The secret to retention may rest in the age of your workforce.

Industry experts agree that the top retention drivers vary by generation. The way to retain Gen Yers is through career development, but Gen Xers are hooked by flexible schedules and extra time off, according to Gregg Landers, director of consulting at CBIZ, a Cleveland-based provider of HR consulting, accounting and benefits administration services.

"The younger generations desperately want feedback, and they want to talk about how to get where they want to go. That's highly valued," says Kathy Anthony, a partner who handles human resources for O'Sullivan Creel, an accounting and consulting firm based in Florida.

Businesses may be waking up to those generational distinctions.

Tom Miller, president of Recognition Professionals International, has noticed a trend toward customizing the way employees are treated. "More companies are realizing that one size doesn't fit all relative to career path, work-life balance, benefits, flextime, etc. To the degree that they can, companies seem more willing to create policies and procedures that allow for differences," he explains.

Overall, "research indicates main reasons [that employees leave] are lack of communication with supervisors and lack of any hope in future and money," Miller comments. On the flip side, the main reasons workers stay are "vision for the future, their involvement in that future, understanding of corporate mission and strong workplace relationships," he adds.

A top retention driver is having continued trust and confidence in the company's leadership team, notes Will Werhane, a global managing director at the Hay Group. It helps if the senior leaders are involved in coaching, career development and mentoring of mid-level managers.

"You need to get that connection with your leadership team, particularly with your best and brightest, through one-on-one interaction. The top talent wants to be able to look the executives in the eyes and be able to say whether this is somebody I can trust and have confidence in," Werhane says.

Another top retention driver is empowerment and authority in the job. Employers need to break down the red tape or organizational barriers that may be keeping some employees from being successful, Werhane advises. "Even engaged employees can leave an organization if they feel they don't have the freedom to act and the freedom to make a difference," he adds.

An HR truism holds that employees leave their bosses, not their jobs. About 75% of voluntary turnover is influenced by managers, according to Roy Saunderson, president of the Recognition Management Institute. "Management has a significant role," he acknowledges.

"Retention is a complex equation. There are not simple answers," says Veronica Harvey, a senior vice president at Aon Consulting. To turn the heat up another notch, 70% of all workers are poised to leave their jobs, either as active job seekers or passive job seekers, she adds.

Benefits as a retention tool

About 87% of employees cited salary as a very important factor in employee loyalty, while 81% said the same for health benefits and 72% said the same for retirement benefits, according to a recent report from MetLife.

The key with benefits is "to be competitive," Landers says. "[Benefits] probably won't be the deciding factor, but it's another straw in the camel's back."

Werhane says flexibility in benefit plans is important for retaining workers.

Saunderson agrees: "There's a need, and there's an involvement in being a lot more flexible [than in the past]. There's an awareness that people have life goals and career goals. A great deal of flexibility is emerging in companies that are alert to the needs of their employees."

For example, employers can permit their employees to buy extra vacation days, trade something for more time off or donate sick days to a co-worker who needs them. This year, O'Sullivan Creel allowed workers to donate vacation days to an employee who had an extremely premature baby, who is healthy now.

Likewise, time off for community service is a good way to retain younger workers, Werhane and Landers note. O'Sullivan Creel gives workers four hours per month for volunteering. "They value the time we give them," Anthony says. "Sometimes it's the smallest things" that make a strong impact.

Anthony agrees that workplace flexibility is crucial, and her firm allows flextime. "I think it's going to continue to be more of a demand" from workers, she predicts.

In addition, more employers are using smaller and more frequent spot bonuses as a retention tool, Landers observes.

Regardless of what benefits are offered, employers need to make sure "the benefits, the whole rewards package, is clearly communicated" to workers, which might involve sending an annual benefits statement, Harvey says. "The key is the communication factor, showing how your benefits package is different and communicating the total value of it."

Employers generally do a good job with exit interviews, but they often fail to track what causes current workers to stay, Landers observes.

Tips for employers

Werhane recommends using surveys and focus groups to find out what prompts your workers to stay or leave, especially in your company's critical populations. "What might retain people at the average company may do you no good," he warns.

Look for patterns in turnover, perhaps in the locations, tenures or job types that are seeing the most turnover, Harvey suggests.

A common mistake is to not map out a formal retention strategy. Only about 10% of employers have a formal, written retention strategy, Saunderson tells EBN.

Always be sure to take all aspects of total rewards into consideration, and don't assume "it's all about the money," Werhane advises.

In addition, remember that compensation and benefits are sound investments in human capital. It would be a mistake to "get caught up in focusing on managing people as a cost, rather than as an investment," Werhane observes.

"You have to create a culture and give people a reason to be here," Anthony says.

Despite the slowdown in the economy, most employers continue to maintain benefits as a retention tool. "People are buckling down, but I'm not hearing of the scare tactics approach. I'm sensing there's not the same slash-and-burn approach that there's been in previous recessions. I think they learned from mistakes in the past," Saunderson remarks.