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Employee retention critical in economic downturn
Author, Dr Caroline Sekiwano. PHOTO/COURTESY.
What you need to know:
- Employers need to update their workforce on the health of the organisation, solicit for employee ideas on how they can help in areas of cost control and eliminating waste. Employers need to be open and honest in order to earn employee trust and confidence of their workforce.
You would have to be living in a cave in some remote corner of the world to be unaware of how the economy has eroded since the Covid-19 global pandemic. With unemployment rates skyrocketing at a national level, the anxiety level of the workforce is at an all-time high. Job growth is mostly stagnant and layoffs may still loom. However, employers still have the responsibility of maintaining a fully engaged workforce to secure their organisation’s future.
Employee retention techniques go a long way in motivating employees to enjoy their work and avoid changing jobs frequently. Employers need to keep the lines of communication with employees open. Organisations must continually communicate with their workforce to maintain employee confidence. Remember, communication is a two-way street. To effectively communicate, leaders must take the time to really listen to the employees.
Sometimes employers think that guarding information will eliminate rumours and speculation. Well, as one wise author once said, “You can fool the spectators, but you can’t fool the players.”
Employers need to update their workforce on the health of the organisation, solicit for employee ideas on how they can help in areas of cost control and eliminating waste. Employers need to be open and honest in order to earn employee trust and confidence of their workforce.
It is important that employees have the attention of the entire leadership team. Hearing employers firsthand and having the opportunity to ask questions will go a long way in building trust. This is a much better mode of communication than impersonal mass e-mails that may go unread.
Employee recognition is important in retention of employees in a post crisis era and, therefore, employers should not lose sight of the basics. Organisations need to have a finger on the pulse of their employees’ morale. The best recognition programmes are often the least expensive. Leaders should ensure that key players know they are indeed key players. When key employees in an organisation are engaged, they set the example for others to follow.
Leaders need to manage by walking around the offices in order to stay connected with their employees. This ties in with our two earlier points: communicating with your employees and rewarding them for a job well done. All of this can be accomplished by being visible. “Walking the talk”, building relationships of trust and instilling confidence equates to real money on the bottom line and high employee engagement results in greater efficiency and overall profitability.
In critical times as these, organisations need good leadership. It is not uncommon in these uncertain times for employees to become distracted, resulting in lost productivity and in some cases, employees jump ship especially if the organisation has undergone layoffs or cuts in salaries, wages or benefits. Organisations tend to move into survival mode and may overlook the long-term effects to their workforce. Decisions in this environment are often made with a short-term view—“let’s just keep this thing afloat.” And this is where real leadership comes into play.
Great leaders never lose sight of the big picture. Organisations need to balance the need for financial prudence with maintaining a loyal and engaged work force. Therefore, retention of employees should be a key consideration for organisations in any economy and without differentiation, employees will either leave or become complacent. In either scenario, the lowering of your organisations skill base is the result.
Ms Caroline Sekiwano is a human resource and organisational development advisor
