Several companies are now offering Saudi women employees incentives to stem an alarming rate of attrition, especially in retail stores.

Companies embarked on these incentives after the Human Resource Development Fund awarded SR1.5 billion to more than 88,000 companies that fulfilled the nationalization quota.

Rahmah Al-Seini, an HR official at a retail store, said feminizing shops was a pioneering idea to provide job opportunities for women. More than 400,000 female employees found jobs in 2013.

“The labor system, however, had not provided guarantees to business owners to help curb attrition rates, putting companies in jeopardy,” she said. “Companies incurred huge losses by training these women, who then left without warning. These challenges have forced companies to provide incentives.”

Many women suddenly stop working due to lack of benefits and job security, she said. “As a result, many companies initiated loyalty schemes for citizens.”

A yearly financial sum is given to employees at the end of the year, which is equivalent to ticket and schooling costs given to expat employees. Stipends are calculated relative to employees’ wages.

In addition, employee performance is evaluated on an annual basis to determine annual commission, another form of incentive.