An ever-tightening labour market is a big issue in many locations across the globe. In June, the Washington Post reported (paywall) that in the United States employers added 428,000 jobs in April 2022—the 12th consecutive month of at least 400,000 new jobs—and the unemployment rate is now at a pandemic low of 3.6%. In March 2022, a Gartner, Inc. survey (paywall) found that executive leaders reported an average turnover rate over the past six months of 20% for frontline workers and 17% for knowledge workers. That is close to double what would normally be considered a good turnover rate.
While this tightening job market has plenty of implications for businesses of all sizes, it’s particularly stressful for managers who are feeling the strain of constant demands while battling with the loss of top talent. Devising employee retention strategies is therefore critical in this market.
Here are five strategies for retaining top talent:
1. Nail your employee value proposition
To retain employees in such a competitive environment, organisations must treat employees as their number one priority. When organisations shift to a customer-centric approach, they place the customer at the centre of every business decision – likewise, when it comes to your employees, they need to be at the heart and centre of every business decision.
Organisations should consider where they can add a level of personalisation to the employee value proposition and how they can further orient their engagement strategies to ensure the employee experience is at the heart of every process. This should start with the recruitment process and onboarding and the ongoing lifecycle of employee experiences. Leaders should highlight the uniqueness of their organisation and what it stands for. A great leader will embed well-being in every aspect of the employee life cycle, clarify roles and expectations, and recognise and reward employee successes.
2. Find ways to strengthen your bonds with current employees, especially in a hybrid environment
Leaders need to find innovative ways to strengthen their bonds with their teams. Employees who are content and productive aren’t just motivated by money. There is a strong correlation between an employee’s personal sense of purpose and organisational purpose.
To create this alignment, first ensure your company culture and leadership behaviours inspire your employees and provide contentment.
Second, leaders should regularly track employee experiences across different teams and initiatives. Understanding what employees enjoy in their roles, what they find challenging and what they dislike is critical. Look for patterns and uncover insights from exit interviews.
Third, leaders should listen. Listening and addressing issues raised, including around benefits, flexibility and any incidents of friction between people, processes and/or technology can help ensure employees feel engaged and appreciated.
3. Invest in mentorship and development
Encouraging mentorship and coaching of employees, both new and longstanding, is key. Pairing employees with a mentor can help unlock barriers to growth, especially for new employees in a hybrid environment where guidance in the onboarding stage is paramount. Coaching is also an added benefit to those looking to grow and develop new skills, especially for those moving into leadership roles to ensure high-performing teams. The outcome of these investments can lead to a more motivated and engaged workforce that is agile, adaptable and better prepared to excel at meeting organisational objectives.
4. Create a positive work environment
Ensure your team feels connected by strengthening culture and trust. Build a positive environment that employees want to be a part of. When employees feel engaged, appreciated and challenged in their workplace, they are more likely to stick around and perform to their best abilities. Additionally, keep your culture in check not only when it comes to company social events or working remotely but also in the running of day-to-day operations and new initiatives. Ensure that cultural values are not being eroded and teams are embedding those values in their behaviours. Employees want to perform work they care about and make a difference in an environment that emphasises collaboration, unity, innovation, quality and well-being.
5. Continue and enhance flexible work options
The future requires constant innovation and while there is a strong case for face-to-face interactions, employees also want to be able to choose when they work on certain tasks that traditionally had to be conducted between the hours of 9 and 5. Flexibility is not just about remote working, but actively listening to your staff to ensure your policies are creative and allow for agile work outputs. Attracting new talent requires offering flexible work options that make it easier for your current employees to refer potential hires as well as attract new applicants who may not otherwise be interested in your company if the benefits aren’t offered.
The key to employee retention is simple: If your employees are aligned with the organisational sense of purpose in a positive and uplifting environment that is complemented with attractive benefits and a real focus on well-being, then they will stay. From designing new ways of working to organisational agility, employee experiences need to be at the heart of everything you do. An innovative mindset can reduce the high turnover risk, improve organisational resilience and ensure continuity of operations. In the age of constant disruption, organisations must deal with unidentified retention risks and adapt and transform to a new competitive advantage operation. Those that have the highest chance of success will have invested heavily in a holistic approach to retaining talent.
This article was originally published on Forbes and was republished here with permission. You can find the original article here.
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Stuart Andrews is a trusted advisor to management teams and executive boards with over 20 years of experience leading large-scale transformations and serves as an executive coach. He understands the skill set required for leaders of today to navigate under-resourcing, unrealistic timelines, and the constant battle to get things done.