The effectiveness of your employee conversations impacts nearly every aspect of work: from productivity and innovation…to engagement, workplace safety, and retention…to your own success as a manager or leader. Whether the topic is simple or complex, straightforward or potentially contentious, use these strategies to have honest, meaningful conversations that drive positive change.
Are your employees flocking to greener pastures?
Employee turnover can often be discomforting for employers, especially when it worsens over time. With so much attention on effective recruitment and hiring practices, it’s easy to forget that retaining top talent can sometimes be more challenging than finding high-quality workers in the first place. And the COVID-19 pandemic made things even more complicated, with many employees choosing to remain unemployed rather than return to work or find new careers entirely in some cases.
According to Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days, “Employee orientation centers around and exists to help the individual employee, but it is the company that ultimately reaps the benefits of this practice.” In other words, your bottom line and productivity are directly affected by your ability to retain every employee on your team.
Recent studies recognized by Sapling found that a negative onboarding experience results in new hires being twice as likely to look for other opportunities. Remember that the average U.S. employer spends around $4,000 and 24 days to hire a new employee — if your new hire walks out shortly after coming on board, that’s a lot of wasted time and productivity.
On the other side of the coin, research discovered that organizations with strong onboarding processes improved their new-hire retention by 82%, and productivity went up by 70%. Statistics like these reinforce the importance of investing in an employee retention strategy that begins as soon as employees sign on the dotted line.
With nearly one-third of new hires quitting during the first three months, you need to do everything possible from day one to ensure they get off to a great start.
Too often, employers get wrapped up in the technical parts of onboarding and end up dismissing the power of positive communication when welcoming new employees. Every aspect of communication — from the time you make a written job offer to an employee’s first week on the job — can influence your new hires’ perceptions of you as an employer.
Taking the time to communicate in a way that’s both professional and friendly will set the right tone as your new hires get acclimated to their new jobs. This involves clearly articulating your company’s procedures and protocols in all your training materials, as well as demonstrating positive verbal communication during orientations and introductions.
Furthermore, never underestimate how the simplest gestures can enhance employees’ onboarding experiences. For example, a “welcome note” from a manager or an informal “first day” lunch with new teammates can do wonders to help employees ease into their new responsibilities.
When it comes to retaining your talent, remember your temporary employees deserve just as much attention as your permanent workers. Your managers are essentially front-line ambassadors for your organization and ultimately shape the employment experiences of your workers.
Assignments are often a gateway for securing full-time employees; therefore, how you treat your temporary workers can greatly affect hiring outcomes in the future. Managers can be instrumental in creating an atmosphere in which temporary employees have the guidance and resources to excel in the company for the long term.
One of the best ways to make a positive impression on temporary workers is by engaging your managers in the onboarding process. Training your managers on how to properly communicate and manage contingent workers should be an integral part of any onboarding strategy for a few reasons:
Whether employees are temporary, full-time, or anywhere in between, onboarding has changed since the pandemic. You’ll need to adjust your process now that the new hire isn’t in a physical office and can’t connect face-to-face with their peers and supervisors. Here are a few tips:
A big misconception about onboarding is that it should only take a week or month to complete. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Effective onboarding should ideally be an ongoing process that actively engages employees long after their first few days on the job.
Conducting regular check-ins with your employees will allow you to regularly address their questions and concerns and rectify any issues they may be having — before they start seeking employment elsewhere! For example, you may implement monthly one-on-one meetings in which employees speak privately with their managers about their performance and how they can improve. This gives your managers an opportunity to hear from workers firsthand and make necessary adjustments to improve their employment experiences.
Building a relationship with a staffing partner is one of the most powerful ways to proactively reduce turnover within your organization while at the same time improving the quality of your workforce. Through strategic planning, your staffing partner will work closely with your team to meet key hiring and retention goals, as well as ensure optimal productivity and performance in every aspect of your organization’s operations.
A global human talent shortage plagues businesses around the world. According to management consulting firm Korn Ferry, if left unaddressed, the shortage could reach more than 85 million people by 2030. At this point, the shortage could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues, too.
Your business needs skilled professionals on staff. Yet, identifying, attracting, and retaining talent remains difficult. Fortunately, options are available to help you strengthen your workforce, regardless of your recruiting strategy. These options include upskilling and reskilling.
Upskilling involves learning new skills or enhancing existing ones. For instance, an employee can complete a training program that allows them to add new skills or improve current ones to further contribute to their company’s success. In this instance, the employee and their business can reap the benefits of upskilling.
Comparatively, reskilling involves developing new skills for a new role. For example, an employee who wants to move into a management role may enroll in online management courses. Upon completion of these courses, the worker will possess a wide range of management skills. Plus, the worker can transition into their management role without a steep on-the-job learning curve.
Ultimately, there is a lot to like about upskilling and reskilling. Key reasons why businesses utilize upskilling and reskilling across their workforces include:
Upskilling and reskilling provide businesses with myriad opportunities to invest in their employees. Meanwhile, workers can leverage upskilling and reskilling programs to bolster their skill sets. These employees can feel great about the fact that their businesses are committed to their success. The result: companies that leverage upskilling and reskilling can maximize their employee engagement and retention levels.
Struggling with turnover or employee motivation, ? GPS can help you build a more engaged, loyal workforce.
Skilled employees can deliver exceptional contributions across a business — and customers are likely to notice. So, if a company implements an upskilling or reskilling program, it can help its workers become better in various areas. These workers can then apply their new knowledge and insights to assist customers like never before. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction, along with increased revenues and exemplary customer loyalty.
Businesses want to attract top job candidates, regardless of role. With upskilling and reskilling programs, a company can distinguish itself to superb candidates. A company can use these programs to show job seekers it is willing to invest in their futures. This can help the business promote itself to candidates. And it may allow the company to recruit candidates who want to stay with it long into the future.
Your business can use upskilling and reskilling programs at any time. However, to get the most value out of these programs, it helps to plan. This ensures your upskilling and reskilling programs empower you to close skill gaps across your company.
Now, let’s look at five tips to help you optimize the ROI of your upskilling and reskilling programs.
Identify skill adjacencies across your workforce. To do so, look for workers who possess skills that align with those required to perform various tasks. Next, you can provide these employees with training to help them advance their skills.
Set up training programs tailored to different types of learning styles. For instance, some educational programs can leverage microlearning, which involves short videos and other media that cover topics in short increments. On the other hand, in-person and workshop classroom-style learning sessions can cater to workers who prefer hands-on learning. You can even offer online training sessions that employees can complete anywhere an internet connection is available.
Celebrate workers who upskill and reskill. You can offer bonuses, gift cards, and other financial rewards to employees who complete upskilling and reskilling programs. Or you can recognize these workers’ accomplishments during business meetings.
Give workers the flexibility to choose upskilling and reskilling programs that correspond to their career goals. Offer multiple programs, and employees can select ones that can help them accelerate their career growth.
Ensure workers across all departments can access your upskilling and reskilling programs. This enables employees to gain the skills they want to accomplish their career aspirations.
Upskilling and reskilling programs can deliver tremendous value. And, if you use these programs in combination with an effective talent recruitment strategy, your business can avoid a skills gap that can otherwise hamper its growth.
If you need help bridging the skills gap across your business or want to develop and implement an effective recruiting strategy, it pays to partner with a reputable recruiting company. The right recruiting company can help you get the best results from your upskilling and reskilling programs — and get more done.