Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
In April, the United States’ unemployment rate was 3.5 percent. Nearly 6 million people were unemployed, and 2 million were making unemployment insurance claims. Many of those unemployed individuals are part of what is called the Great Resignation. People are either staying unemployed after being let go, not returning to work after being furloughed, quitting their jobs or retiring early. Those who haven’t retired are reevaluating their priorities and thinking carefully about their next steps.
With low unemployment and unlimited opportunities available, employees confidently are making demands of employers they previously were unable to make. The high demand for a limited number of available workers has created a war for talent. Organizations are struggling to fill roles and retain employees. What do people expect of their employers today? And how can you best meet those expectations?
Highly effective employee retention tactics
Focusing on retention and recruitment of talent is your best defense against the Great Resignation. Recruitment and retention should be core strategic initiatives that aren’t just relegated to human resources but also championed by senior leadership managers and your entire workforce.
Recruitment is a process that includes the sharing and collection of information by both the employer and the candidates being considered. A strong recruitment initiative includes planning, preparation and utilization of the right people in order for an employer to properly select a candidate. Each time your organization has a need to hire someone, take time to do the following:
Devote time to developing a process that inspires new hires while also delivering the most pertinent information.
What basics do new hires need on their first day? Essentials might include:
What should be included in a standard orientation agenda? Depending on your organization, your agenda might include:
No matter the size of your organization, it’s critical to provide an inclusive work environment through DEI initiatives. The current workforce expects such initiatives, and many organizations are putting them in place.
What is DEI?
Diversity, equity and inclusion can seem very nuanced and complex, but the overall objective is to foster a professional, supportive work environment where everyone can be their authentic self and have their voice heard.
How to establish a DEI initiative
A desirable work environment is one that promotes growth. Allow employees to grow from training, mentoring and coaching opportunities. Take the time to ensure they understand what is expected in their current role, listen to their feedback on potential changes to improve the role and provide them with opportunities to develop.
Employees enjoy working with and for individuals who share their knowledge and expertise. Incorporate opportunities for new hires to learn from others within the organization and to learn from top performers. This gives top performers their own growth opportunities with more responsibilities to prepare them for a future management role. It also creates opportunities for employees to interact with one another and build camaraderie.
Also, be on the lookout for employees who are struggling, and see if you can coach or guide them back on track. The goal of performance management is to set expectations and work with the employee to make them successful. Employers need to be reminded that while it may take some effort to get an employee to improve performance, it will take more effort and time to recruit, hire and train someone new.
Typically, top performers are promoted to management-level roles. However, you also want to make sure those individuals you promote have people-management skills. If they don’t, provide opportunities for them to develop in a technical or training capacity. For those you do promote to management, be sure to provide them with training to transition from employee to manager. Will they be responsible for performance evaluations? How should they deal with conflict and difficult conversations?
Further, keep your managers up to date on company strategic initiatives, goals and processes, and allow them to share those business practices with employees in their area. Employees often are more comfortable receiving information from and providing feedback to someone they work with directly. This also allows the manager to be seen as a leader in the organization.
It’s also critical to let managers make some decisions without having to go to their boss or boss’ boss. Employers should give managers the authority to approve or deny PTO requests, establish and update work processes, identify start dates for new hires, handle day-to-day questions from employees within their area, etc.
Flexibility is now a broader expectation for the modern workforce. Flexibility encompasses a variety of possibilities, but the current primary focus of flexibility is remote work. There are specific roles and industries that require in-person interaction – and in those circumstances, an employer will need to focus on other ways to be flexible.
To ensure employees are successful working remotely, employers must provide technology and resources that are easy to access and create efficiencies. Employers also should set expectations in a remote-work agreement, so everyone is on the same page.
Beyond remote work, employers should consider:
Wellness is a combination of mental, physical, spiritual and financial health. Employers should do all they can to address each area of wellness with the benefits and employment practices they offer to reach the ultimate goal of improving health, reducing health care costs and improving productivity.
Examples of wellness actions or activities include:
Mental wellness
Physical wellness
Spiritual wellness
Financial wellness
Employees want to stay with an employer who has a work environment, or culture, they want to be part of.
Care about your employees – they are your greatest asset:
Coordinate fun activities for employees to bring them together:
Commit to giving back to the communities you operate in:
Retention of workplace talent should be a prioritized strategic initiative for any organization that hopes to rise above the Great Resignation. Partnering with human resource specialists to develop or strengthen recruitment and retention practices will help set your organization up for success.
Read the full report here.