Retention & Performance – A Growing Concern for Businesses.

Retention & Performance – A Growing Concern for Businesses.

Most recruitment businesses, like many other sectors, have seen more changes in team dynamic and behaviour in the last four years than perhaps the 15 proceeding.

I hate to bring up the C-word again, but the impact of Covid and lockdown on how we approach work, team management, learning & development and leadership was such a seismic shift, that many companies are still battling to get it right.

Labelled at the time as the “new normal”, remote working was praised as maximising the use of evolving technologies to re-establish a better work-life balance. And mostly, in my opinion, it has achieved that. Evolution is not only necessary, but also unavoidable.

However, I would argue that it may not be that clear cut. Every company relies on engagement, on culture and on upskilling & mentoring the next generation of talent, aka the leaders of tomorrow and the current board members’ succession plan.

And throughout the last four years most of the focus has been about what the next generation see as fitting. How they see their world being run. From my point of view not enough development resource has been invested on how we upskill the managers and leaders of today. Not enough strategic realignment has been done to consider how a leadership teams can continue to protect and cultivate culture, lead teams remotely and achieve performance.

Technology is fantastic and every business should embrace the empowering connectivity it offers but as we covered in a recent article about The Limitation of coaching over Zoom, we all have to admit that there is something about face-to-face human interaction that allows us all to develop a deeper, richer understanding of someone’s feelings, and thoughts. Thereby, enabling a more meaningful connection.

Afterall we are social animals with pack mentality. It shows itself in the form of families, friends’ groups, stadiums, concerts...etc. The place of work is no different. A place of work is where ideas are formed, mentoring happens, friendships are built, wins are enjoyed and true support is offered.

Even if WFH is just two or three days a week, serious thought has to be put into how communication, management and culture are adjusted to not only serve the next generation of talent and the senior leadership team, but to best serve the business.

Let’s be clear here, work-life balance is important but in the context of work, work is a business with a P&L. And a business will not perform in line with planned outcomes, unless it is functioning efficiently, effectively, and profitably.

We have seen countless recruitment companies embrace this “new normal” with open arms. They have listened to their teams, welcomed video calls, remote working, revisited packages, holiday allowances, working hours and various softer benefits.

Surprisingly on many occasions such changes have not brought about the expected renewed comradery and engagement, akin to pre-covid times. Instead, there are growing issues with retention, performance, engagement and a noticeable degradation of culture.

?Add on managers who are not upskilled to lead teams remotely within a struggling economy and we have a perfect storm.

Part of our work at BlueInk is steering shareholders and leadership teams to make sure they get the balance right. That doesn’t mean pulling the dial all the way back to companies at the detriment of staff and the evolution of the workplace. It’s making sure that every team member, from junior to senior gets the input, the support, the culture and the performance management that is necessary for them to excel at their jobs.

And that’s where true engagement and motivation can come from.

Shayan Sadiq

Direct response Copywriter | Helping CEOs, Founders, and Coaches maximize their ROI up to 40% through copywriting | 20+ satisfied clients ??

7 个月

This article is really nice. ?? Rob Markwell

回复

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Rob Markwell的更多文章

  • What if the problem is you?

    What if the problem is you?

    That it be in the initial stages of start-up or several years down the line, your business can find itself dealing with…

  • Culture is more complex than just “great” or “toxic”.

    Culture is more complex than just “great” or “toxic”.

    Having a defined culture is crucial to not only in attracting talent into the business but engaging current teams and…

  • Pivoting – Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

    Pivoting – Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

    80% of the UK recruitment agency scene is made up of small independent agencies of 20 headcount or less, of which a…

  • The Phoenix Company Taboo

    The Phoenix Company Taboo

    They say 20% of businesses fail within one year and 60% within three years. Those statistics are often quoted to…

  • Business Partnerships: When the Love Affair Turns Sour

    Business Partnerships: When the Love Affair Turns Sour

    Like most friendships and love affairs, business partnerships start off with all the right intentions, energy, and…

  • Running a Business: The Mental Health Impacts

    Running a Business: The Mental Health Impacts

    In the context of work, a brighter spotlight has been put on work/life balance and mental health. Rightly so many…

  • How effective is coaching over Zoom?

    How effective is coaching over Zoom?

    If we can cast our memories back to pre-2020, video calls were the exception, not the rule. Today it is the standard…

    5 条评论
  • Accountability is Key For Growth

    Accountability is Key For Growth

    In my experience, accountability is the foundation upon which trust is built between business leaders and their wider…

    1 条评论
  • In tougher times, should you lead with price?

    In tougher times, should you lead with price?

    During tough economic times, businesses often resort to slashing prices to stay afloat. However, this knee-jerk…

  • Is the 4 day week becoming reality?

    Is the 4 day week becoming reality?

    The news and LinkedIn yesterday hailed “a breakthrough for the 4 day week”. So are we really turning a corner or is…

    2 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了