In the old days, your father (or grandfather) often told you to just be happy you have a job, and accept whatever the boss throws at you for the sake of stability and pay. But in today’s job world, that simply doesn’t hold water.
Jobseekers and employees of today know their rights and what they want, and have no qualms about leaving if your organisation doesn’t make the cut. Research has shown that millennials and generations after them are willing to take pay cuts, less benefits and different hours for companies they believe in. They are also more loyal to these companies, and consider company culture and fit at the premium when deciding where to work.
So, if you find your employees leaving soon after they join, maybe you can take a long, hard look at:
- What Benefits/Perks you offer
Health and security are vital to employees today as we wrestle with the uncertainties of the pandemic. Those who work under you will want to feel that management can and will support them in times of sickness or stress
What do your health benefits look like? What support systems are in place for struggling employees? Some companies have moved to flexible leave arrangements, or offer perks like Mental Wellness Days or Care Packages. Ensure that these are communicated clearly and documented well, and your staff will feel reassured and hence be less likely to leave.
- Your remote work/flexi arrangements
As Singapore moved from remote work to office work and back again depending on the situation, this highlighted that remote work is here to stay. Therefore, your HR, hiring managers and leaders should set the tone moving forward that flexibility is a key part of workplace settings. At the end of 2020, CareerBuilder found that 25% of respondents strongly preferred flexible hours and 35% wouldn’t accept a job offer if there was no remote work option.
- What Upskilling and Growth Opportunities you offer
CareerBuilder found that 75% of candidates said they spent the year learning new skills with the explicit intent of transferring roles, while 88% of these same job seekers said they were actively job hunting. As the majority of these respondents were employees, this means that they were actively becoming more qualified and learning skills which they might use to transit to better roles in other companies.
Keep them in your organisation by offering upskilling opportunities and promotional pathways from the get-go. By setting clear growth pathways for your team and offering to reimburse or sponsor their advanced learning, you will show that you value their improvement and with that, decrease the chance your employees will take their talents elsewhere.
- Your wage and promotion packages
How do your offerings fare compared to your competitors, or the industry average? Even though jobseekers consider much more than base salary these days, money still talks. And if you are unable to keep up with the baseline, you should not be surprised when employees leave for greener pastures.
- Your company culture
Your company culture dictates your teams’ level of dedication and satisfaction. While you may be able to draw in new hires with a competitive benefits package, keeping them with you is up to your company culture.
Celebrate your employees’ hard work and ensure that there is cross-team interaction to promote bonding and teambuilding. These things are important to keep morale high, reduce stress and just make your employees feel comfortable at work.
Now that you’ve looked through all these, can you see why employees might be leaving? Time to make some changes if they are!
