Great talent is hard to come by, but it is even harder to retain them. When Anglo-Dutch multinational professional services network KPMG asked hundreds of CEOs the most significant threats facing business growth through 2023, âtalent riskâ was a unanimous answer.
One year post-Covid, skyrocketing remote work adaptation is rebounding economic recovery. Tech firms, in particular, are scrambling to retain talents. But, according to enterprise hiring managers, the increase in IT job openings has not been met by the rise in the number of techies available to fill them. The reason? There are several, perhaps remote-work-friendliness and many opportunities are the most significant.
It goes without saying, employee retention is going to be challenging amid this changing business landscape. So, how do recruiters unlock the potential to retain tech talent amid this crunch and the war for employee retention? The answer is by implementing efficient employee retention techniques.
Why do (Tech) Talented Employees Leave?
A LinkedIn study (of tech talent) found that the primary reason why an employee leaves an organisation and joins another is a career opportunity. Employees not only require learning continuously but they also expect fresh challenges to stay motivated.
When speaking specifically about Covid, one study found many employers have serious doubts about their employees’ abilities to complete tasks without direct supervision. It’s no surprise that, in the face of a sweltering post-pandemic economic recovery, people would rather find a new job than return to a supervisor and organisation that had lost faith in them during the pandemic.
Hence, companies that want to unlock the talent retention potential must take a step forward now to understand the priorities of their workforce.
Five Strategies to Retain Talented Employees
These five tips are based on expert advice and time-tested principles to retain tech talent in the face of challenging circumstances:
Tip #1 – Anticipate What Employees Want
The needs of the employee can be ideally categorised into:
- Personal needs (individual “me” needs like financial, physical, emotional and employment-related)
- Relational needs (“me and you” need like relationship between the employee, superiors)
- Collective needs (âusâ needs meaning common needs of all employees like having an efficient workplace technology etc.)
A study by Harvard Business Review revealed how critical workplace technology is when hiring and retaining employees. The respondents (58%)Â said that the organisation’s technology would play a crucial role in working for a company. Three main trends (as per the study) in employee retention were: more selfâservice, access to critical knowledge, ability to choose their device, and self-service setup for various technology tools.
Thus, organisations that want to move forward must anticipate the needs of the employees. As well in advance and must embrace new methods and create work models suitable to employees. By doing so, the company will boost employeesâ morale and attract the attention of their brightest recruits and retain them.
Tip #2 – Care for the Six Basic Needs
Accenture found that by meeting six basic human needs at work, an organisation can unlock its employeesâ full potential. These six dimensions are:
- Emotional & Mental
- Relational (having a strong sense of belonging and many strong, healthy personal relationships)
- Financial
- Physical
- Purposeful (feeling that one can make a positive difference around oneself and that their life has a meaning and purpose)
- Employable
Around 64 % of an employeeâs potential (in terms of ability to use strengths, skillset at work) is determined by whether or not the employees feel better off across these six dimensions mentioned above, the Accenture study found.
The priority of these dimensions may vary with various factors. For instance, according to the research, post-COVID-19 pandemic physical needs gained importance for employees. The organisation must hence invest in all these dimensions to unlock the full potential of its employees.
Tip #3 â Enable Continuous Learning
Career development and continuous learning go hand in hand. An organisation must develop new skill sets to complement the emerging job roles by upskilling their employees. LinkedIn, for instance, asks its employees to write two skills that they want to get better at (be it a programming language or a soft skill) and then they offer training through their Top 2 program.
Therefore, a company must anticipate future skill needs and continuously provide for employee learning to be better prepared for their job roles. By doing so, employees stay motivated and satisfied to learn something new and keep themselves abreast in the competitive market.
Tip #4 â Anticipate the Future of Talent Management and Retention
To position themselves in the lead in future, companies must anticipate the upcoming needs of employees and provide them accordingly. A study conducted by Citrix as a part of their Work 2035 project, revealed exciting findings of the future workforce and their work pattern. The results of the study were:
Employees expect flexible options at work: Around 88% of the respondents said they would look for a job that offers complete flexibility in terms of working hours and location.
Employees want to change how productivity is measured: The present employees want to be estimated based on the value they deliver rather than the volume. Around 86% of employees preferred to work for a company that prioritises outcomes over output.
Employees want to work for a diverse team: About 86% of employees (and 66% of HR managers) felt that a diverse workforce would gain more prominence as skill-sets, roles, and company requirements change over time.
So it is vital to think forward, modernise and narrow the gap between the present day and future workforce requirements. This can be achieved by designing an innovative employee-centric work model and a meaningful workplace that is supportive and yet likes to meet challenges. A little competition like internal hackathons, etc., is a great way to foster innovation and bring together employees from diverse backgrounds.
Tip #5 â Build Trust with Transparency
Increasing transparency within the company can help keep the workforce more engaged. And it can work wonders when it comes to talent retention. Also with transperant work environment fosters comfort that facilitates employees to communicate freely. It also helps in better employee engagement and retention.
The company should instil transparency across all work areas, like job descriptions, performance appraisal, goal setting, etc. Companies must also be transparent about the organisational challenges and direction.
Tip #6 – Deliver Non-Standard Workplace
Emotional and psychological aspects of employees are essential as well. A quality work environment will help better the emotional and psychological aspects of employees. One of the biggest problems, especially in techies, is burn-out.
Over-stressed employees can suffer from burn-out, leading to deteriorating mental and emotional health. Employees will be happier if they have extra vacations, discounts for hardware and software purchases, an extra day off, etc., because these perks aren’t standard.
Since employees feel their best interests are being served in a quality work environment, employee morale will be enhanced and stress will be reduced (a necessity, especially after a pandemic).
To sum up, talent retention is not just a function but a philosophy that has to be pruned and nurtured from time to time. Check here to know more about hiring the best talent.
