The Great Resignation vs the Great Reengagement
Leadership tips to retain your top talent
The workplace as we know it is destined to dramatically transform in the coming years and key to every company’s current and future trajectory is learning how to attract, engage and retain the top-performing talent who, essentially, make it work. It goes without saying that, in today’s economy, a company’s competitive edge lies largely in its ability to find, cultivate and keep its top talent.
Kerry Morris, CEO of leading recruitment agency, The Tower Group, says the key to success in today’s competitive market is putting people front and centre of your business strategy. “This starts with recruiting and continues with identifying top talent that will stay the course and who fit the bill in terms of your company’s culture and values and what your business — and its future — needs,” she explains.
Just last year, 47% of high-performing employees left their companies to join another in what has been dubbed The Great Resignation. Their motivations varied, with some seeking better perks, greater corporate resonance with their values or more flexible, remote working. According to Willis Towers Watson’s 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, 44% of current employees are job seekers and a third of those are actively job hunting.
Apart from the gaping wound felt by losing key talent, there are also substantial, hard costs associated with hiring, training and building effective teams. Employee turnover can cost an average of 33% of the employee’s salary and for companies to break even on the expenses of onboarding a new manager, it takes just six months of the employee staying at the company. That is, if they stay! Since the latest statistics convey that nearly a third of employees leave their new job within the first six months, with almost 70% leaving within three months, it’s becoming clear for most business leaders that retaining talent is far more cost-effective than hiring new people.
Millennials are fast on the verge of becoming 75% of the workforce by 2025, with Gen Z hot on their heels. These are generations who are estimated to have around 12.7 jobs over the course of their working lives, with an average tenure of just under three years with any given employer. It’s no surprise then that the talent gap has been identified as one of the top two critical issues facing global business leaders today.
The Tower Group’s four tips for retaining top talent
Understand what your top performers want
The shifting dynamic of the workforce as well as the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic mean that, increasingly, perks often outweigh pay when it comes to giving employees what they want.
Stay interviews are considered by some as the new exit interview: in-person, regular meetings with long-term, high-performing employees in which you attempt to uncover the parts of their job and your company that keep them coming back every day, so as to realise how to retain them before they even think of leaving. Take what you learn from the two-way conversation and apply it to inform a new, better way to work — for them as well as for new employees joining your teams.
Build the right culture
The hard truth is that employees who are less engaged are also more likely to leave. The best way to engage employees is through building a company culture where people feel seen, heard, valued and empowered.
According to MIT’S Sloan Management Review in 2021, employees would rather be unemployed while they search for a job than stay stuck in a toxic workplace. The aim is therefore to cultivate a hub of safety and curiosity, to keep the flames of inspiration alive.
Invest in growing leaders
Investing in developing your leadership teams is critical to ensure a healthy pipeline of next-gen leaders, across all levels of your business. It’s also a key tactic for retaining talent as it provides a way for employees to grow within a company rather than move elsewhere to fulfil their career goals.
Define the roles that are critical to creating value for your company moving forward, and then assess the skills, attributes, knowledge and experience of existing talent. Run leadership development programmes to develop employees with potential so they can take on senior leadership positions.
Set rewards systems that work
For decades, employee rewards programmes or benefits have featured the usual suspects: medical, dental, childcare, and maybe even a gym contract. But, how relevant are these today? In Hired’s 2019 Global Brand Health Report, Airbnb scored the highest Brand Positivity Index. Some of their employee benefits include: A $2 000 annual travel stipend which, paid out quarterly, allows employees to stay at any Airbnb listing in the world, a generous parental and family leave, ample paid-time-off, as well as incredibly innovative offices. It’s different
for every business, every performing employee, and every business’s budget, but there are small wins that, if managed according to an employees’ emotional needs, can make a great impact.
It’s estimated that 80% of top performing employees want continued perks more than they want a pay raise. These don’t have to be expensive: a free day out-of-office per month, a duvetday every quarter, a team lunch once a month; incentives like a night away for two as an employee target achievement or a spa treatment for a job well done can go a long way. Get creative and be sensitive to this kind of people strategy — your employees will appreciate it.
“Business is about people. Put your people first by understanding their needs, by giving them what they need to thrive, and by creating not only a company and culture that they feel proud, excited and inspired to work for, but also ensure that there’s ample scope for them to grow within the business, too. Seek to create the kind of environment where the business’s potential mirrors their own; where they can see their future in the future of the company; and are engaged and rewarded to build it, effectively and with passion, with you, through real leadership,” says Morris.