Because a business's most valuable asset is its workforce, employee retention is likely one of its top priorities. In the current job market, though, retention is becoming increasingly difficult. Although many organizations take proactive steps to keep their employees happy after they've been onboarded, the best method for achieving high employee retention begins before the first interview-and it's built around company values. By using five key strategies to bring its core values to life, an organization can attract the applicants who are the best fit for the company’s culture and keep its current employees happy, too.

Companies reap the most benefits when they plan ahead. But financial investments aren't enough on their own. A successful long-term staffing plan also includes retention strategies such as offering development opportunities and fostering an appealing and supportive work environment-and it requires buy-in from all levels of the organization. 

Every day, companies roll out employee engagement surveys and find themselves with some interesting insights. And every day, most of them don't know how to use those insights to truly improve performance and the employee experience. Clearly, change is needed-and there's not a moment to spare: a few years ago, employees started leaving their jobs in record numbers, and this trend shows no sign of abating. Any company that lacks a strategy for putting its employee engagement survey insights to work and a roadmap for operationalizing its culture is likely to keep losing employees.