The signs are that it’s getting increasingly hard to fill vacancies. The British Chambers of Commerce has revealed UK businesses are dealing with rising staff turnover and are struggling to recruit new employees.
Keeping the talent in your company matters more than ever – so what can you do if people are leaving?
Exit interviews can provide useful insights into the reasons why people aren’t staying. But what if there’s nothing you can specifically pin down? What can you do to improve retention and encourage top talent to stay with you? Just what can you do to engage hearts and minds across your business?
We’d suggest that taking a careful look at your company culture is a great place to start. Whilst it isn’t something you can change at the flick of a switch, you can introduce practices that will start to shape your company into a place where employees want to stay.
Are you saying thank you?
How often do you recognise your employees’ achievements? What are you doing to tell people their work matters and to make sure they have a real sense that their contribution is valued?
Companies that hold on to their people tend to be the ones who make a point of recognising achievements on an ongoing basis, rather than having ‘say thank you’ as an occasional activity waiting to get ticked off a manager’s to-do list! So really think about how you can let your team know that their contribution matters enormously and why.
Do your employees feel safe?
We’re not talking physical security here (although clearly, that’s important too). Have you heard the term psychological safety? It’s basically about providing people with an environment where they can be themselves and speak their mind (politely!) without fear of repercussions or being seen in a negative way. It’s really important for helping employees to innovate, perform better, develop trust and ultimately to want to stick around. If you need a few ideas about how you could improve on it in your own company, this article is a great starting point.
How flexible are you with your employees?
How much flexibility are you offering your people? Obviously, every business has constraints but what can you do within those boundaries? Employees are individuals with lives outside work so coming up with creative ways to help them manage their work/home life balance can make a real difference to how they feel about working for your company. One size doesn’t fit all and offering flexibility over the way people work where possible, helps them manage other aspects of their lives and can be a powerful way to make them want to stay with you.
Can your employees work in a way that’s aligned with their own values?
Companies can be very good at talking about employees aligning with their values but don’t always think about the fact it needs to work the other way round too! It’s simpler than it sounds. One great way can be through engaging with supporting charities for example. Can you give employees paid time off to volunteer for a charity that’s close to their heart or offers tax-efficient ways to make donations through payroll giving perhaps?
If you’d like some specific guidance about improving retention in your workplace, please do get in touch with us.
