According to a recent report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the recession may be officially over but job satisfaction among UK workers has plummeted.
As the recovery takes hold, we may be heading not so much into a war for talent but rather a war against defection. The result? Employee retention is back on the boardroom agenda. Downsizing and delayering have led to disillusionment and defections.
A key priority for companies as the recovery takes hold is to encourage employees to stay and perform enthusiastically
- Start as you mean to go on. Smart companies recruit employees they can retain; by being open and honest about a company’s culture, work environment and expectations, the company effectively allows candidates to make an informed choice.
- First impressions count. Employee loyalty should be cemented in a new recruit’s early days; with a shaky introduction, a company must back pedal to right its wrongs.
- Loyalty is more complicated than just cash. Without a good match between the values of the company and the employee, and without good management, loyalty will still be lost
- Recognition = retention. All employees want to be recognised, and value any
attempt to do so, despite decades of management training geared towards finding cause for criticism rather than praise.
- Learning adds to loyalty. Employees who are kept challenged and interested
will have greater motivation to stay. This can range from inviting them onto special project teams, to job rotation in different departments, or finding reasons for them to make presentations at high level meetings.
- What’s good for the goose. Pay schemes for management and workers alike
need to aim for an element of fairness, equivalence and balance, or forgo employees’ loyalty and respect
- The future is flexibility. Employers who fail to respond to the needs of their
staff for a work/life balance risk losing their already divided loyalty in the long term
- If not employment, then employability. Even if an organisation is longer in a position to offer long term security, companies can still offer transferable skills to employees as part of the new psychological contract.
For more business insights, dip into the Bulletpoint archive or if you would like to register for access to the archive email us
