Workers are continuing to voluntarily leave their jobs in record numbers. About 4 million people have left their jobs each month over the last 12 months, making worker attrition and retention more difficult for employers. Those numbers are even higher among frontline workers in the retail and hospitality industry, where at least half of the workers are considering leaving their jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of all workers in the United States work in the retail and hospitality sectors.
A recent Pew Research Center survey finds workers leave their jobs primarily due to a lack of opportunities for advancement, feeling disrespected at work, and low pay. These responses can teach employers in various industries an important lesson about worker attrition and retention. Position your company for success by highlighting your company benefits and clearly expressing the rewards you can offer employees.
What’s the next business trend in worker attrition and retention?
There has been a fundamental shift in how employees view their jobs and what benefits are most important to them. Companies can address the future of worker attrition and retention by updating their employee value proposition (EVP), ensuring they have a solid talent acquisition strategy, and investing in company culture.
Update Your Employee Value Proposition
Research shows when you develop a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP), you can increase new hire commitment by nearly 30% while decreasing annual employee turnover by almost 70%. A well-formed EVP is a comprehensive description of everything an organization offers its employees and generally has five main components, composed of monetary and non-monetary benefits.
When updating your EVP, make sure you address these five areas:
- Company Culture: Your EVP should address how individuals within an organization interact and work with each other. This includes organizational dynamics, leadership style, internal communications, and collaboration.
- Benefits: A company’s benefits package may include paid time off, healthcare, retirement benefits, and remote work or flexible schedules.
- Opportunity: Employees are looking for career development and personal growth opportunities. This may include training, education, mentoring, career guidance, and personal development options.
- Work Environment: Employees must clearly understand their roles and responsibilities to be most productive. Companies can also impact the work environment by offering flexible working hours, employee recognition, and team building.
- Compensation: Compensation covers all financial offerings from the company, including salary, stock options, bonuses, and other monetary rewards. Too often seen as the key selling point, financial compensation should be one piece of the complete EVP.
Have a Solid Talent Acquisition Strategy
A talent acquisition strategy is a long-term and comprehensive approach to finding employees. Specific roles might not even exist yet within an organization. Still, a thoughtful approach to talent acquisition can help ensure a company will have candidates with the right skill sets and knowledge to grow into these roles when the time comes.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing a talent acquisition strategy, companies can start by taking these four steps:
- Supply: Analyze the capabilities of your current workforce and talent supply.
- Demand: Consider your future needs by analyzing your organization’s strategic goals.
- Gaps: Determine the skills and knowledge needed to achieve those goals and identify the gaps between your workforce’s capabilities and the company’s future needs.
- Solution: Plan and implement activities to close the identified workforce gaps.
Companies should also consistently focus on hiring and consider embracing creative hiring techniques such as attending industry events that aren’t job fairs or engaging in online communities where your ideal candidate is spending time. When interviewing candidates, think about the job they applied for and any other open positions they may be a fit for.
Invest in Company Culture
Companies can be propelled forward by their company culture. Foundational to the employee experience, company culture plays a key role in determining how much employees enjoy their job. Companies can cultivate a positive work culture by focusing on their core values to derive purpose and guide business decisions.
One aspect of cultivating a positive company culture has a recognition and rewards system. Employees want to feel recognized and appreciated for their work, and it’s important to make it a priority to help them feel valued. Employee recognition can include highlighting professional achievements and milestones and personal traits that make an employee stand out. Depending on the employee’s recognition, rewards may consist of a thank you note, gift card, time off, promotion, or bonus.
Business leaders who understand worker attrition and retention trends will be poised for a greater competitive advantage. You can count on your Safeguard Advisor to learn about your unique goals and help you with personalized solutions that fit your business. Let us show you how the right products, services, and planning make managing and marketing your business easier and more effective—Call 855-778-3124 to get started.
Key Takeaways
- Business leaders who understand worker attrition and retention trends will be poised for a greater competitive advantage.
- Approximately 4 million people have left their jobs each month over the past 12 months.
- Position your company for success by highlighting your company benefits and clearly expressing the rewards you can offer employees.
- You can rely on your Safeguard Advisor for personalized solutions that fit your business.