Improving Employee Retention Strategies In 2021 And Beyond

Employee retention and understanding people operations (What is people operations?) has never been more critical. Worker shortages have been felt across the UK, and almost every industry is desperate to retain staff.

In normal times, roughly 1 in 10 workers would be expected to change job per year, but the rates are building. Younger talent may also leave businesses in more significant numbers, seeking out fresh opportunities to keep their lives fresh, engaging, and exciting. 

Business operations have been stopping and starting for a year and a half now due to pandemic restrictions. Many businesses cannot afford to experience further setbacks and delays. Any failures here could be immensely troubling. 

If you’re facing similar concerns in your firm, know that you can take measures to reduce staff turnover. We’ve outlined what some of them are for you down below.

Revisit the Hiring Process

Many hiring managers will recruit an employee based on factors such as gut instincts or likeability. However, there must always be more to the process than this, such as talent assessments and comprehensive tests

If you hire the right people early, they will not fleetingly abandon your business in mere months.  Instead, they will stick around for the long haul and fully dedicate themselves to your firm. Improve your management of the hiring process by:

  • Looking at their work history – How long did the candidate work in prior roles? Do they tend to move from one job to the next on a whim? Ask them about their reasons for departing other positions if so, and decide whether their reasoning is justified. 
  • Contacting references –  What do past workers and colleagues have to say about the candidate? Are the references the candidate provided legitimate, or have they made up their contacts while hoping you would not try to make contact?
  • Qualification, Health, and Criminal Record Checks – Some workers may embellish or exclude essential qualifications from their resumes. It may also help to review health and criminal record status laws where applicable.

Alternatively, you can work with a Hereford recruitment agency that will net you the best talent available. They may resume many of the evidence-based checks on your behalf. The best of their kind may also offer 12-month guarantees should their candidate abandon their post, so it’s a great way to bring new workers into the fold with additional assurances in tow. 

Provide Effective Business Coaching

Of course, it’s not all just about the candidate. Once they have satisfied your requirements in the hiring process, you must fulfil theirs in the time afterwards. 

Providing business coaching opportunities may help workers to feel invested in. After all, they may have felt some degree of career stagnation in recent times, so giving them a sense of forward momentum could be invaluable, and they can then further help your company with Best practice sharing. Whether workers are providing the coaching or receiving it, everybody wins here. 

Fortunately, these business coaching services from the BCF Group can support managers in effectively coaching their team members. They have an array of accredited courses to upskill yourself and your staff, so consult them directly for more information about scheduling the training. They can provide further booking information too and answer any questions you have. 

Keep Closer Tabs on Behaviour

While employers are the reason for staff departures, in-fighting can also cause high turnover rates. Therefore, you should pay extra attention to how staff interact with each other. 

As the times move forward, businesses are coming under scrutiny for tolerating bullying and harassment. While keeping these workers onboard may reduce turnover among those transgressing, good, decent, and honest employees who will depart your firm in high numbers if others are giving them a hard time. 

Try to build a safer work environment for all. Encourage workers to report any bullying incidents to you or a superior directly, and stamp out these issues as soon as they occur. Don’t hesitate to implement disciplinary procedures where necessary or to fire those who are repeatedly enforcing misery on others.  

You should also encourage your HR department to be more proactive in the handling of these cases. Invest in them properly and ensure they have the resources they need to answer incidents of bad behaviour. 

Create a More Relaxed Atmosphere

Once bullying and harassment are eliminated from your firm, a more relaxed and comfortable work culture should be established. You should lean into this atmosphere as much as you can. 

Remember that many people have undergone much stress in recent times. Because of this, some of your workers may only be a few bad days away from feeling overwhelmed once more. 2021 has been a turbulent year, and the feelings of unease and uncertainty could well continue into 2022. 

Feelings of job security have also suffered in recent times. Therefore, you should do everything in your power to make your workers feel protected and valued. Work from home schemes, flexible hours, and relaxed dress codes are just some of the gestures that can go a long way here. 

Run a Survey 

Not every employee will feel comfortable providing feedback to their superiors. Still, there is a way to make things work here. 

For instance, you could run an internal employee survey that welcomes opinions about the firm’s running. If you’re worried about a low response rate, you could encourage workers to participate anonymously. That way, they can let their unfiltered thoughts run wild. 

Questions to ask here could include: 

  • Do you feel challenged and stimulated in your role? 
  • What currently motivates/would motivate you to work beyond the requirements of your role?
  • Are you receiving ample support for your role?
  • Have you considered leaving the company before? If so, why?
  • How would you improve the company?

Keep your questions brief so that the survey isn’t an inconvenience in worker’s schedules. Avoid trick questions so that you don’t deceive workers or make the process more convoluted than it needs to be. Moreover, you could provide multiple-choice questions to save time. 

Conclusion

Staff well-being must come first in all things. Once employees recognise your efforts, they may be more inclined to be loyal and productive in their roles. Recognise that much of your workforce will not have the capacity to endure a gruelling or unrewarding work culture for much longer. In many cases, they will look for other employment opportunities if your attitudes don’t align. 

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