Go People-First in Challenging Times

In challenging economic times there are many initiatives organisations can put in place to help their people. But everything must be based on employee need.

As if the general acceptance of remote working hasn’t added enough complexity for people managers, the current economic challenges have piled yet more pressure on HR teams to support and retain their most valuable assets – their people.

Employers are struggling to keep staff retention on an even keel, with HR and hiring managers scrambling for ideas to attract the best talent. Whilst many realise they need to be people-first, it’s hard to know where to start to deliver on workers’ evolving needs.

Based on Progress’ AllSpark employee survey, financial pressures are weighing heavily on employees’ minds due to inflation concerns and higher household costs. Understanding and appreciating workers at this time couldn’t be more critical.

Key considerations for a people-first strategy

It’s clear that workers do not want to go back to the way things were pre-pandemic. Research by Reed investigating what workers really want reveals that, after a salary increase (50%), flexible hours (24%) and more perks and benefits (24%) rank as the factors most likely to make workers stay in their roles.

In order to meet workers’ rising expectations, employers can consider some basic foundations for a people-first strategy to put their workers front and centre of everything they do. These can include flexible working practices, wellbeing and financial support and unusual employee perks:

Establishing flexible working practices

Progress’ “employee-choice” Future of Work policy, gives employees the flexibility to determine how frequently they work in the office, with some limitations. This aims to balance the desires of employees for flexibility and choice with the teams’ needs for in-person collaboration.

As an associated initiative to boost employee productivity, people teams can introduce a Team Enablement portal with practical toolkits and resources to help workers thrive in the evolving workplace and facilitate successful collaboration.

The business’ own employee survey in 2022 revealed that 95% of employees feel supported by this flexible work arrangement

Health and wellbeing support

It’s vital to have an employee wellbeing programme that focuses on the physical, mental, and financial health of all employees.

Organising free employee workshops or webinars for financial planning assistance can offer discussion and support around one of the biggest root causes of stress.

Offering an employee assistance programme, as well as access to webinars and resources around parenting, nutrition, and mental health can help to support those with caring responsibilities.

Tuition reimbursement is also a valuable perk for those with dependents who are upskilling.

Holiday perks

Encouraging workers to make the most of their leave is critical. Offering flexible holiday, subject to manager approval, is a sensible strategy, along with a paid day off to celebrate birthdays. Strongly encouraging employees to rest and recharge by taking their full allocation of time off can help to support their mental health and general wellbeing.

Going further to offer additional leave and time-off benefits, like flexible sick time, parental leave, and paid time for voluntary community initiatives can make an employer especially attractive in these tough economic times.

Sustainability initiatives

Increasingly employees are linking their company’s actions to combat climate change to their job satisfaction; this means it’s important to implement sustainable practices that minimise harm and maximise benefit to the environment.

Making such improvements to office spaces, as Progress has, can include the installation of solar panels, new electric meters, new water meters or switching all light fixtures to LED energy efficient light bulbs.

Financial support

Ensuring workers are valued and appropriately compensated for their work is critical.

Progress’ most recent employee survey revealed that remuneration is weighing heavily on employees’ minds, due largely to pressure from the rises in living costs. As a result, in September 2022 all full and part-time Progress employees, active or on leave, in roles up to and including Senior Manager received a one-off bonus equivalent to 2% of their annual base pay (approximately one week’s salary).

Employee perks

There are many ways to build a tight-knit culture that keeps workers feeling part of something special.

This can include employee events like “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”, wine tastings, a virtual talent show, or trivia contests and fitness challenges that provide fun opportunities for employees to connect.

Smaller team-orientated activities such as paint nights and trivia nights help us stay connected from afar. In 2021, Progress held a ‘thank you’ themed year-long celebration of our 40^th anniversary in business, which included employee giveaways and a free virtual concert.

Being truly people-first will build loyalty

People policies that support workers’ real needs must be driven right from c-suite level to build a culture of support through more open and connected leadership.

This means having a leadership team that communicates transparently with employees, collects feedback and acts on that feedback.

In addition, marketing-influenced initiatives, such as a brand refresh, can empower employees with information and establish a clear identity. This might include launching new corporate values, a revised vision, brand pillars and new branding.

Now more than ever, employers must show workers that they care about them and their ecosystem each step of the way.

A robust people-first strategy, which recognises the challenges facing an organisation’s own employees and builds initiatives in critical areas of flexible working, wellbeing and financial support, social opportunities – and even a financial gesture – is the best approach to build long-term loyalty and trust.