08 Aug Global Mobility Professionals Need Employee Retention Strategy

The business world had a renewed focus on employees when Covid-19 ravaged the economy. The global mobility workforce has definitely evolved throughout the pandemic period from the massive shifts such as remote work and the Great Resignation.

It’s pretty interesting to observe the switch of influence from the employer to the employee in the talent market game. At the beginning of the pandemic, many organizations were forced to conduct mass layoffs to ensure business continuity in an incredibly shaky economy.

In 2021, Pew Research discovered that roughly 9.6 million workers lost their jobs in the first months of the Year 2019. But just as the economic landscape began to recover, many employees have opted to resign from their work in the search of opportunities that were better suited for their desired lifestyle.

The research organization observed that low compensation, the lack of opportunities for career advancement, and the feeling of disrespect at work were the top reasons why American workers chose to resign.

The Great Resignation had signaled to employers the stronger influence job seekers possess in today’s labor market. With this knowledge, employers had leveled their game out on attracting better candidates to fill their job vacancies. But what happens when newly hired employees still choose to leave the company despite their improved offers?

This time HR and global mobility teams need to formulate strategies to improve employee retention. It’s difficult to lose an employee especially when companies have invested a ton of effort and money in maintaining a competitive advantage in attracting top talent.

The Predictive Index discusses employee retention strategies organizations can implement to prevent a high attrition rate in the workplace.

Implement a seamless onboarding process

Having an optimized onboarding process leaves a lasting impression on a new employee. For some, it might even be a dealbreaker. Many job seekers see the onboarding process as a reflection of the organization’s priorities. Additionally, job seekers belonging to the millennial and Gen Z generation even demand that technology be evident in the hiring process. 

HR Sapling, an onboarding software firm, claims that great employee onboarding can improve employee retention by 82%.

Be competitive in terms of compensation

As mentioned, many have opted for better career opportunities that pay better than their previous jobs. So making sure that top-performing employees are getting paid for good work will be worth it in the long term. Otherwise, companies risk losing more money in training and attaining new talent to fill the job gaps. What’s even worse is companies risk losing another employee when unfulfilled tasks are delegated to existing employees which might result in burnout.

Hire for culture fit

A study reveals that employees who fit well with their organization tend to remain with their organization longer and show greater levels of job satisfaction. To determine whether a candidate is culturally fit with an organization, they can implement cultural interviews instead of relying on an interviewer’s gut feel toward an applicant.

Reward engagement efforts

It’s important to be mindful of proactive efforts that an employee makes to improve his or her contribution to organization-wide goals. Though the emphasis on good results is often given credit, it wouldn’t hurt for companies to reward conscious decisions an employee makes to better himself professionally for the company. 

Focus on well-being

The pandemic has magnified the need for companies to look out for signs of burnout, stress, and low performance. Companies that fail to determine these in the early stages might end up with lesser workers and would have to scramble to find replacements within shorter periods depending on the need.

Encourage open communication and feedback

Communication is a two-way street. When employees are left in the dark, they can often feel unsure whether their existing position within the company is an essential part that contributes to the overall goals of the organization. Giving voices to employees allows organizations to hear the crucial needs and concerns they might have. Pumble demonstrates that effective communication affects employee retention positively by 4.5 times in contrast with businesses that lack effective communication at work.

Embrace remote and hybrid workplace models

The evidence of the rising demand for remote work is clear. Ladders, a career news organization, claimed that its data scientists predicted that 25% of professional jobs in North America will be remote at the end of this year. Businesses that don’t adapt to this trend might find it difficult to tap into the global talent pool. 

Learn why employees are leaving

The only way to get to the bottom of high employee resignation levels within the context of an organization is to learn why they desired to leave in the first place. Employers can make any intellectual guess; however, the best method to identify issues within the company that contribute to high attrition rates is to ask the resigning employees themselves.

In summary, the global labor market has shifted. Companies are now required to portray themselves as genuinely people-centered organizations. With social media being leveraged as a tool for workers to vent out their sentiments toward a company’s culture, business practices, and the way they deal with their employees, organizations who fail to practice what they preach risk getting called out on social media.