How Employers Can Navigate The Great Resignation

This is a guest post from CloudAdvisors, Canada’s Employee Benefits Marketplace.

The mechanics of employee retention is simple. People stay when they’re satisfied and leave when they aren’t. In the last two years, lots of employees realized that they are deeply dissatisfied with their jobs. They don’t like the nature of their work, are unsatisfied with the working conditions, or are looking for better compensation than their employers are offering. This has led to unprecedented levels of turnover, which experts have dubbed The Great Resignation.

With the spectre of resignations hanging over businesses, employers must place employee welfare at the center of their decision-making. Supporting, rather than replacing, your employees leads to a healthier and more engaged workplace. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), it costs employers anywhere between six to nine months of an employee’s salary to replace them (including training and recruiting). Not to mention the time it takes for them to get up to speed and start making meaningful contributions to your business. 

Employers can help maintain top talent by incorporating the following tips below. Here are four ways companies can improve their employee retention.

More Flexibility

Working in the office on the typical 9-5 schedule is no longer the norm among office workers. Providing flexibility is the first way to keep your employees satisfied and happy. Research from the WFH research project has shown that employees value flexibility as much as a 10% pay raise. The importance of self-care and family prioritization has grown heavily in importance during the pandemic and is a trend unlikely to change. Allowing your employees to work in ways that complement their lives can help empower them and keep them happy.

Unique Perks

Perks that differ from traditional offerings like gym memberships, free lunches, and in-office fitness opportunities have grown in popularity as differentiation strategies for both recruitment and retention. Employees are increasingly seeking perks that match their lifestyles, with a higher focus on personal health and wellness. Other areas of growing interest for differentiation include mental health apps, online education opportunities, sports equipment for use, paid volunteer days, and more. These are all important in giving employees the support they need to be their best selves at work.  

Healthy Incentives

Providing healthy incentives gives employees something to look forward to and focus on. Valuable incentives don’t have to be money-based, according to this list from Forbes, but can also look like time and scheduled freedom. Providing opportunities for employees to focus on physical and mental health helps them retain focus, positivity, and satisfaction in their role. Employees who are dissatisfied with their life outside of work will be less productive, and less likely to stick around. Employers that reduce stressors outside of work will quickly see the benefits in the office from productivity ROI. 

A People-First Focus

More than ever now marks the time to put your employees first by employing a ‘people-first’ focus in your organization. This includes taking the time to understand your team’s circumstances, working conditions, goals, values, and more. Empathizing with your employees by listening and adapting your workplace culture to better fit the changing needs of your workplace is critical to navigating The Great Resignation. Benefits do little to help recruitment if employees don’t need them, don’t want them, or are unaware they exist. Tailoring your benefits strategy to the needs of your people is a critical step in adopting a people-first focus to ensure your benefit offerings make the biggest impact possible.

Final Thoughts

As The Great Resignation continues to drive turnover, companies must continue to listen to the needs of their employees by creating an environment that uplifts their voices. This is essential in retaining employees and provides a key method for recruitment differentiation within different industries.