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We Keep Hearing About the Great Resignation…How Might I KEEP My Best Employees?

Retention, in the era of the Great Resignation, is hard. That’s probably an understatement. Four million people every month for the past six months in a row have quit their jobs, according to Fortune. Employers know they should focus on retaining their workforce, even as they reach out to staffing firms like PrideStaff to find talent in a tight market. How can employers engage their workers and keep them in their seats? We have some tips for how you can retain your best employees even during the Great Resignation.

Employee Retention Tips

A recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) article quoted an executive who defined the Great Resignation in an interesting way. The executive stated, “Talent is not resigning from the workforce itself; people are just reconsidering what’s most important to them when presented with multiple compelling opportunities.”

Think about that for a moment. Workers are leaving your company because they have a more compelling offer elsewhere. The first step toward your efforts to retain your top employees is to figure out what those compelling offers might be.

CNBC suggests that employees are leaving toxic cultures. They called it “10 times more important than pay in predicting turnover.” While creating the cultural changes necessary to retain your workforce in a toxic culture can take time, research suggests that building a better organizational culture can go a long way toward keeping workers on the job.

Another study of 2,000 full- and part-time employed workers forced that unheard feedback is a huge driver of employee turnover. Do you have the kind of organization where managers both listen and act upon the feedback your employees share? According to this study, workers at every organizational level feel like their feedback often is unheard and certainly not acted upon. The survey found 78% of the employees surveyed said they want to participate in feedback sharing mechanisms that their employers put in place. But 50% said there were no feedback mechanisms available.

Inc. says, “The bottom line? Employers aren’t listening, and employees are taking notice. Could the key to slowing the Great Resignation be as simple as employers listening to and acting upon employee feedback?”

Do These Things Rights Now to Retain Your Workers

Of course, employees will leave for more money and better benefits. If you have a small business, you may only be able to combat the competitive money-driven labor market by offering flexible or remote work and an incredible culture that no one wants to leave. SHRM says employers should:

  • Take more time to connect and listen to their employees and take their feedback seriously. Then create a plan to use what you can from that feedback to improve your organization. Note: create this plan with your employees instead of for them to engage your workforce—and keep them around.
  • Teach your managers to reward employees and lead them in a positive professional way. Employees want feedback and they want to feel valued.
  • Offer growth opportunities. Give your workers a clear path to the top and then help them get there.

PrideStaff works with employers to help them grow their businesses with top employees. Call on us to help you navigate the difficult labor market. We can help.

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