The pandemic has changed the way we work and live, but the end is in sight and your people may be thinking about their current roles – and questioning their future.
You will also know how your employees are performing and who is adding real value to your company. You will want them to stay. The loss of a valuable employee not only affects team morale but can have an impact on your bottom line.
To ensure you do not lose your best people, it is essential you understand what the current feeling is in the company – are employees happy or is there a feeling of discontent? Are there challenges with any of the managers? Are there any situations you need to be aware of?
Taking steps to keep staff with you
Stop the feelings of discontent within the company – prevention is better than trying to persuade someone to take back their resignation.
- Encourage a culture of recognition company-wide
Everyone needs to feel valued, at every level in the company. Good work deserves praise, thank them for their efforts, learn what interests them within the role and what their aspirations are. This is not just the manager’s responsibility, encourage this across peer groups and across teams. Recognising the work of employees is important. They want to be seen and acknowledged after more than a year of working at home and/or in challenging circumstances. EY accountancy gave a one-off payout to help staff. While this is an extreme thank you, consider what you can provide.
- Offer new opportunities
Show valuable employees that their work is valued with the company and that there is a plan for them to develop further. This may be a clear career path, a new client or a new project. Provide them with opportunities that align with their interests and aspirations . Thiswill show the employee that you’re ready to invest in them.
- Provide training
This goes hand-in-hand with the above point. Invest in your employees and show them how much you value them by expanding their skillset and building their knowledge. Provide training to help them manage their time and projects if they work from home so they feel more in control.
- Provide support
As well ensuring they have the knowledge to do their job well, provide them with support to ensure their resilience and improve their mental health. Many workers in the UK are happier working from home, but are also feeling the pressure now that they are always accessible to their boss.
- Talk
It’s such a simple thing, but regularly talking to employees on a one to one basis will let you know what is happening with them and their work. It can make them feel heard and connected with the company. Pick this up if an employee is showing the typical signs that they’re ready to quit, disengaged from work, takes calls in private rooms or outside, has more appointments than usual, leaves work at different times or is late starting. There’s a chance they are planning to quit and something is happening in their private life, so tap in and find out what. Maybe you can help, such as providing flexible working during a difficult time for them.
Planning the future for your employees
There are questions around the future of work and these must be taken into consideration. A British Chambers survey of more than 900 UK firms shows that remote working was the most common form of flexible working offered at 66% – however, only 54% of B2C services firms could offer it, against 80% of B2B services firms.
How have you managed employees during the pandemic? Many workers report added pressures and an increase in hours, requested resilience and mental health, was this a similar experience? Identify issues and challenges within your company right now and see how these are affecting employees.
Take stock of what has happened over the last year, find resolutions to issues and plan your next moves carefully. Then communicate these plans to your workers to keep them in the loop about your next steps, both for the business, and the staff. Transparency in operations will go a long way to encourage trust and loyalty.
Partnering with the right recruitment agency can make a big difference to the quality of your hires. Book your strategy call today and find out how to choose the right recruitment agency for you.
Categorised in: News
This post was written by sarahrice