Top tips for retaining staff during the Great Resignation
As we ride the Great Resignation wave, vacancies have currently hit a twenty-year high, and more than half of UK employees would consider looking for a new job, according to WTW’s 2022 GBAS Attraction and Retention Survey.
So, what can employers do to stop their employees from jumping ship?
Pay has, and likely always will be a leading factor in tempting an employee to look for another job, but one in five UK workers admit they would move to another job for the same pay. So, it’s important that we evaluate what else employees’ value to understand what makes them remain loyal to an organisation.
Offer employees flexibility and choice to feel included
Many workforces have adapted to a new, hybrid or remote way of working, so it’s essential that employees have access to comforts that suit their new environment.
Offering them choice when it comes to their benefits and work lifestyle empowers employees to feel involved, and as an extension, valued. When people have control of their role and work life, they perform better and feel more engaged.
People are looking for personalisation and greater choice to meet their individual needs, especially in the modern-day world we live in. Employees are now expecting more from their employers, particularly when it comes to accessing benefits with a focus on things like corporate social responsibility and diversity and inclusion.
Communicate in the right way to enable a sense of purpose
Employees need to feel they have a purpose, so employee experience is paramount. That means how organisations engage staff and communicate to employees about the moments that matter. Nobody wants to feel like an afterthought, and everyone wants to feel that their contribution to the company has meaning, so the way that messages are delivered to employees are key.
Technology has a great role to play in its ability to reach people through multiple mediums, suited to each person’s circumstance and preference and in being a more effective communication channel for creating and delivering personalised content.
Build a culture that promotes support
For employees to feel supported, employers must build a culture that promotes support. That means considering the four pillars of physical, emotional, financial, and social wellbeing, reflecting on whether the right foundations are in place, establishing how effective that support is and if it’s being communicated to staff properly, so they know where they can access help.
But there are so many other elements that should also be considered to create an ideal employee experience, which means companies need to be looking at their processes for things such as career and growth opportunities, how they inspire a sense of security, belonging and confidence in staff and even extending to how they deal with an employee’s external responsibilities, like their family and caregiving.
WTW’s 2022 Wellbeing Diagnostic Survey showed that there is a disconnect between employer and employee views, as 88% of employers felt that their employees were treated with respect and dignity within the organisation, versus only 68% of employees agreeing with this statement. Plus, only 37% of employees felt that their managers had a sincere interest in their wellbeing, while 84% of senior leadership felt they took a genuine interest in the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Support culture needs to be ingrained from the top down and senior leaders should be a driving force for this behaviour, while regularly monitoring the feelings of their staff, so that employees can feel they are genuinely cared for.
Listen closely to what employees say is important to them
It’s important that employees feel that they are part of the process, particularly when it comes to decisions that affect them. Many of those looking at job opportunities are likely to be suffering from burnout or feel unable to voice their opinions, so creating an environment which staff feel they can contribute to creates a better dialogue.
Employee listening is vital to retaining staff, which means employers need to look at new media to seek employee views. Again, technology is a great enabler of this, through the use of virtual focus groups or surveys to get real life feedback, so that challenges can be understood and addressed.
For example, through surveys, employees are highlighting how important topics such as managing emotional and physical health, improving community and social responsibility and improving diversity and inclusion are to them and that they want employers to deliver solutions for more personal issues like these.
In short, companies are at risk now more than ever of losing talented members of the workforce, which is why it’s not enough just to focus on priority areas like pay or offering good retirement benefits.
Organisations need re-evaluate the broader wants and needs of a workforce, which means delving into some more granular topics, while concurrently thinking about different demographics and employee personas in order to create not only a healthy, but a positive work environment.
Instead of looking at the benefits strategy as a ‘tick-box’ exercise, companies need to listen closely to employees, offer genuine support and build trust through their actions, so employees can feel valued and heard.
In partnership with WTW
WTW is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.
