As we have entered 2024, the golden era of the job market is slowly coming to a halt , we are witnessing a major slump in the opportunities available to prospective job seekers over the past 2 years. Trends such as “the great resignation” & “quiet quitting” have seen a major decline.
Compromising on the company culture, adjusting on the compensation part may seem like a hard pill to swallow, but this is what numerous folks in the tech industry have been resorting to these days.
With the volatile market that is existing now, focussing on keeping the employees happy is a whole different ball game. By practicing excellent staff retention, people tend to stay longer at their jobs. The hiring managers can focus more on company’s growth, rather than with the incessant hiring arising from heavy attrition rates. In such cases, it becomes difficult to sustain a business successfully.
As a recruiter, I believe that retention starts at the very beginning of the recruitment process. When a candidate goes through the recruitment life cycle, they are being exposed to the different stages of the process that pretty much highlights a lot about the company, which at the same time can act as a influencing factor in attracting the best talent.
We can find tons of ideas behind how a secure and stable organization can include out of the box measures to retain its employees, however what happens when the tables turn and it becomes difficult to survive in the market?
Let us get into what are the things that can be explored
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Invest in Employees’ Professional Development
Establishing a good L&D program can work wonders for a company’s culture and employees. With a freeze in hiring, companies can focus on upskilling and cross-training their employees to expand their skills by helping them with relevant educational resources. Access to free new-age tech courses that help them be better at their jobs. Organizing boot camps & workshops are the latest trends that are actively practiced by well known tech companies and even startups.
Extending/ Introducing Remote Work
Extending or Introducing the benefit of optional remote work can work massively in favor of the company especially in the case of working mothers and caregivers.
This results in happier, productive and motivated employees, resulting in them to appreciate the company in their final days with them or even aspire to be rehired once everything turns out well.
Providing a Mentor
Offer mentorship programs to young employees, at the same time pairing senior and experienced employees who face the risk of getting laid off with younger tech savvy folks. This will not only help the senior staff in upskilling but also establish a sense of intergenerational collaboration.
Introducing Employee Assistance Programs
Offering such plans that provide support to employees’ in terms of physical, mental, and financial well-being. Giving access to counseling services, financial planning resources, and health and wellness programs to help employees navigate through such challenging times.
Motivation and Appreciation
Peer recognition and appreciation from managers and leaders help you make your employees feel valued during their tenure with the company.
Practice Transparent Communication
Encourage open and transparent communication. Regularly updating employees on the company’s plans, challenges, and future outlook to build trust and reduce uncertainty. Clearly articulating your company’s values on what it stands for has become absolutely necessary in this age. Rumors usually arise in such situations that prove to be problematic for a companies’ branding. Drafting a well documented communication plan helps towards building a positive brand image.
Revamping your Onboarding Process
Even as many companies are yet to pick up pace with their hirings, the onboarding process still acts as a key decision-maker in creating a first impression of your company. A lot of conversations that happen during these times can influence in establishing a sense of connection to what the candidates look for. Hence, having a smooth onboarding process while being upfront and honest about everything says a lot about your company.
Regular Check-In among Existing Employees
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Conducting open minded conversations between manager and employee. Avoiding formal meetings for a while and giving importance to candid one on one’s such as coaching, mentoring, or even venting can be really effective. It is essential to respect the employees as a peer and not just a performer of tasks. Meanwhile, conducting employee wellbeing surveys can give a quick insight to these problems. By analyzing the data from such tasks, it can provide enough insights to organizations that can identify engagement and take proactive measures to enhance the employee experience and reduce turnover.
Pitfalls of Exhaustion
In such situations, businesses try to manage fewer people with limited resources leading to burnout and exhaustion. Encouraging collaboration and volunteering among teams, reducing unnecessary meetings among team members can help employees from feeling overwhelmed during such times.
Sharing References Post Exit
Sharing and recommending references of affected employees to other companies that are hiring can prove to be massively helpful for many.
Establish a Consistent Feedback System
Having a prompt feedback system in place is essential for maintaining a competitive edge in retaining talent, as it also parallely contributes to positive changes within the company.
