One of the biggest challenges as an employer is not just finding and hiring good employees, but retaining them.
With the Great Resignation in full swing, “flight risk” employees are more common than ever, especially when perceived better benefits, flexibility, and perks are sung from the rooftops by competing businesses, recruiters and talent hirers.
So, how can you actually tell if one of your employees is planning to leave? Here are five few ways to minimise the risk of them running into the arms of another company.
1. They complain they are always stressed
A top reason many employees choose to leave their jobs – sometimes even without a competitive offer – is because of stress.
According to research by workplace wellbeing platform Groov, 37 per cent of Australian workers contemplate leaving their job every week, most citing stress as one of the core reasons.
If an employee constantly complains about their high stress levels, has had a panic attack in the office or always appears flustered, now is the time to take a step back and re-evaluate what might be causing this.
Reach out to your employee and organise a one-on-one coffee catch-up to get to the root of the problem and workshop ways to fix it. This could include more training or re-delegating tasks on their to-do list.
A recent report by Employment Hero also found that work-related stress mixed with long working hours, often manifests in burnout, fatigue and a lack of work-life balance.
2. They are easily distracted and bored
Do you have an employee who spends more time on social media or talking to their colleagues, rather than getting their work done?
While this might typically spell out a productivity and performance issue, it could also mean that they no longer find enjoyment and excitement in their day-to-day tasks and overall role in the company.
To approach this problem, reflect back to why the employee took the job in the first place and use this to help them spark their passion again. This can be done by challenging them in their role or even offering a new position or added responsibility.
Whatever the reason may be that the employee is bored, it’s always a good idea to have a chat with them and offer support.
3. They are unhappy about their pay
One of the main motivations for workers is their pay.
As much as an employer likes to think an employee comes to work every day because they love the work they do, the fair reality is they wouldn’t want to perform their role if remuneration didn’t match the value their position brings to the company.
If any employee feels like they aren’t fairly compensated, or finds out their coequal has a higher salary than their own, they will likely become disgruntled.
To help avoid this, consider setting clear growth goals for your employees from the get-go. This can include discussing opportunities to grow their salaries during the interview process (ie. a salary review in six months time depending on performance).
By doing so, employees have reassurance and a clear understanding of what they need to achieve in order to reach their financial and career goals.
4. They just changed roles
When an employee changes roles internally within a company, there are a number of factors that will contribute to whether they enjoy it.
This could include anything from receiving adequate training needed to perform the necessary tasks, whether they get enough managerial support and if they receive a fair salary that meets industry standards.
By monitoring the performance of an employee in the months following a promotion, you will be able to assess whether or not they are thriving or struggling and need additional support.
5. They are going through a major life change
From time to time, an employee might face sudden and often uncontrollable personal events and occurrences (like a death in the family or health complications) that may disrupt their work schedule or push them to consider leaving a company.
This is an ideal opportunity to put policies in place that allow employees in these situations to feel more supported such as extended personal leave, flexible working arrangements, or something as simple as sending them flowers or a gift basket to show you genuinely care.
While you can’t expect employees to stay at your company forever, the good news is that there are a number of ways to help them feel supported, recognised and appreciated.
Michael Osmond has been with JobAdder for 2.5 years as the Head of People. Michael is passionate about creating workplace experiences that help people, teams and organisations thrive. He loves working closely with founders and leadership teams to design and execute progressive performance cultures that drive organisational success and an amazing employee experience. Michael has 11 years’ experience in People Tea
ms having spent 6 years in Financial Services and then more recently 3 years with Football Federation Australia – the governing body for Football in Australia.
Michael is a generalist but has a background of big change projects in the organisations he has worked in that align with the overall business strategy. These have been in the areas of people performance, mental health well-being, DE&I, employee engagement, organisational design/change, compensations & benefits and L&D.