When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many people began to create new life priorities. No one was certain how many people might lose their lives or what the ultimate impact would be. Throughout history, when people face extenuating circumstances, they shift their world views and begin to make life-changing adjustments.
What Is the Great Rethink?
The Great Rethink better explains what some have termed the Great Resignation. People are reevaluating their relationships with work and how to have a better balance in their lives.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics took a look at employee retention and found companies may have more challenges than pre-pandemic. Around 25% more workers voluntarily leave their companies today. One of the leading causes is burnout and the other is feeling disrespected. However, long hours, lack of benefits and low pay also topped the list.
Paying attention to the Great Rethink offers a number of benefits to companies. Businesses wanting to keep their top staff must consider how to improve company culture and retain people rather than letting them leave for another position or to start their own company.
Here are some things you can do to ensure your staff remain loyal to your brand.
1. Improve Employee Engagement
One thing the Great Rethink proved was that employees weren’t nearly as loyal to employers as companies thought they were. The hospitality and restaurant industries were some of the hardest hit, as people weren’t willing to put their lives on the line for low pay, horrible hours and awful working conditions.
What did the companies who kept the most workers have in common? They engaged their workers and offered team building opportunities. Staff felt management cared about their well-being and worked to protect them from the virus.
2. Fix Negative Attitudes
One study showed a toxic work environment made employees leave 10 times as much as low wages. Without strong role models of ethical behavior and respect, a workplace becomes extremely unpleasant for all but a select few who are on the inside.
Unless you want to constantly bleed money as you pay for recruiting new workers and training them, you must improve the entire company culture and make it a positive, uplifting place.
3. Invest in People
The Great Rethink has people considering how today’s actions impact their future selves. They want a company that will help them grow. If you’re willing to invest in them, they’re much more likely to stick around and work their way up in the company.
Offer management tracks. Reward hard work and experience over outside hires with fancy degrees. You can pay for an employee to take courses and earn degrees or specialized skills. You can’t force someone new to be loyal to your company.
4. Include Remote Workers
Experts predict 25% of all jobs will be remote by 2023. If any of your workers are out of the office, consider the drawbacks to remote work and how you might improve the situation. Include your remote workers in office parties by sending them gifts or offering a budget for ordering food.
Think about how you can improve their work/life balance. Those who work from home often don’t like being micromanaged. If you’re trying to stand over their shoulders as though they are in a cubicle next to your office, they will likely leave sooner rather than later. If you can’t trust your remote workers to complete their tasks on their own schedule, then they won’t mind leaving you to go elsewhere.
5. Offer Competitive Pay and Benefits
Even though money isn’t the only consideration for workers, people do have to live comfortably. The cost of everything keeps rising. Some companies don’t give raises that keep up with the cost of living increases.
When employees see you bringing in new hires with far less experience and education for the same rate they make after working for you for a decade, you are very likely to lose them to the competition. Most employees won’t ask for the raise they want. They’ll just wait and see if you give it to them, and if you don’t they will seek it by applying to higher-paying positions.
Communicate With Employees
Keep an open door with your workers and ask them what you can do to keep them with your company. If they get an offer from another place, they may give you a chance to retain them by upping their pay and benefits to match the other offer. Let them know you value them and will do what you need to keep them with your business. Doing so opens up the possibility they’ll remain loyal no matter what else happens in their lives or what opportunity comes their way.
Eleanor is editor of Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.
