HR’s responsibility does not end at attracting great employees; keeping them is the key to an organisations’ success! That is why your employee retention strategy should be just as important as your recruitment plans. Having a revolving door of staff is not practical for any business, it is expensive and can disrupt your company’s culture. Frequent advertising, screening and interviewing, can be time-consuming and costly. Employee resignation can affect others – gaps within the workforce can mean increased workload, responsibilities, and a reduction in morale.
On the other hand, working hard to retain employees brings increased loyalty; they learn the culture, ethics and values of their company. Long serving members of staff can produce strong bonds and relationships with customers, which can create a feeling of trustworthiness and provide a positive image for your brand.
Why do employees leave an organisation?
New data shows resignations in the UK are at their highest level in 20 years – The Great Resignation is well underway, but why does someone decide to leave their current job and look elsewhere? Well, there are many reasons, but there are some more common than others:
- MANAGEMENT DISSATISFACTION – Poor management is a large contributor to people handing in their resignation. This can include setting employees’ unreasonable tasks or expectations; micromanaging; or putting them under unnecessary pressure.
- LACK OF JOB SATISFACTION/STAGNATION – this can be seen in jobs where tasks are repetitive or tedious. People will leave when they feel like their job has no meaning and provides little fulfilment. Lack of opportunity for development, promotion or pay rise, can all be an incentive for people to look elsewhere – especially in the current job market.
How can we retain the talent we have?
So, what can employers do to ensure that they are not frequently seeking new staff? Here are a few things to think about when planning your people strategy this year:
- OPPORTUNITIES FOR HYBRID – The pandemic meant that many were required to work from home – and it became a popular change. Some may be happy to return to the office, but others have no desire to go back. While this may not suit all employers, the option of hybrid working can keep both parties happy – leading to increased productivity, and the opportunity for a better work-life balance.
- ATTENTION TO EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING – First impressions last, and how you integrate your new employee into your company can have a lasting impact. This can be more challenging for those having to work remotely. Ensure that you maintain good communication with personalised emails, including welcome letters, helpful resources, and detail of peers, roles and responsibilities to help that new employee feel welcome.
- MENTORSHIPS – You cannot be expected to know everything in your new job, especially at the beginning. Many organisations have mentorship programs – these programs provide new employees with any assistance they require and giving them an opportunity to voice any concerns or issues they may have in a safe one-to-one setting.
- TRAINING INVESTMENT – For employees to feel valued and continue working for you, you must invest in their future development. Roles can change within a job, and new technology can be introduced making training a priority for all staff.
- EMPOWERMENT – It is important that companies provide their employees with the right tools for the job – even more so, with remote working. This can help increase productivity and reduce stress by providing them with resources that can aid with time and task management, communicating and collaborating with peers.
- GOOD LEADERSHIP – Poor management is one of the main reasons that people leave their job. Help your leaders to be people that your employees can look up to – invest in good leadership skills training regularly and ensure they have support.
- COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION – If the rate of pay does not match the job or the efforts required, then employees will very quickly lose interest and start to look elsewhere.
- MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS – The pandemic has put extra strain on everyone, especially on our mental health. Talking frequently with your employees can help develop a bond, along with the feeling that they are valued. Make sure that they do not take work calls outside of working hours to avoid burnout.
There are so many ways we can help our employees feel valued – these are only a few examples, but hopefully they’ve helped you to start thinking about where your focus should be on your retention plan this year.
If you’re interested in talking to our team about how we could help you develop an effective employee retention strategy, or how we could help you meet your staffing needs this year, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us here.
