Many believe that good employee retention can be achieved through exceptional salary, flexible working conditions, modern and individual benefits. But this is not the whole truth. At its core, it is about the positive experience of employees throughout their working lives, from the first contact when they are hired to the exit interview. Excellent employee experience is the key to improve your retention rate.
The employee experience aims to turn what is often called “a monotonous working life” into an inspiring, motivating and productive experience for employees. That includes the sum of all the impressions, thoughts and feelings of employees.
Unfortunately there is no such thing as a corporate blueprint for a positive employee experience. Every organisation is different: it has a different culture, different work tasks and a different working atmosphere. HR has to listen to employees’ needs, monitor the mood in the company, regularly survey the retention rate and based on these results setup effective measures and develop a fitting company culture.
But topics such as work-life balance, mental health, wellbeing, sustainability and purpose play an important role for many employees at the moment. To create positive experiences around these needs, companies could develop a strategy and measures together with their employees. This can prove to be effective, especially since more employees now feel empowered to speak up. They want to feel like they do more than just work and that they’ve made a difference.
Another idea for improving the employee experience is to change the organisational culture. Employees want more insights on how companies are run, and they want a voice in the planning and implementation of business strategies. As a result, organisational culture now moves away from traditional hierarchies and towards flatter, circular structures that include employees in the decision-making process.
Another important measure to keep the retention rate high is reskilling and upskilling. Obtaining and strengthening the right skills will change the game. Whether young talent or older employees – everyone wants to develop and be promoted. This boosts motivation within the workforce. This can be achieved on the one hand through seminars, workshops, e-learning programs or in-house talent programs, and on the other hand through informal learning.
To bring reskilling and upskilling to abroad level, knowledge should naturally flow through the organisation. Companies need to create a learning-for-all culture where people are encouraged and take responsibility to continue learning as part of their everyday work. They should offer employees the opportunity to learn from one another across different hierarchies, areas of competence, responsibilities and departments.
Training and development not only make employees feel more valued and motivated, but also disrupt their monotonous work environment. Employees gain new experiences, change their perspective and experience “aha” moments. Reskilling and upskilling is also a great way to counteract the shortage of skilled workers by developing your own employees.
Employee retention is incredibly important to the operation of a successful business. That is why you have to put the employee experience in the middle of your attention. The base is to listen, to support, and to engage your employees. Many employees are now recognising the value of their time and energy, so making sure your company is proving you value your workers’ time and energy appropriately is incredibly important.
