Emerging employee retention strategies

Following the COVID-19 lockdowns, employees are wanting flexibility.

I’m seeing younger employees wanting to come to the office two or three days a week, to be social and mix, and I’m seeing parents who realise they can be home and have dinner with their kids every night, choosing that over commuting and getting home late.

It also goes beyond flexibility; it’s about career, development and working with a company that aligns to the individual’s purpose and value. It’s a time of reflection and re-evaluation for many, and companies that put employees first will prevail.

Humans are complex beings with complex needs and putting policies in place with a one size fits all mentality, to control people and make things easier for the ‘management’ is the wrong approach. Using guidelines and principles to empower employees and teams and replace policies that aren’t human centric is the number one thing to do.

You have to be deliberate – culture doesn’t just happen. Central to this has to be feedback, receiving and giving feedback, and creating different ways of doing that respectfully – even through training – from management down, so everyone feels confident and safe to have those conversations.

One of the key reasons why the ‘great regret‘ is occurring is businesses are ‘overpromising and underdelivering’. Tools such as feedback surveys only work if that feedback is being actioned, so employees know their opinions are valued. It’s imperative that leaders feed the results of those surveys back to employees with any associated actions afterwards.

That’s the foundation for a great culture, and your retention strategy follows.

We know that remuneration is a hygiene factor, so it’s important to have a framework in place. Fair market rates and benchmarking are critical. People want to be paid fairly, and if they perceive unfairness, to similar roles either internally or externally, there will be attrition issues.

Our employees tell us that their career development is also critical. I don’t believe it needs to be fancy or expensive like a costly professional development program or covering a postgraduate degree. Mentoring programs have shown time and again to be one of the most effective ways to develop employees for success.

While people will leave for money if there is a better offer out there, if they feel valued, and are getting paid fairly, money isn’t the number one driver for resignations. Alignment in values is part of our individual search for meaning to our work, and it speaks to the culture we all want to be part of – whatever industry we are in.

A common reason people are leaving these days is bad leadership, as it’s where culture, styles and behaviours emanate from. As leadership means different things to different people, it’s important businesses are clear on what that means for their organisation. Principles and competencies can be articulated so expectations and standards are simple and measured. This also offers the opportunity for timely solutions when those standards aren’t being met.

HR professionals have increased responsibility to ensure conversations, feedback, coaching and mentoring is happening from within and for the senior management team, right through to individual employees, so company values and behaviours are upheld. HR and culture are a critical part of the senior management capabilities across the business, to ensure businesses continue to successfully attract and retain great personnel.

Clarity around roles, and equipping individuals with the tools for success is good for the business and allows leaders to empower employees with flexibility and value to live their life and work to the best of their ability; it’s good for everyone.

Shanyn Payne is the chief people officer at Finder