3 ways to keep employees from job searching

SPOT THE SIGNS OF A SECRET SEARCH: According to ZipJob , out of those who quit their jobs in 2023, 68% admitted they secretly searched for a new job, interviewed and accepted an offer before putting in their two weeks with their current employer.

"It would be great if we could have an open and honest conversation with our managers," says Amanda Augustine, career expert at ZipJob . "But the reality is employees are afraid that their boss may retaliate by either letting them go right away or just making things really rough on them on the way out." She shares the tips employees can take to keep their job search low-key.

Here's how to intercept secret job searching and get employees to stay: Don't get caught job hunting: 5 ways to search in secret

EMBRACE DEI: While the current legislative bills opposing diversity and equity efforts are primarily focused on colleges and universities, they threaten DEI support across every sector . And yet, the IT industry considers DEI an essential part of business: 80% of IT and HR professionals agree that diversity initiatives are crucial for an inclusive IT workplace, according to a recent report from IT services and consulting company TEKsystems . And the same goes for leadership: 68% of enterprise decision-makers expect to increase their DEI spending and DEI hiring in 2024.

"IT organizations recognize that they're able to produce better products and offer better services when there are more diverse perspectives contributing to them," says Franklin Reed , TEKsystems' executive director of global inclusion, diversity and equity. "And they recognize that in order to solve that, we've got to attract a diverse employee base."

Here's how to embrace DEI in your hiring practices, in the tech space and beyond: Why the IT industry doesn't believe in the 'anti-DEI' movement

OFFER FLEXIBLE BENEFITS FOR WORKING PARENTS: As an HR leader, Jessica Larsen admits that she didn't always understand concerns about workplace flexibility she'd hear from her colleagues with kids. The urgency, she says, was lost on her as a childless worker.

"I used to have the mindset of, 'Working parents can get off early to go pick up their kids? Well, I might want to go to an earlier gym class,'" says Larsen, senior HR specialist at workplace solutions company Insperity . "Then I became a parent during COVID."?Larsen shares how she fits work and motherhood into her day, and why more employers need to embrace family-friendly work policies to retain their employees.

Here's how to make your benefits and work schedules more accessible to moms and dads: How to keep RTO mandates family-friendly

And check out our full digital magazine, The plight of the working parent , right here: CHILD CARE IN 2024