Retention of Staff in Challenging Times

Background

• US Dept. of Labor (2021) found that more people are leaving their jobs in 2021 than in the last 20 years. Profile is 30 to 45 years of age so highest among Mid-Career Employees.
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics 47.4 Million Americans quit their jobs in 2021.
• Microsoft Survey (2021) among 31,092 workers found that 41% of employees were considering leaving their jobs and 46 % were likely to move and keep working remotely.
• Quantrics (2021) Report (World’s No 1 Experience management provider) found 53% of managers/directors and 51% of executives plan to look for another job in the next year. Also found nearly 50% of US workforce were planning to do the same.

Macro-Organizational View: Predictors/Reasons for the Great Resignation

Burn out and Stress

(US survey ,Monster, (2021) US Challenger, Grey & Christmas (2021) Thriver Survey,(2021).

Growth was the main predictor for new career opportunities. (Quantrics report, 2021).

Employees wanted new job and training opportunities, new skills development.(ACCA report, 2021).

Reason #3

Reason #2

Reason #1

Macro-Organizational View: Predictors/Reasons for the Great Resignation

Failure to recognize performance.

Employees leave when they don’t feel seen and valued and their work is not rewarded.

(Professor D. Sull research, 2021)

High-performing employees are the most likely to resent a lack of recognition for their results so companies could lose some of their most productive workers.

(Anca Dunaverte Article,2021)

Reason #4

Macro-Organizational View: Predictors/Reasons for the Great Resignation

Flexibility on working arrangements/Remote working preference.

(EY survey,2021, Canadian PWC report, 2021).

High levels of Innovation.

Innovation can put more stress on workers, working longer hours at a faster pace.(Professor D. Sull, article, 2021.)

Toxic Culture.

A toxic corporate culture is the strongest predictor of turnover, disrespect, unethical behavior, failure to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

(Professor D.Sull Sloan, article,2021)

Reason #5

Reason #6

Reason #7

Micro-Organizational View: Employees:Points for Consideration

1. Work-Life Balance

Hi BiBob survey (2021) 1000 US employers aged 25 who worked remotely during the Pandemic, 62 % were keen to quit their job, 47 % were likely to quit in the next year.

Reasons: Desire for a better Work-life balance.

Found: Main cause of people leaving is lack of flexibility about where employees work.

Thriver (Workplace Culture platform) surveyed 179 company leaders representing HR and people operations professionals.(2021).

Found: Work-Life balance came third in the survey (44%) which was identified as being more difficult with so many working from home. Recommended helping employees to define the work-life balance

Micro-Organizational View: Employees:Points for Consideration

2. Stress and Burnout

US survey ( Monster, recruitment site, 2021)

Found: 95 % of employees are considering quitting their job.

Main cause-of employees leaving is burnout (33%) as well as lack of career prospects

US placement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas (2021) surveyed 172 business leaders across the US.

Found:,59% cited the reason was to do with burnout.75% of companies reported employees wanted more flexibility at work in terms of where /when they work.

Thriver (2021) survey as seen on previous slide.

Found:Burnout, stress and anxiety have made daily life more difficult both inside and outside of the workplace.

Micro-Organizational View: Employees:Points for Consideration

3. Working from Home/Hybrid Options/Productivity

Thriver (Workplace Culture platform, 2021).

Found:Productivity had increased over the last two years, with 63% either agreeing/ strongly agreeing .

Randstad ‘ Next Normal’ study surveyed 1213 workers +1500 of its employer customers.

Found: Employees wanted the future of work to be flexible and hybrid/blended.

Randstad recommends remote working (2021).

BBC (YouGov poll,) surveyed 1684 adults and 530 senior leaders about home working .

Found: Workers would prefer to work from home full-time or at least for some of the time.

Micro-Organizational View: Employees:Points for Consideration

Ernst & Young (EY) first Future Workplace Index survey (2021) surveyed 500 US business leaders about workplace.

Found: 87% of office-based companies use hybrid environments. 57% of leaders reported workers were more productive now than pre- pandemic.

EY (2021) Work Reimagined Employee survey.Found:More than half (54%) of employees surveyed worldwide would quit their job if they weren’t offered enough future flexibility on working environments. Similarly,Reed UK survey 2021 reported more than half of UK workers (all sectors) were considering leaving for Hybrid Options.

PWC report on the Canadian workforce (2021).

Found: Financial services employees (58%) have a higher preference for remote working than any other industry measured as compared to employees surveyed across all industries (34%).

Micro-Organizational View: Employees:Points for Consideration

4. Mental Health Approach-Staff Resilience and Well Being

Thriver (Workplace Culture platform) surveyed 179 leaders (20 -40 age) HR and people operations professionals in the Financial services/Technology sectors.(2021), (60% American, 40% Canadian).Participants were asked to reflect on the Pandemic, 2020-2021.

Found:They reported the number one strain impacting on their employees were mental health struggles/personal challenges .

Recommended increasing personal and professional support from management and increasing mental health support.

PWC (2021) did research on employees from 30 to 45 years.

Found: Training helps to retain highly skilled staff, found that management of the firm is critical to them also. Ongoing training is vital to ensue that the appropriate managers are in place to play a key role in staff resilience and Well Being.

Micro-Organizational View: Employers:Points for Consideration

1. Rewarding Loyalty

Bonus Structure: consider a package of graduated incentive for employees. One –time financial assistance , e.g. student loan, financial housing support which is often a major stressor for employees. Reaching out to former workers who have left with a graduated/long-term bonus structure.

“How to retain employees during the great Resignation” Gerard Leonard in Unleash, Dec.(2021)

Morgan Stanley survey (2021)

Found: that 75% of employees believe that equity compensation is the best and most effective way to motivate staff.

Micro-Organizational View: Employers:Points for Consideration

2. Listening to your workers Well Being/Cultural concerns

Option: Develop an employee Well Being structure.

Do an employee needs analysis to determine support they may require for Well Being. Having in-house/offsite professional support would be integral in allowing employees to express difficulties confidentially. The information gathered could support employees in how they are doing in their different Departments/working conditions.

Option :Managers /HR could consider Survey Engagement Tools

Examples like Culture Amp-uses culture as a tool to understand engagement of employees to retain top talent and to foster development through measurements, development and coaching resources. People Insight-an employee engagement survey programme designed by psychologists and tailored to your organization. Others include Benefex and Perkbox (non financial perks).

Micro-Organizational View: Employers:Points for Consideration

3. Providing opportunities for growth.

When an employees gives notice to quit, offer retention interviews in the last few weeks to clearly identify what they would need to stay. A main reason why people leave is because they don’t feel that they are using their skills. In the retention interview, give them new ways to advance and us their skill set while offering the chance to learn new skills.

ACCA survey, (2021) reported that 49% of respondents ranked ‘opportunities to continually acquire new capabilities /learning’ as one of the top attractions for employment .Younger employees may be more willing to upskill, companies need to capitalize on this.

Offer lateral job moves.

4. Offer remote/blended work options-as shown in the research.

Company Organizational Approach :Next Steps.

Employers could consider a Data Driven approach* to improving retention.

Step 1 Quantify the Problem-numbers of separations per year divided by average total number of employees gives the turnover rate.

Step 2 Identify the Root Causes-explore metrics such as compensation, time between promotions, size of pay increases, tenure, performance and training opportunities to identify trends and blind spots.

Step 3 Develop Tailored Retention Programs-in tandem with Well Being/Mental Health structures.

Step 4 Remote Jobs will become more competitive-opening up to international candidates.

Step 5 Flexible Work Arrangements will be the norm not the exception in the future.

*Data gathered from Multiple sources including Well Being Structure/surveys, Annual Performance Reviews, Retention Interviews before leaving, Mentoring programs, Managers survey engagement tools such as Culture Amp, People Insight, Benefex and Perkbox.