Turning the Great Resignation into the Great Retention

The Guardian released an article in November 2021 which reported that approximately 25% of workers were actively planning to change employers, prompted by a high number of vacancies and burnout caused by the pandemic. On average, businesses plan for a staff turnover of about 11%, depending on the company, however a survey of 6,000 workers found that 69% of them were feeling confident about moving to a new role in the next few months, with 24% planning a change within three to six months.

The Product market is already highly competitive, so when you throw in these increased push factors, it’s no surprise that some businesses are struggling to retain exceptional Product talent .

Why are People Leaving their Jobs?

It's important to know why employees resign because when a company has a high turnover rate, this could signify low employee job satisfaction. By understanding employee reasons for leaving, businesses can actively make improvements internally to attract and retain staff more effectively, thus reducing recruitment and retraining costs, and improving overall staff morale.

Here are the top reasons employees leave their roles:

·??????Unsatisfied with salary and/or benefits package

·??????Overworked and/or unsupported with workload

·??????Limited career progression

·??????No opportunity for learning, development, and upskilling

·??????Poor work-life balance or burnout

·??????No recognition or appreciation / feeling unvalued

·??????Lack of challenge / bored

·??????Dissatisfied with management

·??????Concerns with company direction or financials

·??????Desire for change

·??????Better opportunity elsewhere

·??????Toxic work culture

Sometimes, people just want to leave. You can’t retain every staff member. Some attrition is natural, and all businesses should be comfortable with a small amount of turnover. However, some employees can be retained by making small improvements and changes internally.

Retaining Product Talent

Research carried out by Oxford Economics found that it takes recently hired professional workers 28 weeks to reach optimum productivity, which has an average attached cost of ￡25,200 per employee. This can naturally be much more depending on the role and seniority, and ideally needs to be avoided where possible.

Here are some retention strategies businesses can implement to reduce attrition and staff turnover.

Onboarding and Employee Orientation

You should be setting up your employees for success from day 1 (and even before that). Effective pre-boarding and onboarding is the perfect time to really invest in your employees and set the tone for the rest of their tenure. Some reports suggest that businesses with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by up to 82% and productivity by over 70%.

The process should cover:

Preboarding: help employees complete all the necessary paperwork, communicate frequently, provide business updates, invite them to meet the team, get them excited about the new role, alleviate any worries or doubts.

Welcome: give them a clear picture of your organization before they begin their work and give them a chance to meet other people in the business. Keep their first day simple but structured so they have time to talk with others.

Role Specific Training: provide formal training around role responsibilities and systems using different learning techniques like blended learning, self-paced learning, microlearning, and more so you can opt for a technique most suited to the individual.

Transition: help the employee transition from a new starter to a full-time employee by setting clear expectations for so that they know what they are responsible for and what they have autonomy over. Set goals and monitor these in monthly performance reviews.

Mentorship Programmes

Giving new starters a mentor ensures they have a strong point of contact with someone else in the business who is not their manager, meaning they can act as a soundboard, a guide, and a source of support. Not only will this encourage relationship building for the new starter but will also give existing employees a chance to step up into this leadership position.

Employee Compensation

Businesses need to offer employees a competitive salary , which means reviewing and adjusting them regularly to meet market averages. Where your business can’t increase salaries, they should consider improving other forms of compensation, such as bonuses, healthcare schemes, Tech for Work Schemes, and so on.

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Employee Perks

Perks can help your business with both candidate attraction and employee retention by boosting morale. Some common perks that employees tend to look out for include flexible hours, remote working options, and enhanced holiday/ annual leave schemes.

These perks might tie into recognition and rewards, so when an employee hits a milestone, they get additional work perks and benefits to show appreciation for their time and dedication to the business.

Wellness Programmes

Businesses have a duty of care to look after their staff, mentally and physically. It’s not just the right thing to do, but also has a profoundly positive impact on the wider business. Wellness programmes can include stress management sessions, access to mental health first aiders, wellbeing and fitness app subscriptions, gym membership reimbursements, retirement planning, and extended lunch breaks for health and wellbeing sessions.?Healthier and happier employees are more productive and more invested in the business, meaning they are less likely to be swayed to move elsewhere.

Communication

Transparent, honest, and clear communication is key, especially in a working world that is increasingly hybrid. Employees should feel like they are valued and that their input is important. Much of this is about giving employees the space to suggest ideas and contribute to discussions around business projects and goals, and leaders actually actively listening to these suggestions. Businesses should also proactively connect with all team members regularly too, to get a sense of their workload and job satisfaction.

Performance Reviews & Training

Businesses should be implementing frequent meetings with team members to discuss their long-term and short-term career aspirations, and to highlight any areas that they need more support with. Performance reviews can identify areas for personal and professional growth and upskilling so that appropriate training and development sessions can be scheduled. This might involve setting them up with a new mentor, giving them time to attend conferences and events, or subsidising formal qualifications. Prioritising investment in training and developing staff will build up their trust and loyalty.

Work Life Balance & Flexibility

Businesses need to stop expecting staff to be availably 24/7 and should encourage employees to switch off outside of their core working hours. Encourage employees to set boundaries and take annual leave, and where late nights are necessary to wrap up a project, consider giving them time in lieu to make up for the extra hours worked.

Flexibility is now also high on the agenda. People have lives outside of work, and every person’s situation is different, therefore the one-size-fits all approach to the working day, is rapidly becoming outdated. With one-third of employees suggesting that they would find new roles if their current employer requested they go back to the office full time, businesses need to consider making the shift to flexible, remote, and hybrid working permanent.

Hiring & Retaining Top Product Talent

With competition for top Product Talent intensifying, the above are just some ways to help increase your employees job satisfaction. However, it’s not just a one of consideration, you should re-evaluate your efforts regularly to make sure your package is competitive. That includes staying current on market standards for salary and benefits, and best practices for developing an attractive workplace culture and strong manager-employee relations.

Maxwell Bond are the award-winning tech and digital recruitment partner of choice for businesses across the UK and Germany looking to scale and grow high performing product teams. Our bespoke talent solutions are proven to reduce time to hire, cut recruitment costs, and improve staff retention.

Get in touch for a free, confidential chat to discuss how Maxwell Bond can support you with tech and digital hiring this year.

Alternatively, you can browse our current Product opportunities online .