The ‘Great Resignation, the ‘Great Attrition,’ the ‘Big Quit,’ the ‘Quiet Quit.’ People have been shaking things up this year. It’s forced employers and HR leaders alike to rethink their approach to employee recruitment and retention. 

The labor shortage in the U.S. continues to be a massive challenge. According to a recent article by The Washington Post, “there are 10 million job openings, yet more than 8.4 million unemployed are still actively looking for work.” So, how can retention strategies help fill these vacant roles? It’s a question that has been asked in several GDS Group roundtables over the past week. Here’s what some of the industry experts spoke about on those sessions…

“We want to help every employee develop”

A senior executive at a food services and facilities management company shares. “There’s a lot of effort in terms of our people. Development and recruitment are always a challenge, so that is why you absolutely must focus on having the right people and giving them the right process to deliver their best work. We are addressing retention from all levels, from senior management to frontline staff. We want to help every employee develop. So, we are putting a lot of effort into how we are listening to our employees.”

That effort is essential in the war for talent, which is back and more challenging than ever. The 2022 Retention Report shows “most employees have re-joined the workforce and with over 10 million open jobs, employers are forced to attract employees from other companies rather than the ranks of the unemployed.” But how do they do this? One answer comes from the Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2020, which shows employees’ intentions to remain with their employer increase when businesses address employee needs; from inclusion and diversity, to sustainability and reskilling.

Finding the Right Fit

One way to improve retention is attracting people with the right skills. In the current unpredictable and competitive environment, recruiting and retaining skilled individuals has never been more important. A Senior Vice President of a transportation company says, “Making sure that you have the right individuals, in the right job, is key.” A Director of Operations at a corporate finance company also shares having people with a specific skill set is “absolutely critical.” 

Skilled employees will enable your firm to handle change successfully, remain adaptable, and survive unaffected by market volatility. However, leaders involved in the selection process need to have the right tools and procedures in place. “Replacing a full-time employee can cost anywhere between half to two times the amount of that employee’s annual salary” according to Gallup. These financial and organizational costs can include:

The cost of recruitment and the onboarding process
The cost of training new employees
Operational inefficiencies
Under-resourcing and operational delays
Negative impact on employee morale and burnout
Loss of organizational knowledge 
Loss of innovative thinkers and leaders 
Negative impact on the customer experience due to organizational inefficiencies

Efficiency is the answer

A Senior VP of Operations at a logistics company claims efficiency is the answer. “We’ve seen a lack of efficiency due to time spent on retraining over and over (and over) again. So, retention is one of the biggest strategies we’ve employed to avoid this. We are creating a work environment where people desire to come to work. Hosting pizza parties are one example of rewarding success! If you can retain your people, it does give you a competitive advantage over your competitors.” 

Facing the Feedback – Your front-line employees know the most

Another way to stay ahead of your competition is encouraging and empowering employees to share feedback. Providing a ‘safe-space’ to share thoughts on managers’ attitudes and actions on career progression, is a vital part of the process, which will also enhance business productivity. A Head of Customer Experience at a software company states, “It’s not just about collecting your customer feedback; it’s about collecting your employees’ feedback as well, because a lot of the time your front-line employees know the most.”

“They have regular customer insights, and that doesn’t always get relayed through management layers. By the time feedback arrives at senior management, decisions made are completely different than what the customer set. So, listening to your employees, getting their view on the processes, and what we’re doing right and wrong, can be such a shortcut because they’re usually much more specific.” 

Individuals need avenues to share their thoughts for improvements, take part in frequent conversations about their careers, and feel they have permission to explore possibilities. “We need to be thorough in discussions and make sure we give time to building trust and accepting feedback, shares a senior executive at a pharmaceutical corporation.

Listening is key

Listening to employees and understanding their well-being concerns is invaluable. A senior leader at an IT organization backs up this claim sharing, “listening is key. When you listen, you learn lessons and correct your actions.” He adds that developing good inclusiveness, engagement, and flexibility is also key. 

This includes shining a light on work-life balance, which many have been doing since the pandemic changed the way we work. A report by Gallup shows that 61% of employees cited “greater work-life balance and better personal well-being” as the most important aspect to them when looking for a new job. A 2022 Gartner survey found that 52% of respondents feel levels of flexibility would impact whether or not they stick with their current employer. 

Engagement, Engagement, Engagement

Employees who feel connected to their organization work harder, stay longer, and motivate others to do the same. Well-treated employees don’t have a reason to look elsewhere for work. Research by Quantum Workplace shows that “92% of business executives believe engaged employees perform better, boosting the success of their teams and the outcomes of their business.” In a roundtable event in partnership with Docusign about how businesses can create a trusted hybrid work environment, the Group Vice President, Customer Success EMEA at DocuSign shares, “the way we are engaging with customers is reflected by the way we are treating all internally.” 

Mastering retention is not a quick-fix solution to the challenges that many organizations are currently facing, but the sooner leaders prioritize this focus, the sooner results will show. 

There is no time to lose! The competition is transforming and growing every day. Take this amazing opportunity to join us to network, learn and engage! GDS summits are tailored 3-day virtual event conferences that bring together business leaders and solution providers to accelerate sales cycles, industry conversations, and outcomes. 88% of summit delegates said the overall experience of the summit they attended was either above average or excellent and 100% said it provided them with actionable outcomes to support their current initiatives. 