With the pandemic receding, many professionals are feeling less exposed thanks to the easing of economic headwinds. According to research from Robert Half, around a third of professionals want to pursue a more fulfilling job because of experiences during the pandemic, and as businesses have begun hiring en masse, many are reassessing their current roles and considering their career progression.
As a result, many companies are finding it difficult to retain top talent. If this sounds like your business’s current situation, what steps can you take to improve your employee retention, and reduce hiring costs, brain drain, and business disruption in kind?
Mentorship programmes
In many businesses, it can be difficult for gifted staff to understand and realise the routes to success – the steps they need to take to better themselves and reach senior positions within the company. As a result, many get frustrated and leave.
To stop this from happening, consider running a mentorship programme within your business. These see senior staff matched up with junior team members, with the former providing advice and assistance for the latter. This can involve setting goals, discussing career development, and much more – a deeply valuable relationship for both parties.
Perks, benefits, and salary
When it comes down to it, many staff will leave because they feel they are not receiving adequate recompense for their skills and work. Perks and benefits like free gym memberships, discount schemes, and free food are all good ways to provide this. Even little things, like providing work fleeces to staff required to work outside for long periods of time, will make employees feel more valued, and thus more likely to stay at your company.
The company must be fair when it comes to salary too. If you want the best staff, you must be prepared to pay a similarly competitive price for them.
Flexible and remote working
The pandemic has shown that many businesses can be run effectively without the need for constant face to face contact. Many high-profile companies have announced they will continue flexible working hours and remote working arrangements after the crisis ends, and employees want these benefits – particularly parents and younger generations. If they don’t receive them, it’s likely they will leave the company for a more forward-thinking competitor.
Training and development
While your business has hired staff to ply their skills, employees must be able to develop their abilities and roles. If they are unable to do this, then they may feel their career progression is stalling, and seek out these opportunities elsewhere.
To guard against this, provide employees with a robust and regular programme of training and development sessions, and allow employees to tailor these to their own interests and goals. While this may lead to some staff wishing to start new roles in other areas of the business, this is much less disruptive than if they were to leave entirely.