while using documentation for the substantive collaboration.
Show respect
Respect time zones, preferred hours and remote work feedback. Be open to improvements. Responsive leadership empowers all employees to deliver their best while keeping a healthy life–work balance.
Start applying these retention tactics to keep star performers
Retaining remote talent is challenging today, but we hope this guide has given you plenty of actionable ideas.
With this guide in hand, you now know:
Why remote staff retention matters
How to calculate your staff retention rate
What motivates a remote employee to stay at your company
Practical tactics to improve retention for your remote workforce
These tips will help, but there is always more to learn. If you hire globally, you can always contact Remote to simplify onboarding, payroll and global workforce management. We can also assist with creating and structuring competitive offers in new markets so your global compensation plan remains effective and compliant.