July 18, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Eide Bailly LLP.

A version of this article first appeared on EideBailly.com.

In April, the United States’ unemployment rate was 3.5 percent. Nearly 6 million people were unemployed, and 2 million were making unemployment insurance claims. Many of those unemployed individuals are part of what is called the Great Resignation. People are either staying unemployed after being let go, not returning to work after being furloughed, quitting their jobs or retiring early. Those who haven’t retired are reevaluating their priorities and thinking carefully about their next steps.

With low unemployment and unlimited opportunities available, employees confidently are making demands of employers they previously were unable to make. The high demand for a limited number of available workers has created a war for talent. Organizations are struggling to fill roles and retain employees. What do people expect of their employers today? And how can you best meet those expectations?

Highly effective employee retention tactics

Focusing on retention and recruitment of talent is your best defense against the Great Resignation. Recruitment and retention should be core strategic initiatives that aren’t just relegated to human resources but also championed by senior leadership managers and your entire workforce.

1. Make recruitment a priority

Recruitment is a process that includes the sharing and collection of information by both the employer and the candidates being considered. A strong recruitment initiative includes planning, preparation and utilization of the right people in order for an employer to properly select a candidate. Each time your organization has a need to hire someone, take time to do the following:

• Identify the need: Determine what the department needs to be more successful.
• Create a compelling job posting: Communicate the position in a way that makes a candidate want to perform the responsibilities.
• Find talent within your network: Assess whether existing employees see this new position as an opportunity to grow their skill set.
• Spread the word regarding the position: Engage all possible channels such as social media, all standard job boards and professional associations.
• Keep diversity in mind: Consider sharing the position to diversity-related job boards.
• Respond: Time kills all deals. Your response time should reflect current expectations.
• Be consistent: Determine standard interview questions, role-based questions and information you’ll share with the candidate such as company goals and benefit information.
• Get the information you need: Pursue clarity in the candidate’s answers to critical questions.
• Decide: Meet with the interview group to determine if the candidate is a potential fit, then get in touch with that individual as soon as possible.

2. Make onboarding/orientation enjoyable

Devote time to developing a process that inspires new hires while also delivering the most pertinent information.

What basics do new hires need on their first day? Essentials might include:

• Company contacts details such as email, address, phone number
• Workspace
• Equipment
• Software
• Parking pass
• Building access card/key fob/keys
• Email address
• Branded email signature
• Business cards
• Name badge
• Added to distribution lists and regular department or company meetings
• Training agenda

What should be included in a standard orientation agenda? Depending on your organization, your agenda might include:

• Explanation of and enrollment in benefits
• Explanation of policies
• Building tour and introductions to key individuals
• Lunch with the team
• Paperwork such as necessary legal agreements
• Workstation setup and supply gathering
• Expectation setting
• Identification of a “go-to person” for questions and assistance
• Position-specific training, potentially hands-on
• Company training, including any legally required training

3. Prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion

No matter the size of your organization, it’s critical to provide an inclusive work environment through DEI initiatives. The current workforce expects such initiatives, and many organizations are putting them in place.

What is DEI?

Diversity, equity and inclusion can seem very nuanced and complex, but the overall objective is to foster a professional, supportive work environment where everyone can be their authentic self and have their voice heard.

• Diversity of people and perspectives
• Equity in policy, practice and position
• Inclusion via power, voice and organizational culture

How to establish a DEI initiative

• Gather data on your current employee demographic in relation to the demographics of your city, state, region and industry to determine where your organization is at with regards to diversity. This allows you to see where there are opportunities for growth and change — your “growth opportunity segment.”
• Design a DEI strategy that matches your business objectives. Establish goals around what it will take to grow and change within your growth opportunity segment.
• Implement your DEI strategy. Focus on recruitment, development and retention of individuals within your growth opportunity segment.
• Evaluate and continue to audit your DEI strategy. Are your efforts working? If not, what adjustments or new strategies need to be designed and implemented?

4. Facilitate growth opportunities for employees

A desirable work environment is one that promotes growth. Allow employees to grow from training, mentoring and coaching opportunities. Take the time to ensure they understand what is expected in their current role, listen to their feedback on potential changes to improve the role and provide them with opportunities to develop.

Employees enjoy working with and for individuals who share their knowledge and expertise. Incorporate opportunities for new hires to learn from others within the organization and to learn from top performers. This gives top performers their own growth opportunities with more responsibilities to prepare them for a future management role. It also creates opportunities for employees to interact with one another and build camaraderie.

Also, be on the lookout for employees who are struggling, and see if you can coach or guide them back on track. The goal of performance management is to set expectations and work with the employee to make them successful. Employers need to be reminded that while it may take some effort to get an employee to improve performance, it will take more effort and time to recruit, hire and train someone new.

5. Choose people managers wisely

Typically, top performers are promoted to management-level roles. However, you also want to make sure those individuals you promote have people-management skills. If they don’t, provide opportunities for them to develop in a technical or training capacity. For those you do promote to management, be sure to provide them with training to transition from employee to manager. Will they be responsible for performance evaluations? How should they deal with conflict and difficult conversations?

Further, keep your managers up to date on company strategic initiatives, goals and processes, and allow them to share those business practices with employees in their area. Employees often are more comfortable receiving information from and providing feedback to someone they work with directly. This also allows the manager to be seen as a leader in the organization.

It’s also critical to let managers make some decisions without having to go to their boss or boss’ boss. Employers should give managers the authority to approve or deny PTO requests, establish and update work processes, identify start dates for new hires, handle day-to-day questions from employees within their area, etc.

6. Allow flexibility in the workplace

Flexibility is now a broader expectation for the modern workforce. Flexibility encompasses a variety of possibilities, but the current primary focus of flexibility is remote work. There are specific roles and industries that require in-person interaction – and in those circumstances, an employer will need to focus on other ways to be flexible.

To ensure employees are successful working remotely, employers must provide technology and resources that are easy to access and create efficiencies. Employers also should set expectations in a remote-work agreement, so everyone is on the same page.

Beyond remote work, employers should consider:

• Creating an environment that promotes work-life balance, such as leaving early or taking a day off to attend a family event, team sports, performances or a needed mental health day.
• Allowing flexibility for employees as they go through various phases of their life such as marriage, children, caring for aging parents, etc.
• Offering PTO/vacation time and allowing employees to take it – and supporting them in taking it by identifying resources and adjusting schedules.

7. Provide wellness benefits

Wellness is a combination of mental, physical, spiritual and financial health. Employers should do all they can to address each area of wellness with the benefits and employment practices they offer to reach the ultimate goal of improving health, reducing health care costs and improving productivity.

Examples of wellness actions or activities include:

Mental wellness

• Offer an Employee Assistance Program your employees can access — it may be part of a health or life insurance plan.
• During times of crisis, engage service providers to address your staff and provide one-on-one counseling services. 

Physical wellness

• Offer healthy snack and meal options for employees to enjoy.
• Contribute toward gym or fitness memberships or equipment — it may be part of a health benefit.

Spiritual wellness

• Schedule on-site trainers for yoga, meditation and other relaxation exercises.
• Allow employees to take time off for religious holidays that are important to them and their benefits.

Financial wellness

• Provide a retirement plan for employees to participate in and consider including a company match.
• Provide student loan debt payoff options – partner with a student loan financer to provide guidance to employees on paying off their student loans.

8. Create community in your work environment

Employees want to stay with an employer who has a work environment, or culture, they want to be part of.

Care about your employees – they are your greatest asset:

• Know who they are – family names, pet names, interests, hobbies
• Celebrate their accomplishments and life events

Coordinate fun activities for employees to bring them together:

• Social activities
• Celebrations

Commit to giving back to the communities you operate in:

• Create community service days
• Provide opportunities for employees to give back to the causes they care about

Prioritize the retention of workplace talent

Retention of workplace talent should be a prioritized strategic initiative for any organization that hopes to rise above the Great Resignation. Partnering with human resource specialists to develop or strengthen recruitment and retention practices will help set your organization up for success.