How Modern Businesses Need To Adapt And Think Differently To Retain Workers?

Many businesses, industries and sectors across the world struggle with employee retention, and it has become necessary to re-evaluate the relationship between employers and their staff members to try and reverse the trend. No matter how the broader community views its importance, motivational incentives to work hard and improve are crucial in any position. A direct correlation can be found between employee satisfaction and retention and those effects, which include: 

• Engaging training methods that provide career challenges and aid advancement
• Opportunities to advance
• Competitive wages
• Benefits
• Supportive work environments

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Other factors affecting employee satisfaction and retention

• Company values and ethical practices

As environmental concerns grow more prevalent in the daily lives of so many individuals, all successful, ambitious companies should evaluate their products and services and assess whether their impact on the environment can be lessened or eliminated. Existing and potential workers are not immune to opinions and outside influences, and some will feel pressured to follow their principles if a company is in direct opposition to them and shows no sign of recognizing the issue.

• Insurance policies

As part of the benefits package offered to any employee, insurance policies, particularly health and dental, can foster significant employee loyalty and retention. Travel insurance is also essential if employees are required to travel for their work. Providing travel insurance for employees engaged in non-work activities and trips may even be feasible. It may seem outlandish to suggest that a company offers travel insurance for its employees on their annual holiday, but consider the levels of appreciation and loyalty that can be garnered through considerate touches like that. 

• Courtesy and respect

These elements should be non-negotiable in any modern concern; it is critical to employee retention that individuals feel they are part of a bigger picture and not just pawns to be cast aside by the powers that be when it suits them. It is all too easy to take workers lower down the pecking order for granted, which is always a mistake. Loyalty is fostered through many aspects of working life, none more so than courtesy and respect. This respect applies not just to that exhibited by managers and owners but also to the behavior of colleagues, business partners, and customers.

How appreciated and satisfied many workers feel is contingent on these interactions and attitudes. The days when an underlying culture of bullying was acceptable in any work environment should be consigned to the pages of history. It is in monitoring and assessing these details and others that management can make a tangible difference in the lives of their employees, driving retention rates up and creating a company-wide ethos of ‘We’re all in this together’.

• Work/life balance

With more companies and countries studying the effect of 4-day work weeks and increased remote working periods, it is no longer acceptable to insist that a 5-day, 40-hour working week is the only way a company can survive and thrive. With so much online information showing the success of pilot themes and experiments, it is imperative that modern, forward-thinking companies acknowledge them and take action.

• Working relationships

Although these are difficult to recognize and manage from an outside perspective, some practices and agreements can be implemented to facilitate amicable, mutually beneficial working relationships. Team-building exercises and excursions can be helpful but beware of infringing on people’s free time. Compulsory ‘fun’ activities undertaken at weekends or evenings are apt to create more frustration and division than a sense of cohesion and harmonious working relationships. 

• The effectiveness of inter-company power structures and hierarchies

Nothing frustrates employees on the company ladder’s lower rungs more than feeling that the management strata is counter-productive and represents a series of stumbling blocks rather than aiding the smooth, stress-free performance of their duties. Streamlined, efficient companies do not have superfluous layers of management clouding the waters and making life more difficult than needed. 

The Devil in the details

The battle to win back the hearts and minds of disgruntled employees, or those prone to moving from one job to another, will not live or die on details like this. Still, each incremental display of thoughtful attention to detail can only help stem and even reverse the tide if done through a genuine desire to improve the lives of those involved. Sometimes, the act of listening to grievances and giving individuals time and attention is all that is required to smooth over problems and reach acceptable agreements. Again, the onus lies on the management and owners, as their approval and consideration are sought. When employees feel they face an insurmountable barrier to having their thoughts heard or achieving any positive change, they lose heart and interest in going the extra distance to perform their duties. 

Startling employee-retention statistics

Studies by Apollo Technical show that the following alarming statistics now represent the behavior of employees in many advanced nations:

• Around one-third of new employees quit after six months.
• 94% of surveyed employees stated they would stay longer with companies invested in helping them learn and progress through training programs or mentoring opportunities
• On average, it costs a company 33% of an employee’s yearly salary for them to leave and be replaced.
• The most common reasons employees give for wanting to leave their jobs are that they feel undervalued, their talents are not being used effectively, or they are not being sufficiently challenged at work.
• The process of ‘onboarding’ is crucial to retention rates, with 69% of employees staying a minimum of 3 years at companies where a solid, effective onboarding program is in place. 

These statistics might come as a surprise to many business owners and managers and highlights the importance employees place on aspects of their work satisfaction that may have been overlooked. 

Conclusion

Whether ensuring that a culture of positivity, fairness, and respect pervades the working environment or providing bonus travel insurance, one thing is abundantly clear in many modern industries. The balance of power has shifted somewhat, and those industries that relied on the meek compliance of workers who should be grateful for the work can no longer do so. As employees grow ever more demanding and aware of their rights, any company that fails to acknowledge and address some of the issues mentioned here faces a potentially rocky road ahead.