We had previously heard of the Great Resignation, and now we have heard of the Great Regret. In both instances, employees felt underappreciated or lacked a sense of belonging, and firms struggled to keep them. Healthcare, hotel, and retail companies, as well as those on the receiving end of a merger or acquisition, have a more difficult time retaining employees. Although the grass may not be greener on the other side, it is greener where you water it. Organisations must be resourceful when it comes to retaining their teams. Here are six unique employee retention techniques for 2022.
Innovative Strategies for Employee Retention for Your Workforce
Encourage Work-Life Integration
Employees and job seekers are rethinking the integration, not the balance, between work and life. They do not wish to choose between being successful at work and at home, but rather at both. During the pandemic, employees who worked from home were able to make routine appointments during the day, conduct errands, and watch their favourite show during lunch.
Currently, a large number of individuals feel they must maintain productivity at work and at home. This is only possible if leadership has the confidence that employees will not be micromanaged and provides flexible paid time off. Treat employees as grownups and let their work speak for itself, so long as they stick to company standards and procedures.
Ensure Belonging
Numerous organisations have included Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into their strategies. Belonging goes beyond DEI by ensuring that an individual feels welcomed, included, and can identify as a member of a certain community. Among the means of doing so are:
• Ensure uniformity in the employee onboarding and recognition processes.
• Be considerate and respectful of how employees work, communicate, and cooperate differently
• Organise optional in-person gatherings for staff to get acquainted.
• Determine ways to meet electronically via online game rooms, happy hours, or events
• Establish Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for like-minded employees and allies to share information.
Prioritise Employee Health and Safety
The concept is straightforward: if employees are healthy, productive, and content, the workplace will be kind and empathic. According to Harvard Business Review, there is a heightened awareness that workplace variables contribute to mental illness. Here are some approaches to improve wellness at work:
• Provide routinely scheduled mental health
• Examine benefits packages for mental health coverage and routinely disseminate the corresponding resources
• Designate days without meetings so that everyone can catch up on their work.
• Remind employees to spend their accrued vacation time
• Promote wellness at each and every staff meeting
• Inspire managers to develop genuine relationships with their staff.
• Set the standard – CEOs who never take vacation send the wrong message. Everyone deserves vacation time!
Offer Career Advancement Possibilities
Maintain staff engagement and learning by holding development meetings with predicted outcomes. Ensure your management team has a thorough understanding of employee career aspirations. Do not wait for employees to convey their interest in growth to the organisation; instead, integrate development into employee and manager dialogues and, if applicable, communicate the leadership’s confidence in the individual’s future. The majority of these tactics are quite inexpensive for the firm and can help retain and engage employees while creating a strong and welcoming atmosphere in which employees can flourish.
