RETAINING employees will be of top concern in 2017.

Here are four ways companies retain their current employees and win talent this year, according to Forbes

Offer better pay

If you don’t pay employees fairly, they will leave – and no perk will change their mind.

A new poll by 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair found the best way to keep an employee motivated is money, and 35 per cent of respondents said it was the most important thing they look for in a new job.

Employees can review websites such as salarygraph.co.uk and payscale.com to see the average pay for different professions in various industries.

They can also speak to their peers or current employees to compare and contrast their pay, and leverage it in a negotiation with their employer.

Promote career mobility

When employees, especially millennials and Generation Zs, aren’t able to advance at work, they immediately start searching for other opportunities.

That is why companies are offering more career mobility opportunities, which support employees who want to move across different departments or even change their occupation.

A study by Cisco and Future Workplace found this mobility helps increase engagement, productivity and teamwork.

This result makes sense, because employees want new challenges and opportunities in order to stay engaged in their work, grow their skills, and advance in their careers.

Encourage flexibility

While technology has allowed us to work wherever and whenever, it has meant many of us can’t switch off from it.

In light of these new work demands, employees are seeking ways to better manage their personal time and relationships. Flexibility is crucial because employees are expected to respond to emails and phone calls after hours for no additional pay.

Flexible work could include flexible hours, working from home and other types of work arrangements.

Provide learning opportunities

One of the best ways to increase retention is to enrich employees with the education and tools required to thrive in your organization. A recent study by Udemy uncovered that 46 per cent of employees cite limited opportunities to learn new skills as the top reason why they are bored in their current roles and looking for a change. Training and development opportunities can help companies not only with retention, but also with developing their next generation of leaders.