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7 Easy Things Employers Can Do to Improve Staff Retention
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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Last week, Robert Half Canada released new data revealing 42 per cent of workers have already started looking or plan to look for a new job in the first half of 2024, up slightly from 41 per cent in July 2023, but down from 50 per cent in December 2022.
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While the numbers are down from last year, it’s still troubling for many employers to consider that as many as four out of ten workers may be actively looking for another job.
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Gen Z is the most likely demographic to be considering a move with 67% of workers (nearly 7 out of 10) considering a move in the next six months followed by Millennials where 57% are looking for a new job.
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Even more troubling to many employers is that 72% of human resources professionals are thinking about job change, indicating how stressful the revolving door of recruitment really is.
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The major factors that are driving many to consider job change include:
- A higher salary (47%)
- More advancement opportunities (32%)
- Better perks and benefits (31%)
- A job with more flexibility (31%)
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Higher salaries and better perks have always ranked near the top of the list in both what motivates someone to leave their job and as tools for employers to attract new workers. And while we need to acknowledge these are major factors, there are several things employers can do on the ‘accommodation’ front to make the lives of their employees better.
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Retention isn’t a major focus for the career development sector; however it is an area where we can better support those we’ve already placed and where we can build trust with local employers.
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To support employers who are struggling with turnover, while respecting that most employers are incredibly busy, you may want to suggest these seven strategies employers can adopt to easily support their existing staff and avoid the time-consuming process of staff turnover.
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Seven Strategies to Improve Staff Retention
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Flexible Scheduling: If an employer operates a boat, a train, a plane or really anything that needs to start with a bell or a whistle, they may not have a lot of flexibility as to when staff start and finish. Yet, for many jobs, simply giving people the flexibility to start 30 minutes later, stay late or finish early may be a huge incentive for them to stay loyal to their current employer.
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Focus on Tasks not Time: Many employers feel it’s necessary to get every minute out of their employees, requiring them to be at their desks at 9am and not leave a minute before 5pm. And while they may feel they’re getting good value, do they ever question the quality of this time? If employees are left staring at their desk, resenting their employer, it’s just leading to the eventual resignation. Instead, an employer can break down an employee’s job into specific tasks and as long as those tasks are completed successfully, the employee is free go home early. This works for postal carriers and most contract employees and can be just as effective for workers in an office environment.
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Change Up the Work: Staffing a cashier station all day can be exhausting and leave workers feeling like they are nothing more than customer service robot. When people are hired to do a specific task that has a lot of repetition, building in variety can produce a lot of benefits. Cross-train staff in other tasks so you have greater capability and you can evaluate people in different work roles. Lifeguards repeatedly change stations around the swimming facility so they don’t become complacent and potentially overlook a serious situation. Switching-up roles can be just as effective for staff members in a retail, manufacturing or in a hospitality role.
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Frequent Rather than Annual Feedback: Employees often dread the annual performance review and the need to sandwich good feedback, with criticism, followed by encouragement isn’t working any more. Employers find this a time-consuming activity and just don’t get around to it, leaving the employee in limbo. Instead, employers can schedule brief check-ins of five minutes every other week to talk about what is working and updating progress towards new career goals. If 31 per cent of employees are quitting to pursue better career opportunities, employers can make these bi-weekly check-ins an opportunity to talk about the employee’s progress towards future career opportunities with their current employer.
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4-Day Work Week / Hybrid Employment: The pandemic brought ‘flexible employment’ into the forefront and while it doesn’t work for some jobs and some employees, often employers are against it out of a personal dislike of hybrid employment and not because it wouldn’t improve their organization. If hybrid employment or a 4-day work week are options, employers may really benefit from them. About one in five employees works some sort of hybrid schedule, four years after the pandemic. Employers who provide this option may enjoy greater retainment simply because it will be harder for the employee to find this particular accommodation with another employer.
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Salary and Benefits: As we noted earlier, salary and benefits are going to be a factor for many employees. For this reason, we recommend organizations not raise their salaries to the highest in the sector, but instead ensure they have a strong package that is reflective of the sector and then try to win over employees in other areas such as workplace accommodations, respect for staff and building a sense of community and trust among their team.
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The Unexpected Perk: If we’ve received a gift card at Christmas for the last six years, it’s unlikely we will be surprised much less motivated to work harder if we receive one again this year. In fact, if we don’t get one, we’ll likely be irritated and start looking at jobs on Indeed. This is not to say that employees shouldn’t be rewarded. Employers will get more success out of something that is unexpected. This might include a coffee or box of chocolates left at someone’s work-station, a small gift card or suggesting someone leave 20 minutes early because work isn’t busy. These perks aren’t particularly expensive but are small ways to demonstrate to employees that they are valued and special as individuals.
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In reviewing the latest human resources literature, we see that while employees may say they most value salary and benefits, data and trends suggests they will stay loyal to an employer who is ‘trying’ to support them, respecting them as individuals, encouraging them in their career advancement and who is consistent in their support.
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Employers are extremely busy these days and often don’t believe they have the time to do these things. According to Express Employment Professionals, it typically takes 30 to 100 hours to place just one employee. Providing this level of support will go far to not only create a better organization but save the enormous amount of time it takes to onboard new employees.
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We’ll be discussing better employee retention at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday February 12th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland. Visit: www.MotivatingMondays.ca to join the session LIVE.
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