In the past 2 years, many business leaders were battling the need to downscale and go lean. Most businesses had to let go of their employees and the employees that remained had to take pay cuts. These moves were all justified because they were ways of mitigating risk and part of the process of being lean as a business. Now that all has been said and done the million-dollar question becomes – How can you retain those employees whom you chose to remain with? Seeing that they survived the chopping board our only assumption is that the employees you currently have are your core and they are talent hence you would not want to lose them.
Well, a good place to start looking is your organisation’s current employee experience rating. If you do not know it that is a red flag. Employee experience is one of the key things that will help you retain talent and it is an important area to work on.
Here are four ways that will help you improve your employee retention strategies:
1. Embrace employees as partners (Vision Alignment)
Research into the future of work and also into the Millennials and Gen Zers who very soon will make up most of the workforce shows us that employees now value being heard and being given enough space to make decisions in their portfolios. Employees no longer want to feel like they work for you but rather work with you. If you are going to improve your employee experience, this is one area that you can work on. The first step in embracing employees as partners is to establish vision alignment, you do this initially at the recruitment stage. Every employee has a vision for their career and your knowledge of these aspirations will help you to establish a link between their personal pursuits regarding career growth and your organizational pursuits as the employer. Additionally, provide opportunities for your people to make decisions to contribute toward where the business should go and what strategy would be ideal. The more you involve people and embrace them as partners, the more they will develop a sense of ownership and are likely to offer more commitment to the organization.
2. Work to improve your organisation’s employee journey
While companies are no stranger to mapping the customer experience (CX), not all are systematically mapping or working to improve the employee experience (EX), despite it having been a top priority in the previous year. When organizations get the employee experience right, they can achieve twice the customer satisfaction, and generate higher profits than those who don’t. Putting yourself in your employees’ shoes at all stages of their life cycle ensures that you provide them with an excellent experience at all touchpoints. Touchpoints include recruitment, onboarding, performance, development and exit stages. Be intentional in creating memorable moments for your employees at each stage of their journey.
3. Cultivate an environment where teams resolve conflicts quickly & complement and not compete with each other
Ever heard the statement people don’t leave organisations but they leave people? Well, it’s actually true, people leave your organisation because of people. This usually happens because people would have created a culture that breeds conflict and competition. Be intentional about cultivating a team culture that avoids conflicts or at least resolves conflicts quickly. You can shape a healthy culture for your team through Values-Based transformation interventions. Cultivating the upholding of values such as Respect, Transparency, Listening, Restraint, Confrontation and Understanding People can go a long way in creating a culture where people can communicate more effectively with each other and work in harmony. When people work on a basis of shared values and shared vision, they tend to collaborate more instead of competing.
4. Value your people
The first step in valuing your people is to know them. Though you may still be having the same employees you had pre-Covid, you need to realize that their personalities, values and preferences could have changed by their experiences in 2020 and 2021. Profile your people so that you know them. Profile them so that you understand the diversities that you have in your team or organization at large. It is also imperative that you know your people based on their capabilities. Bearing in mind your people’s potential, their capabilities and what you expect from them, positions you to add value to them. Know your people, value them and add value to them. When people feel valued the more they want to stay with an organization.
You do not have to put up with resignations from your valuable employees and incur recruitment costs. Instead, review your workplace culture, growth opportunities, and offer your employees a sense of purpose. Take action and give your staff a reason to stay.
Make your organization a great place to work. Our role is to help you build a culture that fosters employee engagement and cultivates a positive employees experience that makes employees ‘want’ to stay. Contact one of our consultants today.
