An uncommon (although not unprecedented) trend is happening now and if you’re an employer, you’ve certainly heard of it. It’s been dubbed The Great Resignation and it’s the dramatic increase of workers quitting their jobs.

There’s a few factors behind this phenomena but most notable of them is the dissatisfaction employees are feeling with their workplace. Put simply, companies are failing to provide satisfactory benefits and a healthy company culture and employees are not having it anymore. The pandemic has demonstrated just how creative we can get with our schedules and our budgets, and workers are flexing these new skills in hopes for better work/life balance.

So now it’s up to employers to respond in order to retain great talent. This week we’ll cover just a few of the offerings that should be on the table, for both new and current employees.

No-brainer strategies for boosting retention

1. Pay equity. If your pay scales do not insure that employees are paid fairly, your company is not providing the very basic of employee rights, not to mention leaving itself open to legal problems. Not sure what pay equity is exactly? We have a blog on it!
2. Offering career-building opportunities. We humans do not like to stay still, and that includes our careers. If an employee’s skills are stagnant, they’re not going to be happy. Offer training throughout the year (be consistent!) and opportunities for trying new projects and employees will feel like they’re building something worthwhile.
3. Does your company serve its’ community? Beyond a once-early donation or drive, how does your company really interact and serve the community it’s in without expecting business in return? It’s increasingly important to employees that the companies they work for are reliably and genuinely benevolent. Volunteering also happens to be a great team-building experience.
4. Speaking of team-building, how’s your company culture? Do you have a Diversity and Inclusion program? Can you say with confidence that company policies serve to improve staff work-life balance? Tips for improving company culture are abundant and they can take some time and effort to implement and maintain BUT doing so probably the single-most important tactic an employer can take to retain talent.
5. Listen to your employees. Our list ends with what we think is the simplest yet more overlooked strategy: requesting feedback from employees (and following-through with addressing concerns)! We’ve noticed that often employers don’t really know what their employees are experiencing and that’s like driving in the dark without the headlights on. Not a smart move. Check in, and do it often.

Employers can take effective action in avoiding the loss of great employees but as these steps indicate, they need to take a close look at how their policies are affecting the company culture as a whole. If you needs help implementing any of these strategies, Eos HR is available! We offer small businesses an experienced HR department that know how to support their teams. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more.