Making Retention Work

Mervyn Dinnen, Industry Analyst, Commentator and Writer discusses how to engage and retain the workforce. 

Employee turnover is on the rise. Whilst many analysts and commentators regarded trends such as ‘Great Resignation’ and ‘Great Reshuffle’ to be reactions to how the Covid-19 had offered employees the potential to find alternative ways of working, research regularly shows that a stubbornly high proportion of workers remain open to exploring different opportunities. After several months of stability in the UK job-to-job resignations data, the latest figures show resignations are increasing again. For all organisations, addressing Employee Retention remains a priority.

US research from 2021 showed the top reasons employees gave for changing jobs as being low pay, lack of opportunities for advancement and feeling disrespected at work. If we are to engage and retain the talent we need then we must understand what they want from work, the opportunities, and the experience. For example, most research I have seen and been involved with has consistently shown that the number one reason why someone will join a business, and stay, is if they believe they have the opportunity to grow, develop and learn new skills. 

In our latest book, Digital Talent, co-author Matt Alder and I explored what our talent looks for, which is vital if we want to attract and retain them. Firstly, they have Intellectual Curiosity. They know their roles – and the skills they will need – are changing and evolving and they want real-time access to the knowledge and learning that will help them develop and meet new business challenges. Hence the need to have growth and development opportunities.

Workers with agency

Secondly, they want agency in how, when and where they work. This isn’t purely a post-Covid development – in 2017 we surveyed 14,000 jobseekers across Europe and found over a quarter saying that opportunities to work from home would make them choose one company over another, whilst for 61% the opportunity to work flexible hours would be most important in choosing their next role. Interest in remote, flexible and hybrid approaches to working is something that has been growing in importance for several years and is now a key consideration.

Thirdly, engagement and opportunity. The best-selling author on relationships Esther Perel addressed a senior HR audience at the Workhuman conference in San Diego earlier this year and told them “We used to leave our jobs because the factory closed. Today, we leave jobs because we aren’t being recognised”. Rather than looking for stability employees now prioritise different things such as how they are treated, the opportunities that may be available, and the connections they build with colleagues and management. We all want to be recognised for who we are and what we can achieve.

If organisations are to embrace a culture of retention, they need to look at the experiences they offer their people and the opportunities they can give them. The starting point is to create a culture of support and enablement. Traditional structures have typically relied on a leadership approach of management and direction, in which they were reviewed (often historically) and had their performance and career growth ‘managed’. Our employees are now more interested in the opportunities created for them, the connections they make, how they are supported in their mental, intellectual, and financial wellbeing, and the access they have to learning and knowledge to enable their progression. 

A large part of this support comes from evolving workplace technology which can give people access to the knowledge they need, as and when necessary, as well as to create a culture of internal mobility, in which employees feel they are able to move within an organisation to improve their knowledge and skills. Within organisations we have seen retention improve through the creation of ‘Career Experience’ managers, who oversee our people right across their journey with the business, helping to improve engagement, wellbeing, and retention.

Management and leadership

The vital role that management and leadership can play is to help create an exceptional employee experience in which people feel supported and able to achieve their best work. This style of compassionate and supportive leadership is often hard to deliver in a results-driven business so senior leadership need to look at how managers are hired, promoted, and rewarded. 

For example, one common mistake leaders can often make is to reward managers for having high performing teams rather than for producing high performing teams. This approach often leads to favouritism and creates a culture in which managers try to hold on to their top performers which can result in them leaving if they feel blocked from other opportunities within the organisation. Instead, managers should be rewarded for producing high performing teams in which individuals feel they have opportunities to progress elsewhere within the organisation.

There are three key actions that leaders can start taking to improve the employee experience with their businesses and help foster a culture of retention:

1. To understand the ‘moments that matter’ to their people, and to try and maximise them. These are often referred to as micro-experiences – the daily interactions our people have with leadership, technology, clients, and each other, some lasting only seconds, but which cumulatively create their perception of happiness, contentment, and engagement with the business. Use every opportunity to create a positive experience. 
2. Personalisation. For our people, work is often more about the experience than the process, and how they can achieve their personal and career goals. Their consumer experiences are hyper targeted, and we need to personalise their employee experiences to help support them in their own growth and development.
3. The Power of Recognition. Whether it’s simply a ‘thank you’ or a ‘you’ve done well’ there is much research to show that cultures of recognition help create the kind of environment that leads to retention. Latest research from Workhuman shows that simple regular recognition can make employees 5 times less likely to leave, and 5 times more likely to see growth opportunities.