The labor market is a strange place these days. Headline-making tech layoffs are rapidly absorbed by still-hot hiring activity elsewhere. There are millions more job openings than there are people looking for work. At the same time, recessionary fears have led some employers to slow or even halt recruitment, or at least attempt to save money on it.
We recently talked about “quiet hiring,” the big 2023 HR buzzword so far. It’s a means of looking inward, to existing employees, for the talent to meet acute needs. It’s a viable, cost-saving strategy for uncertain times, and when quality candidates are also tough to come by. But to “quiet hire,” you must already have engaged employees committed enough to the company to go the extra mile.
Oh, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Even the latest trendy solution is demanding that you solve that age-old problem—retention.
How can you build an organization that identifies, keeps, and engages its best people in any economic climate, including today’s roller-coaster one?
Here are some tips to help.
Have a Retention Strategy
Every organization depends on people, which makes retention a key strategic consideration, one that should align with the company’s mission and vision. Work with senior leadership to design and deploy a retention plan, model employee-centric behaviors from the top, and monitor retention statistics as you do other KPIs. As part of these efforts, you should examine the competitive labor environment as you find ways to keep your best people from looking at greener pastures.
Ask Employees
Although senior leaders need to be engaged on retention, so do employees at all levels. As you devise your retention strategy, start by organizing one-on-one meetings with your people. You should strive to get to know workers individually, when possible, to establish a base of trust. That way, you can honestly probe the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as team members’ needs and struggles. Let their feedback shape your initiatives.
Overhaul Your Hiring and Onboarding Processes
According to an article in Inc. Magazine, as many as half of employees leave within the first year, many of them right after being hired. If your organization is helping to drive these numbers upward, examine how you vet prospects. What’s different about employees who choose to stay? A strong background check solution should absolutely be part of your process. Also look at onboarding. Do you make new hires feel welcome and connected to the culture? Do you empower them to succeed in their roles? You know what they say about a first impression!
Offer Opportunity
More and more, employees are seeking meaning and opportunity on the job as much as they are money. Unfortunately, many employers’ professional development systems are out of date, either out of touch with the skills employees need or stuck in the classroom-learning past. Combining formal courses with on-the-job training, teamwork-based skills sharing, mentorship, stretch assignments, and other growth opportunities is not only more effective, it’s more likely to entice team members to stick around. For employees who are ready, also give them the chance to direct their own professional development, where possible. Experienced team members often have the best idea of what they need and how to fill the gaps!
Be Transparent About Compensation
Yes, a competitive pay and benefits package matters. What also matters is the perception of fairness. In fact, a recent compensation trends report from Payscale found that employees who felt their organizations weren’t transparent about pay were 183% more likely to turn over. So let the cat out of the compensation bag.
Recognize and Reward
Reach beyond the Employee of the Month award and find personal and public ways to express gratitude and appreciation for great work. Then follow up with conversations designed to build on their successes. Quiet hiring anyone?
Develop your Managers
Most employees will perceive the company through their experiences with their direct manager. Don’t just promote excellent employees to management. Make sure your first-tier and middle-level managers have the training and preparation they need to build leadership, interpersonal, and other skills they’ll need in their new role. Treat this as an ongoing challenge, working constantly to upgrade and improve communication, inclusion, transparency, mentoring abilities, and so on among the management ranks.
Create the Right Culture
What does your company stand for? What environment are you creating together? Give employees a sense of ownership over their workplace. Stamp out toxicity wherever you find it. And although retention won’t come from putting a ping-pong table breakroom, have some fun. Whatever it takes make connections and build strong teams where relationships flourish.
Ask Again
If you started this effort by meeting with employees, good for you! Now keep it up. Check back in regularly to find out how they’re doing, which changes are most impactful, and which needs remain unmet. And issue a BOLO (be on the lookout) for burnout. Managers and colleagues should feel comfortable raising concerns when a great employee is showing signs of distress, so that action can be taken before turnover ensues.
Conclusion
There is and never has been an easy answer to retention. Perhaps an unsettled and competitive labor market, however, will compel more organizations to reenergize their efforts to address employee engagement and try new things to stem turnover.
Those that do will position themselves to enjoy the best of the Great Recommitment, and that advantage alone represents significant reward.