Bolster Employee Retention in 2024
A state of employee engagement report found that employee retention is the top priority for HR leaders in 2024, with employee well being and recruitment ranking second and third. Furthermore 89% of HR professionals say retention is getting more difficult or hasn’t changed, compared to just 11% who feel it’s getting easier. Inflationary pressures and the cost of living crisis, dominant themes in 2023 may have contributed to retention concerns. Specifically, employees may have left their jobs in search of higher paying opportunities to help alleviate financial pressures at home and this tendency could continue into 2024. Unfortunately, poor staff retention has several negative consequences including increased recruitment costs, reduced workforce productivity and low team morale. As such implementing robust measures to bolster retention is critical for organisations of all types and sizes. Consider the following strategies to bolster retention in 2024:
• Develop understanding. Organisations must first understand why employees leave to inform employee engagement plans and policies. Employers could leverage exit interviews for this purpose. If possible, interviews should be anonymous and conducted by external providers to obtain honest and accurate feedback.
• Facilitate a healthy work life balance. Juggling home and work duties can place undue stress on employees and overworked employees may be more likely to seek alternative employment. Employers should facilitate flexible working patterns where possible to allow staff to attend to personal obligations.
• Train managers. According to a survey by an analytics company, 2 out of 5 employees have left their jobs because of a bad manager. Employers must train managers to be supportive and compassionate. Additionally introducing mentoring schemes could offer employees an alternative source of support and guidance.
• Offer perks. Alongside salary raises, there are many other creative ways to reward staff. Organisations could review their benefits offerings and consider giving staff extra holiday days or time off to focus on their well being.
• Recognise hard work. Employee engagement is critical for staff retention. As such organisations must consider ways to celebrate employee achievements and create a culture where workers feel valued for a job well done.
Contact us today for additional attraction and retention guidance.
Creating a Healthy Workplace.
Work environments have a significant impact on employees well being. Unhealthy workplaces can increase employee stress and worsen mental health. They can also damage workplace communication, productivity, performance and morale. Unfortunately the prevalence or workplace ill health is striking. According to the health and safety executive, 1.8 million workers are currently suffering from work related ill health and of these almost half suffer from stress, depression and anxiety. When left unaddressed poor mental well being may hinder organisational profitability and hamper attraction and retention endeavours. In fact 86% of employees would be more likely to leave their jobs if the organisation didn’t support their well being. Numerous workplace factors may impact employee mental health such as the following:
• Understaffing
• Inadequate support
• Long hours
• Lock of work/life boundaries
• Harassment, bullying or abuse
As such employers must tackle these concerns to bolster workplace health or risk an unengaged workforce or high turnover. Additionally employers can positively impact employees mental health by leveraging the following practices:
• Create psychologically safe workspaces. Employees are psychologically safe when they can voice opinions without fear of negative consequences, such as humiliation or rejection. Psychologically safe work environments promote creativity innovation and motivation.
• Encourage work life balance. Workers are more likely to be happy and productive when they can separate work and personal time. Employers can offer job flexibility, encourage workers to unplug outside of working hours and require workers to take their allotted time on holiday.
• Provide health support. Employers can positively contribute to employees mental health by openly discussing mental health resources in the workplace, providing flexible scheduling for workers to seek treatment and offering relevant in office training (eg stress reduction and time management)
• Foster employee wellness. Healthy eating, good sleep habits and exercise contribute to employers health. Employers can encourage healthy behaviours by offering wellness programmes and employee assistance benefits (eg free counselling and therapy)
Overall creating a healthy workplace can help keep staff motivated and engaged, helping organisations improve profitability and bolster retention.
Contact us today for further workplace well being resources.