Since the beginning of 2021, companies in the US, UK, and most western countries have seen unprecedented numbers of staff leave voluntarily. What makes this particularly strange is the economic climate isn’t ideal for someone to find themself out of work.
It’s fair to assume that those leaving full-time employment aren’t concerned about steady financial compensation as much as they are about the work environment. While it’s true that many of these people are likely to be mid-career, they’re not all senior management. They include a much wider range of employees than in the past, not just those who happen to be approaching retirement age.
Companies will likely continue to see this trend for the foreseeable future, if not indefinitely. It’s being driven directly by the widespread adoption of cloud-based collaboration and communication tools, as well as social media; it would be naïve to think that they won’t continue to drive this trend. What we can expect to see is surveys of workforce satisfaction being replaced by surveys referring to more general employee happiness and engagement.
What can employers do to keep good employees?
Assuming we all agree that keeping good employees is desirable, what can employers do to achieve that goal? Click here to learn more about improving the employee experience.
1) Engagement
Many companies do not engage their employees in the strategic planning process of the company. It’s important to find out what the staff thinks, what they’re currently doing, and how they think things should change. For example, if someone wants to use social media internally to better connect with others, you might want to work with them so you’re on the same page about management expectations for behavior on those sites.
2) Motivation
Companies need to find ways to motivate employees. This can be done by creating goals for individuals and teams, setting metrics for internal use, and giving people a reason to get excited about those metrics. It’s hard to predict what will motivate someone, but if you ask the staff, they’ll tell you what works for them.
3) Adaptability
If your company focuses on products or services, the company must have a vision of the future where the primary value propositions are still relevant. If that vision doesn’t exist within your company, find out why from others who may have a different perspective than you do. It’s impossible to predict what your customers may be interested in years down the road, but by engaging with them (even if they’re outside the company), you’ll have a better idea of what you need to do to stay relevant.
4) Inclusion
You can’t just talk about employee happiness and engagement; you have to let staff know that you care about them by showing them. This can be as basic as letting people know how their work is contributing to a greater cause and not just something they are doing for a paycheck. If staff feel like they’re working towards something larger than themselves, such as a greater good, then it gives them a reason to stick around.
When people leave their jobs, it’s because they want a change. It’s rarely because of their performance, and if nothing is done to improve the work environment, then more staff will leave. The sooner employers realize that, the more likely they will find ways to make change stick.
