Author: Kristina Proffitt

Categories
Employee Experience

Employee happiness is a key metric for organizations: here’s why

Where does employee happiness rank on your organization’s list of priorities? If it’s not near the top, it may be time to rethink your approach.

Having a job you hate is worse for your mental health than being unemployed, found Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report, 2023. It can impact employees’ home lives, and even their relationships.

Enjoying work makes such a big difference that over a third of employees would give up $5,000 per year in salary in exchange for feeling happier at work.

With so many employees feeling unsatisfied, improving employee satisfaction could help you retain your top talent and even save money.

So let’s take a deeper dive into employee happiness and why it matters.

Why does employee happiness matter?

Increased productivity

When employees are happy at work, they’re 12% more productive. That 12% can add up quickly to you staying at the front of the pack and being able to grow faster as a company.

More sales

How does a 37% increase in sales sound? Well, that’s the difference happy salespeople can make to your business.

It can also help you outperform your competition by up to a fifth.

Greater employee satisfaction 

Engaged employees are less stressed, according to Gallup.

Employee happiness and satisfaction can impact the reviews you get on sites like Glassdoor, what employees say about you to their network, and your employer brand. This then has a ripple effect on the types of candidates and customers you attract.

Fewer sick days

Businesses lose $1 trillion per year in productivity because of employee mental health challenges. And a third of employees say that work negatively impacts their physical health, too.

On the flip side, happy employees take 10 times fewer sick days.

When we don’t want to be somewhere, it has a dramatic impact on our moods. Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety get worse. 

And there’s a follow-on effect to physical health, including the exacerbation of chronic conditions like back pain. It can even reduce the effectiveness of our immune systems, making us more likely to get sick.

Improved retention

Hiring and training new employees gets expensive fast. It reduces how much time and money you have to spend elsewhere. And the more senior the employee gets, the more expensive and time-consuming it is to replace them.

On the other hand, if you boost employee happiness, people are less likely to leave, saving you money on hiring and training that you can spend elsewhere.

Ways to improve employee happiness

Boost your benefits package

Just 42% of employees feel happy with their employer’s benefits and rewards package. This shows a huge disconnect between what employees want and what businesses are providing.

Is it time to send a survey asking your team what you could do better?

Gather feedback

Poor management has a huge impact on customers, profits, and employee happiness. 

Managers have a significant impact on the atmosphere at work. Do they create somewhere employees feel supported and valued?

Or do they take credit for employees’ ideas and make them dread starting the workday?

It’s important that employees can share with HR how they feel about their manager and colleagues. It’s only through their ability to do so that things can change for the better.

Encourage workplace friendships

When employees have close workplace friendships, it boosts their job satisfaction by 50%. Spending time with people we enjoy has huge benefits for our mental health, so this should come as no surprise.

If you want to encourage your employees to connect, why not set up ERGs? Or find a better way to manage them and get more from them? Book your free Workrowd demo today to discover how we can help you do just that.

Build a diverse company

Diverse businesses perform better and have greater employee happiness.

We all want to work somewhere we belong and feel psychologically safe. This is more likely to happen in a company that’s diverse, because it has a broader range of ideas and shows a willingness to listen to all of them. Meaning employees feel less isolated.

Support remote work

There’s been a mass return to the office over the last year or so. And it’s like we didn’t learn anything from the pandemic.

If you truly want to be an inclusive business, you need to support remote—or at the very least, hybrid—work.

There are some people who could be great at a role but are unable to fulfill it because they can’t afford to travel, are a primary caregiver, or have a disability.

One of the reasons I left a full-time, office-based role was because the hour-long commute, on top of being in a bright, noisy office environment, made my chronic pain and fatigue worse. The more I forced myself to conform to the norm, the more the doctor signed me off sick because I was in so much pain. And no amount of sleep, diet, or exercise could fix me when the problem was job-related.

Did that mean I couldn’t do the job? No. It just meant it wasn’t the right work environment for me.

Provide job security

In unpredictable times, offering employees job security means they have one less thing on their minds.

Being unsure whether you have a job next week creates a huge amount of stress for an employee and will reduce their productivity. They may also wonder why they should bother putting effort in at all if they may be let go soon.

One of my friends told me the other day that she knew of someone who had told his employees they didn’t have a job as of Monday. On Saturday afternoon, at closing time. They didn’t open on Sundays.

This level of unpredictability is unfair to employees and doesn’t allow them any time to plan.

Where possible, be open about the organization’s financial stability. It’s another important factor in employee happiness.

Sharing information shows you’re committed to transparency and want to foster an open work environment.

Offer opportunities for employees to use their skills

Every employee has a different set of skills that can benefit your business. For example, you may have someone in finance who’s a great speaker. Why not make the most of that ability?

Perhaps they could speak at industry events, or share what it’s like to work for your business in a video.

They get to stretch their abilities, improving employee happiness, and you get the boost to your employer brand.

How to monitor employee happiness

So how do you measure employee happiness? Simple: ask your team!

Using Workrowd, you can send automated surveys to check in with your employees and see how they’re doing.

You can ask what they like or dislike about their role, and what you could do better as a business to support them.

You can also connect employees via more organized employee groups.

Does this sound like something that would be useful at your organization? Get in touch today to book your free demo at hello@workrowd.com.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

How to manage sensitive employees in your organization – 6 tips

According to a 2018 research paper, 31% of people are highly sensitive. That’s a big enough portion of the population that you need to know how to manage sensitive employees.

Famous sensitive people include Princess Diana, Abraham Lincoln, Frida Kahlo, and Mozart.

If you don’t know how to manage sensitive employees, it can lead to burnout. Or your sensitive employees might just leave altogether because they feel unsupported.

What makes someone sensitive?

Sensitive people are those of us who respond to physical, mental, or emotional stimuli more strongly than an average person. It’s often perceived as a negative trait, but it comes with huge positives.

For example, a sensitive person may experience emotions more deeply – but this means they can better empathize with others. Many creatives are sensitive and that’s why their songs, poems, and art create strong reactions in others.

Sensitive people can be great at sales because they can quickly build a rapport with prospects and show an understanding of the person’s problem.

This empathy and understanding also makes them great leaders, because they listen to, and take on, other people’s feelings.

Other symptoms of high sensitivity include a lower pain tolerance (including finding fabric itchy); perfectionism; jumpiness; being easily affected by other people’s moods, and a greater attention to detail.

For a complete list of symptoms, check out this sensitivity list from the Highly Sensitive Refuge. Someone doesn’t have to experience all the symptoms to be a sensitive person.

While being sensitive has many benefits, and great thinkers and inventors throughout time were sensitive, it comes with challenges.

So here are some steps that can help with how to manage sensitive employees.

Give them control over their workspace

When an employee can control their own space, and work on their own terms, you’ll get the best out of them whether they’re sensitive or not.

Forcing them to work in a cold office with bright fluorescent lights at a time when they’re half-awake means you’ll have unhappy and unproductive employees. Being inflexible can really take a toll when it comes to how to manage sensitive employees.

If they need to be in the office, perhaps you could compromise and allow them to work remotely a couple of days per week.

They could come in earlier or stay later so that they can work when it’s quieter.

At my previous job, I started an hour before most of the people on my floor. It was magical how quiet it was. 

I loved that time because it felt like I could think more clearly without the constant background noise that comes with an open-plan office.

Use open communication

Sensitive people often don’t want to ask for what they need for fear of upsetting others. So instead, they suffer themselves.

This is why open communication is so important.

Periodically, ask employees if there’s anything they need to do their job better.

It might be that their chair is uncomfortable, or they want to work from a different desk. 

Small things like this can help you get more—and better quality—work from your employees.

Not only that, but establishing a culture of open communication is key to efforts around how to manage sensitive employees. It makes people feel calmer and more supported, further helping them perform at their best.

And encouraging them to stay for longer.

To make sure you don’t forget to ask employees what they need, why not turn on automated surveys? Better yet—automate the data analysis, too.

Get in touch to find out how Workrowd can help you do just that.

Allow for regular breaks

Regular breaks should be acceptable in any workplace, in my opinion. No one can work for four hours straight, have an hour for lunch, then work for four more hours. Not a single person has concentration skills that good.

Not to mention how often we get interrupted by colleagues walking past, emails coming in, Slack or Teams messages, social media…then how hard it is to focus again after all those disruptions.

Regular breaks, particularly in busy or noisy spaces, allow employees to reset.

This then means they can come back to their desks recharged and better able to concentrate.

Breaks also help us return to a problem with a clearer head, making it easier to find a solution we missed before from spending too long working on something.

Giving them the space to take a breather when needed can be a big help when it comes to how to manage sensitive employees.

Reduce visual clutter

Sometimes, to fill a space, there’s the temptation to turn a wall into an art gallery or add lots of inspiring quotes or bright colors or patterns.

This visual clutter is mentally stimulating, but in busy environments it can quickly become overwhelming. This is an especially key consideration when thinking about how to manage sensitive employees.

You obviously don’t want team members to fall asleep, but the office should be a calm place to be, not one that’s going to leave people so distracted they can’t concentrate on their roles.

Consider things like:

  • Adding some plants (fake ones if you can’t keep real ones alive, but real ones can work well as air purifiers. Avoid ones with lots of flowers so that you don’t trigger hay fever sufferers)
  • Using neutral/natural colors like white, cream, or light green. Blues and greens are the most calming colors
  • Resisting the temptation to put tons of inspirational quotes on the walls
  • Getting rid of glaring fluorescent lighting. Anything is better than that
  • Providing screen protectors to reduce the glare on monitors for anyone working near bright lights or windows

Offer employees noise-cancelling headphones

Background noise can be irritating to some people but not others.

For instance, as I write this, I can hear:

  • The air purifier humming
  • The fridge/freezer buzzing
  • Cars driving past
  • The dog breathing

And each one of those sounds distracts me.

Some days those noises don’t bother me, but right now I need to go find my noise-cancelling headphones so that I can focus.

Providing noise-cancelling headphones is an effective way to up your game on how to manage sensitive employees. They block out external stimuli and send a clear signal to colleagues that a person doesn’t want to be disturbed.

Set up an ERG

ERGs are great places for employees to meet like-minded people.

It gives them somewhere they belong at work, further providing sensitive employees with the support they need to perform in the workplace.

Need help organizing yours? We’ve got you! Get in touch to book your free demo.

Conclusion

Sensitive employees bring a unique set of skills that every workplace can benefit from. 

To get the most out of these employees, it’s important to encourage them to ask for what they need, and provide them with time, space, and equipment. This recipe ensures they’re happy in their roles and more productive as a result.

If you’re wondering how to manage sensitive employees and want some help, Workrowd has your back. Our all-in-one suite of tools makes it easy to give sensitive employees everything they need to engage at their own pace.

Plus, with automated surveys and real-time analytics, you always know what’s working and where you could step things up a bit.

Ready to learn more? Drop by our site or reach out to us at hello@workrowd.com.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Learning & Development

5 reasons career progression is key to retention and engagement

According to Gartner, only 45% of employees believe their employer sees them as a person. It should come as no surprise then, that investing in employees’ career progression is key to both retention and engagement.

Why? Because it shows them that you do, in fact, see them as human.

And when 82% of people want career progression, if you don’t deliver, you risk losing your star players.

Investing in your employees shows them you appreciate that they spend their time to earn you money. And you repay their effort by investing in them. This reciprocal relationship is key to employee engagement.

Let’s dig into some of the reasons why offering career progression is so important.

Employees leave because they’re bored

Employees want training. In fact, a lack of career development was the top reason employees left jobs between April 2021 and April 2022.

Yet 70% of current employees feel they’ll have to leave their roles to advance their careers.

The more employees who leave, the more it’ll cost you to hire and train replacements. And the more company knowledge you’ll lose due to the lack of career progression.

On the flip side, 94% of employees will stay with a company that invests in their career.

Retraining is cheaper than hiring

Replacing a trained employee costs a whopping 200% of their annual salary. 

Then there’s the onboarding time, and the time it takes new hires to reach full productivity. That’s a lot of time and money you lose because you didn’t invest in career progression for your current employees.

That money could go towards providing even more advanced training opportunities, opening in new markets, expanding your team, advertising more intensively, or just about anything else.

Employees want to become leaders

Millennial employees are your future leaders. Some might already be in leadership positions at your organization. So it’s no wonder that 60% of millennials want leadership training.

But if 60% want leadership training, it suggests that they’re not getting enough. Or worse—that they’re being put into leadership positions without getting any.

It’s great that they have the company and industry know-how to move up in your business, but leading a team is very different from being knowledge-focused. It requires skills that many of us were never taught in formal education.

To get the most out of leaders and their employees, leadership training is vital.

Bringing in external trainers can give team members an opportunity to get a fresh perspective. Which enables them to avoid groupthink and prevents bad habits.

It can also provide existing leaders with a refresher, helping them support their employees in the ways they need now—not how they needed five years ago.

With 48% of leaders wanting to learn from assignments or external coaches, it shows that they have a strong desire to keep learning. 

Offering them the chance to grow helps to retain them, as well as their team members. 

It ensures their knowledge is up-to-date, they can expand it further, and they get to apply what they’ve learned for their direct reports. Which then sets them up for career progression, too.

Employees want flexible learning

Self-paced learning is a powerful tool that enables employees to learn around their lives.

Over half (58%) of employees want to learn at their own pace. This allows them the opportunity to work towards career progression without sacrificing their personal time or affecting their daily work activities.

E-learning is a powerful tool in the self-paced learning arsenal. It’s so powerful that it increases retention rates by 60%.

68% of employees would rather learn at work. Which makes sense given that what they’re learning will primarily benefit their career.

Giving employees a window during the work week when they can focus on self-development shows you understand how important career progression is not just to them, but to your organization and its future success.

It also helps break up the week, which can provide employees the vital break they need to approach problems they may have with a clear head—and find solutions.

Employees want to have a purpose

Employees want to feel like they have a purpose at work. Like they’re working toward a shared goal alongside their colleagues and employer.

They want something more than just working for a paycheck. A job can be so much more than that.

Employees need access to career progression opportunities to encourage them to develop their skills, and purpose to ensure that they want to.

Employees need to keep up

In our fast-paced, ever-changing world, if we aren’t learning, we’re going backward.

Which means employees need to be actively developing new skills and expanding their knowledge to be able to keep up in the world, and to help your business do the same.

As fear over AI coming for our jobs increases, businesses need to have open communication lines with employees, educating them on what AI in the workplace means for them and their roles, and how to adopt it as a friend, not a foe.

AI can be a great tool for career progression, but only when employees are empowered to use it safely and correctly.

Employees who feel like they’re progressing are more likely to stay

Ultimately, when employees feel like they’re progressing in their role, they’re more likely to choose to stay with your organization.

They have no reason to leave when they feel supported in their position and like they have a future there.

Even more so when you reassure them about their future at your company by offering appropriate training (or re-training) options.

Offering career progression opportunities, even if employees don’t take you up on them, helps them feel like they’re working toward a greater purpose and like they’re appreciated by their employer, not just seen as an easily replaceable cog.

Conclusion

Providing employees with career progression opportunities should be a key part of any retention strategy. It shows you support them, ensures the role stays interesting for them, and helps them keep up with the ever-changing world.

Ready to maximize the impact of your career progression initiatives? Workrowd makes it easy.

With all your employee groups, programs, events, and information in one place, everyone can easily find the career progression resources that are right for them. Plus, real-time analytics ensure you always know what’s working and what’s not.

To learn more and explore how Workrowd can empower you to take career progression to the next level at your organization, visit us online or reach out to us at hello@workrowd.com.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

7 ways to up your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

62% of workers believe a company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is important to its ability to drive success.

And they just might be on to something—businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to financially outperform their peers, and those with high ethnic diversity are 36% more likely to outperform competitors financially.

This makes sense when you consider that inclusive teams are more than 35% more productive and make better decisions 87% of the time.

The more diverse a team is, the less likely that team—and therefore that business—is to fall into groupthink.

Stepping up your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion opens you up to a wider range of ideas. The more suggestions you have, the more likely you are to find the best one.

So, what are some ways you can boost your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion this year?

Brush up on your law

The laws around your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion are regularly changing.

It’s therefore important that you’re aware of what’s recently changed in your country’s laws, or any future potential updates.

Also monitor the law in countries where you operate, as even countries as close as England, Scotland, and Wales can have different laws.

Hold regular unconscious bias training (for everyone)

Even when we’ve done unconscious bias training before, we still need refreshers.

It’s too easy to fall back into old patterns, or pick up bad ones, when we don’t actively work on creating an inclusive workforce and checking our own unconscious biases. 

And with everything going on at work, it can be easy for bias to creep in.

When managers regularly attend unconscious bias training—without complaining or rolling their eyes—it sets an example for the rest of the team and for other managers. It shows that they take this seriously because they understand the positive impact it can have not just on the business, but on employees’ lives.

Ask employees what matters to them

The best way to support a diverse workforce is to ask your employees what’s important to them.

If your diversity, equity, and inclusion statement doesn’t hit the right notes, if employees feel like you say one thing but do another, it will create a disconnect between you and your workforce. They’re less likely to trust you, and as a result, less likely to stay.

On the other hand, if they feel listened to and valued, they’re more likely to stick around long-term.

So make sure that when it comes to creating an inclusive workplace, you ask employees what matters to them, how you can support them, and what you could do better. 

It’s through this continuous improvement that you’ll cultivate the happiest, most engaged, most hard-working team.

Showing your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by asking about and meeting a wide range of employee needs is important.

Update your DEI policy

When was the last time someone updated your DEI policy? Have the laws changed since then?

As with any workplace policy, it’s important to evaluate it regularly. This ensures it stays relevant to both you and employees.

It also ensures you adapt it to any future laws that may involve new protected characteristics. For example, the Scottish government recently updated their hate crime laws.

Being aware of these laws—particularly if you have a global workforce—ensures your policies benefit everyone.

Your DEI policy can also inform your business strategy, keeping decisions on track.

In the policy, make sure to explain why DEI matters to your business, and include definitions for different protected characteristics. You could even mention how you support each of those characteristics.

Also mention where you want to go next. What’s the goal of your DEI policy? For your business, your employees, your customers, and even the world?

The next time you update your DEI policy, you can reflect on how far you’ve come and what direction you plan to go in next. It will help reinforce your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Hire a chief diversity officer

HR pros are busy. Sometimes, things can get lost or missed. It’s no one’s fault, but they can still impact your diversity efforts.

A chief diversity officer’s job is to spot ways you can make your workplace more diverse and support diverse employees. So then the rest of the HR team can focus on other areas of the business.

When you have a specific role dedicated to diversity, it shows employees and candidates that you’re serious about diversity being a priority in your business. In other words, your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t just talk.

This means you’ll attract a more diverse pool of candidates. Existing employees, meanwhile, will feel more visible and listened to within the workplace.

Don’t copy and paste diversity statements (especially in job ads)

Is it just me, or is every job ad starting to look the same?

I’ve spoken to several people recently and we’re increasingly noticing that pretty much every LinkedIn job ad now looks identical.

From what the job entails, to the skills required, to the diversity statement at the end.

I get it. It’s tempting to use AI. AI has many benefits.

But when every diversity statement reads the same, it comes across like you’ve only put it there to cover your business legally and that your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t genuine.

So instead of attracting people from diverse backgrounds, you miss out on underrepresented candidates because it reads like what matters to you the most is getting things done quickly and cheaply. Even if those attempts are half-baked and sound exactly like everyone else.

Connect your employees with ERGs

Employee resource groups are powerful tools to help improve employees’ senses of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.

They’re the perfect place for people to meet colleagues with similar backgrounds, interests, and goals to them even across a remote workforce. 

The more an employee feels like they belong, the more likely they are to stay and be engaged at work. As a result, they’ll be more productive and earn you more money.

If you’re not sure where to start with ERGs, or want to get more out of yours, get in touch to book your free Workrowd demo.

Conclusion

The more diverse your business is, the more future-proof it will be.

Employees want to work for businesses with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion because they understand how much it benefits the workplace and their employee experience.

So take these tips as a starting point to improving your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2024. And most importantly, remember that building diverse teams is a journey, not a destination.

Are you ready to take your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion to a new level this year? Workrowd can help. Our all-in-one suite of tools makes it easy to launch, manage, and track DEI initiatives while giving everyone on your team easy access to the parts of your employee experience they like best.

Ready to learn more and see how our platform could accelerate DEI progress across your workplace? Send us an email at hello@workrowd.com to set up some time to chat, or simply drop by our site for more info.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Employee engagement ideas for a multigenerational workforce

Nearly 90% of global businesses believe a multigenerational workforce plays a valuable role in growth and success.

Yet just 6% of employees strongly agree that their leaders can effectively lead a multigenerational team. Yikes.

It’s estimated that around 30% of 65- to 74-year-olds will still be working by 2026. As the number of workers over 65 increases, businesses need to do more to get the most out of every generation.

Embracing a multigenerational workforce and encouraging cooperation means you’ll get greater diversity of thought, leading to more creative thinking.

In fact, 87% of US workers feel multigenerational workplaces experience increased innovation and problem solving.

More creative thinking helps you stand out from your competitors to both customers and job seekers. They’ll be intrigued by your innovations and want to support them.

When it comes to hiring, you’ll attract candidates who want to work for creative, forward-thinking, diverse businesses. Further increasing your diversity efforts.

How today’s multigenerational workforce breaks down

Roughly speaking, the generations look like this:

  • Silent Generation (sometimes called Traditionalists): born 1925-1945.
  • Baby Boomers: born 1946-1964
  • Generation X: born 1965-1980
  • Millennials (Generation Y): born 1981-1996
  • Generation Z: born 1996-2012
  • Gen Alpha: born 2013-present

Obviously, members of Gen Alpha are too young to work right now, but it won’t be long. I’m a Millennial and it feels like only yesterday that Gen Z-ers entered the workplace.

Each generation makes up the following percentage of the global workforce:

  • Silent Generation: 2%
  • Baby Boomers: 25%
  • Gen X: 33%
  • Millennials/Gen Y: 35%
  • Gen Z: 5%

Different generations want different things from their working lives. For instance, Millennials want purpose and growth from their work, while Baby Boomers want security.

Your workplace benefits, therefore, need to have a wide appeal to support a multigenerational workforce. A lot of it comes down to company culture and what you prioritize as a business.

So, how do you maximize employee engagement for a multigenerational workforce? Let’s take a look:

Be flexible around working styles

Every person is different, and each generation grew up in a totally different world. As a result, they all have different requirements and expectations.

To get the most out of someone, managers need to actively ask employees what they need.

For some, this will be flexible start and finish times to pick children or grandchildren up from school.

For others in a multigenerational workforce, it may mean working remotely to manage health issues.

Avoid assumptions about each generation

When you make assumptions about someone, these pre-conceived notions can affect how you talk to them and have a detrimental impact on your working relationship. This is especially true in a multigenerational workforce.

For instance, if you see older workers as slow to learn, you may give them less to do, causing them to get bored and frustrated.

Or if you see a younger generation as entitled, you may not provide them with the praise they deserve simply because you want to bring their ego down a peg or two. Which can then impact their performance because they may not feel like their hard work is appreciated.

These assumptions are often subconscious. And why training programs in diversity and soft skills are so important. 

Training programs help everyone to not make assumptions about the people in front of them based on their characteristics, leading to better collaborations and happier employees.

Encourage connections

Whether it’s through mentoring or employee groups, encouraging employees to connect is good for not just their workplace productivity, but their overall wellbeing, too.

Older generations can teach their younger counterparts a plethora of skills that can help them in their current role and beyond. It’s a perfect workplace mentoring opportunity.

The more that different generations interact in a multigenerational workforce, the more they can learn from each other. They may learn how to adapt their communication styles based on who they’re interacting with or the type of meeting they’re in, for example.

If you’d like help connecting your multigenerational workforce, get in touch to discover how Workrowd could help boost your employee engagement.

Train communication skills

Communication skills are too often taken for granted. But there are lots of different communication styles and we must adapt ours to fit our audience. This ensures we get the most out of the interaction and don’t offend or upset anyone.

Given that 81% of workers feel the most significant difference between generations at work is their communication styles, and 38% find it hard to communicate with coworkers from other age groups, training around communication styles could be the key to a team’s success.

According to a study by AARP, 60% of workers feel the presence of generational conflict. 70% of older employees dismiss the skills of younger employees, while 50% of younger colleagues dismiss what an older employee can do.

I’ve dealt with this myself. Someone hired me to consult on a marketing project but constantly questioned my judgment. I was made to feel like my opinions and experience weren’t valid no matter how much data I provided to prove my points.

This is why teaching everyone how to improve their communication style is so important. We all have traps we can fall into; ones we don’t even notice. Sometimes all it takes is a training program to refresh our memory and improve interactions across a multigenerational workforce.

Conclusion

As the workforce evolves and increasingly includes multiple generations, businesses will have to find more and more ways to cater to generational differences. This generational diversity comes with huge benefits, too, such as different perspectives on projects and problems.

It starts by embracing and accepting each different age group. Learning their strengths, their areas for improvement, and how they fit best into your diverse, multigenerational workforce. This will ensure they have the best employee experience, and as a result, you’ll get improved employee satisfaction and engagement.

Ready to boost outcomes across your multigenerational workforce? Workrowd’s all-in-one suite of tools can help. By building connections across age groups and enabling you to track everything via real-time analytics, you can deliver a top-notch employee experience for all ages.

Ready to learn more? Visit us online or send us an email at hello@workrowd.com to schedule some time to connect.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs

Categories
Wellness

Signs of burnout: How the let-down effect hurts worker wellbeing

Signs of burnout can range from quiet quitting to getting sick more often. Sickness in an office is contagious. Whether it’s a physical or a mental illness, it can have a ripple effect across the workplace.

Someone’s lack of energy or productivity can make the rest of the team feel lethargic or demotivated, particularly if the person who is ill is in a senior position.

There’s no time this is more likely to happen (other than in winter in a cramped office) than after a huge project has come to an end. This is called the let-down effect, and it’s one of the major signs of burnout.

What is the let-down effect?

The let-down effect is when you get sick after completing a big project or dealing with another source of stress like exams.

When we work on a huge project, we run on the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. They ramp up to keep us going, helping us fight off things that might get in the way of us achieving our goals, like a pesky cold.

And as soon as the project is over, those hormones stop.

And as soon as the day after, signs of burnout can start to appear and we can get sick.

The let-down effect hit me back in November. I had so much to do in October. Client deadlines, a writing class to teach, a book reading, and a book to edit. Lots of prep, lots of stress. I was excited, but I was definitely running on adrenaline.

I kept saying to myself, “just make it to the end of October, then you can rest.”

That was a big mistake.

The morning of November 1st, I woke up with the flu. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been that ill, and I’m not entirely sure I’m completely over it six months later. 

It led to infections, chronic pain and fatigue flare-ups, allergy flare-ups, new allergies, insomnia…I could fill a blog post with all my symptoms since November, but you get the point.

The let-down effect can lead to new or worsening physical or mental health symptoms. It can worsen signs of burnout, and there’s no telling how long it will take to recover.

So what can you do about the let-down effect at work?

How to avoid the let-down effect in the workplace

Stress hormones have a role in our bodies, but it should only be a short-term one. The longer they build up, the more detrimental they become. 

They can lead to chronic inflammation and a weakened immune system, which is why chronic health issues can flare up after a big project, or it feels like we have a never-ending stream of illnesses.

The people most prone to burnout are the ones who care the most about what they do. That’s because they often work harder to achieve their goals. 

When someone enjoys something, it doesn’t feel so much like work.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t still lead to stress. Everyone needs a break sometimes.

So, one of the key things you can do to manage it is to check in with your employees.

Watch for signs of burnout. Ask them how they’re doing and what they need from you.

Would they prefer to work from home, where it’s quieter? Or come into the office later and stay later?

Or do you need to have an honest discussion about a deadline because it’s just not achievable? 

It may even be a case of needing to hire new employees to help you meet a deadline or avoid signs of burnout in the future.

Encouraging employees to reduce their stress levels slowly is also vital.

Instead of doing what I did, and saying, “Just make it to this date, then I can rest,” ensure employees pace themselves during stressful periods and ease back from the situation slowly.

Activities like exercise or cold showers can temporarily increase stress levels and help to avoid the sudden shock to the body from a lack of stress hormones.

How to support employees through the let-down effect

Sometimes, employees push themselves too hard or fast even when you tell them not to. Inevitably leading to signs of burnout, and ultimately, the let-down effect.

When they reach that point, it’s important to have an honest conversation with them. Some people can’t see that they’ve pushed themselves too far until their mind or body can’t function anymore. Ideally, you want to prevent this from happening.

Encourage them to rest. Despite what society tells us, rest is good for productivity. 

This could mean taking more breaks during the working day (away from their desk, not at their desk reading news articles), or it could be a week off to recover.

It may also mean channeling their energy into something else, like a new project that’s less pressure.

Recovery will look different for everyone.

It involves a lot of patience and self-care, which can be difficult for people who are used to pushing themselves hard and fast. 

You could organize workshops to help everyone recognize signs of burnout, as well as the causes, symptoms, and solutions of the let-down effect so that they know how to handle it. 

It also means that they’re prepared to help both themselves and their colleagues.

Connection is important, too. 

Helping employees network with like-minded folks who are equally driven—but perhaps further into their journey so they know when to slow down—will teach them valuable lessons on managing high-pressure projects.

You could facilitate this through mentoring, coaching, or employee groups. Each has different benefits depending on your organization.

You could even set up employee groups for stress-reducing hobbies such as reading, meditation, exercise, or puzzles.

Conclusion 

The let-down effect can impact anyone within the workplace, particularly after a long, challenging project.

To support employees through it and manage down signs of burnout, make sure they feel comfortable telling you how they feel and requesting what they need. This could be more time off—either a day at home or a vacation—accommodations such as working on lower-pressure projects for a while, or even a new role.

Whatever you choose, Workrowd can help you organize your program and get the most out of it for you and your employees. Contact us today at hello@workrowd.com to book your free demo.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Employee Engagement

8 strategies to reengage employees who are quiet quitting

Gallup research suggests that 59% of employees are quiet quitting or actively disengaged.

This has been a growing problem since the pandemic, a once-in-a-lifetime event that caused many people to rethink their lives and priorities.

And which happened in between many other once-in-a-lifetime events like financial crises and wars. 

All this upheaval has left many with a feeling of malaise. Which means people want more from their jobs—and their employers—to compensate for it.

So let’s see how you can reengage employees who are quiet quitting: 

Reflect on leadership

If a large number of employees appear to be quiet quitting, it’s time to reflect on what the common denominator is. And that’s often leadership.

Are employees unhappy with their managers? Or the way higher-ups choose to run the company?

Attitude is contagious, which means if your managers come across as disconnected, it can have a negative impact on employees.

It can also be demoralizing if managers put too much pressure on employees or don’t understand their issues.

Managers need to listen to their employees’ concerns and take them into account whether they’re about their roles, the company, or the manager themselves.

It’s only when leaders take employees’ concerns onboard that the organization can really make a difference on employee disengagement and quiet quitting.

Support employee wellbeing

Employee wellbeing plays a huge role in engagement. What steps do you take to ensure your employees are happy and healthy at work?

44% of employees felt stressed for most of their previous workday. This is a huge percentage and shows that businesses aren’t taking employee wellbeing seriously. With numbers like this, is it really any wonder that quiet quitting is so common?

Reflect on deadlines

Are you being realistic with the deadlines that you give your employees?

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone works well under tight deadlines.

When deadlines are too tight or there are too many at once, it can put a lot of pressure on employees. This increased pressure can cause them to disconnect or experience task paralysis, where they don’t know which task to focus on so don’t do anything.

Feeling overwhelmed is a direct route to burnout and quiet quitting.

Pay more

Pay is one of the main reasons for employee disengagement. And when you look at how much house prices have gone up compared to pay, it’s really no surprise. Our money just doesn’t go as far as it used to.

So if what an employee earns doesn’t help them reach their financial goals, there’s a possibility they may become disconnected from their role because they feel like the things we’ve always been taught to strive for—such as having a house and financial security—are impossible. So why bother putting any effort in?

Consider if how well you pay your employees aligns with the market rate and living situation in their location.

For instance, in the UK, we have the national minimum wage and the national living wage. The national minimum wage is what businesses are legally required to pay. The living wage is a higher rate based on the cost of living.

You could also offer financial advice or financial literacy classes. But beware of doing this if you pay under the market rate because it could backfire. Learning they’re being underpaid can encourage quiet quitting among employees, if not outright quitting.

Offer peer-to-peer support

ERGs are a great way to connect like-minded employees. Whether team members bond over shared backgrounds or experiences, it deepens their ties to your business.

You could also offer support, mentoring, and coaching through these groups.

In addition, ERGs can help combat loneliness in the workplace and offer employees workplace progression opportunities through the ability to network beyond their everyday colleagues.

With stronger relationships across the organization, employees will be less susceptible to quiet quitting.

Consider your company culture

If employees’ values don’t align with yours, they’re far more likely to find themselves disconnecting or quiet quitting.

It’s increasingly important to employees that their values are in line with those of their employer. But it doesn’t always happen.

To see how your employees’ values compare to yours, send out an employee feedback survey. This will help you determine what really matters to them and whether you’re on the right track.

You could ask them for ideas on a charity you could contribute to, activities you could take part in, or causes you could get involved with. 

Make sure you genuinely try to make a difference with your social impact efforts, rather than just changing your company logo or paying lip service to issues. Both employees and the outside world will see through it pretty quickly if you’re not walking the talk.

Reflect on company priorities

What do your company priorities look like? Are they out of date?

For example, what an oil company should be prioritizing now is very different from what it was looking at 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago. In 2024, they need to look more at eco-friendly pursuits.

Businesses also need to think about what true diversity and inclusion looks like, and practice what they preach to get the most out of their employees and prevent quiet quitting.

Get their feedback

The only way to know how employees feel is to collect their feedback. You could do this through focus groups or employee surveys.

By keeping your finger on the pulse of employee sentiment, you can head off quiet quitting before it starts.

Conclusion

Just because there’s a current trend for quiet quitting, that doesn’t mean it’s out of your hands. Instead, make your employees feel supported and you’re halfway to reactivating disengaged employees.

Want a little help along the way? Workrowd’s suite of tools can help you combat quiet quitting and boost engagement across your organization.

With a central hub for company culture, automated surveys, and real-time analytics, you have the power to drive real change.

Curious to learn more? Drop by our site or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Employee Retention

How to provide support after an employee leave of absence

From injury to parental leave, there are lots of instances where an employee leave of absence is needed. The longer the leave, the more challenging and intimidating it can be for that person to return.

To get the most from them, they need to feel comfortable in their role again. And that may look different from how it did before. After all, becoming a parent, having surgery, or getting a life-changing diagnosis can completely shift someone’s worldview.

So, how can you build in supports after an employee leave of absence? And how can you ensure they’re empowered to do their best after their return to work?

Consider supportive tech

Supportive tech can be a game changer for employees and even help them return to work faster.

I’ve got an injured finger as I write this. As a result, I’ve been typing on my phone and using a dictation app instead of a keyboard. This ensures I can keep writing without putting pressure on my injury, allowing me to heal faster and keep writing.

Dictation apps, height adjustable desks, screen readers, adaptable chairs, and ergonomic keyboards—there’s an option for just about every health concern.

Do some research into the employees’ health condition (if they disclosed it). Then, be sure to ask them what they want/need. They may not know what options are available to them, so it’s important that managers and HR teams are aware of them too.

Having the right tools after an employee leave of absence can make a world of difference.

Consider a phased return

Phased returns offer the chance to come back to work gradually after an employee leave of absence. This can make the prospect of returning less intimidating. It also allows the person to continue to rest and recuperate while building their strength and productivity back up.

They may need to start off with one day a week, then two the following week, three the next, and so on. 

It could be that they do reduced hours each day and gradually increase them.

The right pattern will vary from employee to employee. It will also vary based on the reason for the employee leave of absence and how long it was.

So it’s worth talking to your colleague to see what they need, rather than telling them they only have one option. That way, they’re comfortable with the solution and feel like their employer values them.

Catch up regularly

The only way to know what an employee really needs is to touch base regularly. These catch-ups should feel like relaxed conversations so that employees don’t feel like you’re spying on them or putting pressure on them because they’re not fully healed yet. 

You could do this weekly, or even daily, if your employee doesn’t feel like that’s too much pressure. 

The important thing is to have an open dialogue between managers and the employee, or HR and the employee, so that they can share how they’re actually feeling and how the current process works for them. 

If something isn’t working, look at ways you can pivot to help them get back to performing at their best.

Listen and learn

It’s really important to ask employees what they want and need rather than making assumptions.

One of the biggest contributors to our physical and mental wellbeing—that isn’t always talked about—is feeling supported by those around us.

That support starts with listening. It gives employees some control over a situation that might have been out of their hands. This is particularly true if the employee leave of absence was due to injury or surgery. 

Giving them agency back in this way can make a huge difference to their wellbeing. As opposed to taking that away by making assumptions about what will help them heal faster.

Offer flexible working options

Flexible working options such as changing someone’s start and finish time, or allowing them to work from home, can be game-changers for those coming back from an employee leave of absence. It means that they can work at a time, and in an environment, that works the best for them and their healing journey. 

It shows that you value them as a person and don’t just see them as another piece in a puzzle. This can also help them return to work quicker because they’re not forcing themselves to work when they don’t feel up to it.

For example, many health conditions, from allergies to chronic pain and anything in between, are often worse in the morning.

So while allowing an employee to start an hour later seems like a small thing, the extra hour of sleep can make a massive difference to their wellbeing.

Connect them to their colleagues

Perhaps you have a new mother returning to work. Connecting her with other working parents who’ve experienced raising a newborn further allows her to feel supported in the work environment.

One way you can do this is through employee groups. They offer opportunities for employees to get to know others with similar interests or backgrounds. Which then enables them to share their successes and their struggles.

Knowing you have a strong network when coming back from an employee leave of absence can significantly reduce anxiety.

Conclusion

It’s not just about getting employees back to work quickly that makes a difference to your business’s bottom line. It’s also getting them back in a way that supports their health and wellbeing so that they can perform at their best.

Supporting employees in their healing journeys with things like flexible working and listening to their needs are small steps that show you value them. They enable talented team members to keep working while they heal.

Returning from an employee leave of absence can be tough. Want to make it a breeze for team members to pick up where they left off?

Workrowd has the tools you need to keep everyone connected and engaged. No matter the reason for an employee leave of absence, our platform makes it easy to jump back in with strong support from day one.

Curious to learn more? Visit us online or email us directly at hello@workrowd.com to schedule time to chat.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Employee Engagement

6 tips to boost engagement among introverts in the workplace

Less than half of the US population is extroverted. Yet it often feels like the working environment caters to people who like loud, busy spaces and people all day, every day, everywhere. Which can be really challenging for introverts in the workplace.

On top of that, qualifying for promotions often requires socializing with colleagues. Those who don’t risk being seen as weird, looked down on, or treated differently.

So why are extroverted personalities valued more in the workplace if most of the population is introverted?

When you consider that a study of over 900 CEOs found that introverts were more likely to exceed investors’ expectations more often, and studies showed that introverts made better leaders, why aren’t we supporting employees who like the quiet life more often?

Why don’t we design more processes and spaces around the needs of introverts in the workplace?

What is an introvert?

Before we go any further, let’s dispel some common myths about introverts.

Many people assume introverts hate people. But introversion and misanthropy aren’t the same thing.

A lot of introverts actually like socializing. They just need time to recharge on their own or with people they’re close to.

The best way I’ve heard it described (and seen it demonstrated by other people) is that extroverts get their energy from other people. Introverts get it from alone time.

For an introvert, this might mean reading a book, watching TV, walking the dog—whatever works for them. There’s no one-size-fits-all way to recharge.

An introvert might have enough energy for work, but not have any left for post-work socializing. Or they may find an open-plan office overwhelming.

So, with that in mind, how can you boost engagement among introverts in the workplace? 

Allow for flexible working

Different types of working suit different types of personalities. Over 80% of extroverted employees want a hybrid work model, with 15% preferring full-time remote work.

Three-fourths of introverts also want to be in the office at least part-time.

This could be because work is often a place where we socialize. Introverts may not speak to many people if they don’t go out of the house. Plus, it takes extra effort to go out (speaking from my own experience and that of my introverted friends).

Everyone is different, though, and allowing for flexible working helps you create a more diverse workforce from every direction. It can go a long way towards boosting engagement among introverts in the workplace.

Have a quiet space/ time

Open-plan offices can be extremely noisy, overstimulating places.

When I used to work in an office, someone would be playing music, someone else would have a really loud voice that carried across the room, another would be boiling the kettle, someone else would be washing their mug, cars would be driving past…it was nonstop for eight hours a day. And that was only the noise.

It usually wouldn’t take long before I needed to either get away from my desk because I was feeling fidgety, or I needed to be on my own as I was overwhelmed by being surrounded by so many people. But there was really nowhere for me to go and work quietly.

Offering a quiet place for employees to focus helps them recharge while still getting work done.

For remote businesses, allowing employees to turn off email or Slack/Teams notifications for a couple of hours is the digital equivalent.

In both instances, employees can focus on what they’re trying to do, rather than draining their energy blocking out what’s going on around them. Cutting it out can give introverts in the workplace more energy and boost their mental health.

Avoid forced/ mandatory socializing

For introverts in the workplace, socializing with coworkers can present challenges. It may instill fear that they’ll get overlooked for promotions or their colleagues won’t like them as much because they didn’t go out for drinks on a Friday night, or wanted to go for a walk on their own instead of going for a group lunch.

And the unspoken requirement to go, even if it’s not actually mandatory.

Employees need to feel like they can say no to workplace drinks without someone trying to talk them into it. Or that their career will suffer because of it. They shouldn’t need to justify not wanting to socialize with their colleagues outside of work.

Show different kinds of leadership

The stereotypical idea of leadership is often more extroverted and focuses on traits that are considered masculine.

However, studies have shown that introverted and female leadership styles are actually more effective.

This includes showing empathy and actively listening to your employees.

The more you demonstrate different kinds of leadership, the more it will benefit your employees, managers, and future hires.

Introverts in the workplace will also see a possible career path for themselves, even if they don’t fit into a typical extroverted management style.

Managers won’t feel the need to live up to false expectations, mask who they really are, or hide how they feel.

Future hires will see a business that celebrates and supports diversity, making them want to work there.

Offer different ways to communicate

Every business has its preferred way(s) to communicate. Considering individuals’ preferences enables them to get the most from a conversation.

For example, some people prefer written feedback because they can take their time to digest it. But for the person giving the feedback, a video can sometimes be quicker.

The solution? Transcribe the video!

Technology makes it easier than ever to combine different types of communication so that everyone can benefit. Including and especially introverts in the workplace.

Embrace active listening

Sometimes, someone will look like they’re not paying attention in a meeting, but they’re actually listening actively. This can have long-term benefits, allowing for other perspectives.

However, there’s often the assumption that someone isn’t paying attention because they’re not speaking up during a meeting.

Sometimes people genuinely lack the confidence to speak up—especially if they’re a minority in the room.

Other times, they’re percolating.

But it’s important to give people the space to listen, and that one person—or one group of people—doesn’t hog the conversation. Quieter members of the team should feel able to share their opinions without judgement, but likewise should be able to listen without comments that they’re too quiet.

Conclusion

When more than half the working population is introverted, it doesn’t make sense to exclude them or expect them to behave like the minority.

The most successful businesses celebrate and support employees’ differences, as these can be turned into strengths that help the business grow and develop.

In turn, this benefits employees’ productivity and confidence, improving engagement and retention.

How is your organization supporting introverts in the workplace? If you’re looking for ways to ensure employees can get and stay connected on their terms, Workrowd can help.

With employee groups, personalizable settings, automated feedback surveys and more, everything you need is in one place. Want to see how our tools could improve outcomes for introverts in the workplace at your organization? Visit us online or email us at hello@workrowd.com.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs
Categories
Employee Retention

8 strategies to boost employee attraction and retention in 2024

Employee attraction and retention perpetually rank at the top of HR’s priority list.

60% of businesses find it hard to retain employees. Given the change in cultures since the pandemic, and how many businesses now want to go back to working as if it never happened, it’s not really surprising that employees are jumping ship.

But if businesses can prevent 75% of the reasons employees leave, why don’t they work on fixing those issues?

Especially when almost three-quarters of businesses are struggling to attract employees right now?

Let’s look at some of the ways you can boost employee attraction and retention this year.

Share your values

How often do you share what matters to your business?

Are you laser-focused on green initiatives?

Do you work with grassroots organizations to improve diversity in your industry?

Whatever your values are, when people know what matters to you and your business, you’ll attract like-minded individuals who want to work toward the same or similar goals.

This will improve the quality of the candidates who apply for roles.

It will have a positive impact on employee attraction and retention because people will feel aligned with the organization.

Give employees a purpose

Employees want to feel like more than just a cog in a machine. They want to know that what they do matters.

Giving your employees a greater purpose improves their wellbeing and quality of life. It can even help people live longer.

That purpose could be tied to your shared values, or it could complement those values in some way. For instance, if diversity is important to your business, an employee could specifically focus on disability awareness in the workplace.

You could also give employees the chance to volunteer a couple days a year for organizations that matter to them. Social impact opportunities are a great way to boost employee attraction and retention.

Let your culture shine

If someone knows what your company culture is like before they join your business, they’re more likely to be a good fit because they know what they’re signing up for.

Make sure you’re vocal about your culture on your company website, social media, email marketing—anywhere you interact with customers and candidates. This will give them a clear idea of what you’re about as an organization.

It will also nurture the relationships you have with them. Which means they’ll be more primed to apply when a suitable vacancy opens.

To monitor your company culture and make sure it aligns with your values, why not send an employee survey?

With Workrowd, you can send them automatically, so you can act on the results right when they come in. Keeping a pulse on workers’ wants and needs is key to employee attraction and retention.

Ensure job descriptions match your business

One of the reasons employees leave during onboarding is because what they were sold during the hiring process isn’t what the role or company is actually like.

Job descriptions can play a big role in this. Do you euphemize how stressful the role is? Do you talk about being a “team player” when they’ll do a lot of solo working?

All job descriptions should accurately reflect the company culture and what employees can expect from the role and their team (if they’re even part of a team, or if they’re going to be a one-person band).

Otherwise, you risk attracting wrong-fit candidates who will leave sooner and mean you have to repeat the costly hiring process.

Practice true diversity

When a company is truly diverse, it’s more profitable and innovative.

There are no downsides to more diverse organizations, but the term can be met with eye rolls anyway.

Make sure that when you’re hiring, the hiring panel is truly diverse.

If the hiring panel only has one female or person of color, it can actually decrease diversity within the organization.

The underrepresented team member won’t want to look like they’re playing favorites, but the white/male hiring managers are more likely to think they’ve got diversity covered and don’t need to worry about it.

So have more than one female, person of color, person with a disability, etc, on your hiring panels. It can help tackle unconscious bias and ensure that your employee attraction and retention efforts yield the right hire.

Remember: perks aren’t everything

Focusing on perks over payment might’ve worked ten years ago. Now though, employees see perks for what they are: an excuse to not pay them what they’re worth.

Instead, focus on paying employees the market rate and valuing their expertise and knowledge. Don’t bother trying to reward them with tokens like dart boards or free fruit. Those things won’t deliver results on employee attraction and retention.

Nail your onboarding process

The more effective your onboarding process is, the quicker new hires will reach full productivity. And the quicker they can start making money for you. Plus, it can mean 69% of new hires stay for 3 years or more.

But an ineffective onboarding process can lead to confused employees who leave before finishing their probation.

It could also lead to negative reviews on sites like Glassdoor or LinkedIn.

Some things to consider including in your employee onboarding process:

  • Business background
  • About your product/service
  • How you expect employees to behave
  • What their role entails
  • Company values
  • Who to go to for different queries
  • Where to find information
  • How to use tools
  • Social media policy
  • Where to find HR policies
  • How to book paid time off, sick leave, etc.

Invest in employees’ growth

Employees want to learn more. Investing in their growth can improve your employee attraction and retention success and boost loyalty.

This could come in the form of training to make them better at their role. Or training in a related area to expand their industry knowledge.

You could also run lunch and learns or one-off workshops where employees learn a new skill such as storytelling or public speaking.

While these won’t be directly related to every role, creative skills and confidence-boosting workshops help every area of a business, and every employee regardless of rank. They’ll be more confident, persuasive speakers and having learned something new will be good for their mental health, too.

Conclusion

Employee attraction and retention is a cycle. The types of candidates you attract and hire will ultimately impact your employee retention.

It’s therefore important to communicate your company values and expectations early on, during the hiring process.

That way, candidates who are a poor fit will exclude themselves, reducing the number of resumes you need to filter through, and potentially saving you money and ensuring you hire better-quality employees.

Want to boost employee attraction and retention in one step? Workrowd has what you need. With all your employee programs, groups, and events in one place, it’s easy to showcase your culture to potential hires. And current employees will want to stick around with such easy access to everything that makes your organization great.

Want to learn more and see how Workrowd could plug in to boost employee attraction and retention in your workplace? Drop by our site or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

5 ways to build financial literacy for employees
4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work
6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs