5 Employee Retention Strategies vs The Great Resignation

In 2021, the U.S. saw a record-high number of employees quitting their jobs. While resignation rates have been increasing throughout the years, the year 2021 alone saw 4.53 million Americans turning in their resignations.

Unfortunately, this trend also extended to other parts of the world including Asia. According to a Mercer hiring and retention survey conducted for more than 150 Singaporean companies, 69% reported an increase in resignations in the early months of 2021. The same thing happened to Southeast Asian countries, with the turnover rate the highest for mid-career employees.

This phenomenon has been dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’ among other terms like ‘The Big Reshuffle’ and ‘The Big Quit’.

Reasons for the Great Resignation have been attributed to multiple factors, but none more so than the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought the world’s market to its knees since 2020. With businesses closing, frontliners being forced to work under duress, and friends and family getting sick or worst, employees’ mental, emotional, and physical health have been put to the test. This has led to a reorganization of priorities.

Not only that, but employers’ response to the global crisis revealed character, with employees’ finding out their worth to the business depending on the flexibility, benefits, and empathy provided to them during those tough times.

Employees globally have reassessed their work trajectories in the past year. (Photo by Roth Melinda on Unsplash)

Is the Great Resignation still happening?

To much concern, the Great Resignation is still happening with 44% of employees currently classified as job seekers per Willis Towers Watson’s 2022 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey.

And what this information reveals is that employees have resigned from their jobs even without the promise of a new one coming. Employee retention has truly entered new lows.

With the way it is, business owners face a new challenge. How can they retain their employees and keep the talents that ensure their businesses stay afloat? The question of how to combat the Great Resignation is one that must be answered to keep businesses running.

And we’re here to help.

What is employee retention and why does it matter?

But first, let’s discuss employee retention and why it matters.

Employee retention refers to a business’s ability to keep long-term employees. This involves building loyalty through various programs, benefits, and policies.

Employee retention is an important topic that’s even discussed in degree programs and online courses on business management. (Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash)

Employees are investments that help business owners run their businesses effectively and efficiently through their labor and skills. Businesses gain the most from experienced employees with intimate knowledge of their business model and operations.

A fast turnover rate for employees can lead to the following business downfalls:

• It damages the business’s reputation, especially within the industry’s talent pool. Websites online like JobStreet and LinkedIn all have features that allow employees to share their experiences with their previous employers. Bad work experiences that result in resignations are usually the source of the worst reviews, both online and offline. This could lead to low-quality applications should there be new hiring initiatives within the organization.
• It means losing the business’s resources invested in employee training and development. Instead of reaping the benefits of employees’ developed skills, other companies may enjoy them instead. Not only that, but the business will have to invest once more in new hires’ training and development.
• It invites human error since new hires still need training. Every time a business hires a new employee, there will always be a period of adjustment during which errors are more likely to be made. Overall, experienced employees are less likely to make work-related mistakes.
• It can lead to having a workforce that is not passionate about their jobs. Fast turnover rates most often translate to a disappointing employee experience. As such, passion and loyalty, which help employees churn out great outputs, are not nurtured within the workforce.

Even if a business can always hire new talent, good employee retention positively affects a business in the long run.

5 Employee retention strategies to survive the Great Resignation

If you’re looking to keep your employees amid the Great Resignation and reap the benefits of having loyal employees, then here are employee retention strategies you can incorporate into your business operations.

Be flexible and empathetic

Provide a flexible work setup. Doing so helps employees cope with unexpected personal crises and allows them to work in less than perfect situations.

Flexible hours and a hybrid or work-from-home setup mean employees can be with their loved ones when they need them the most. When the situation becomes family vs work, employees are more likely to choose the former. Don’t let it get to that.

Moreover, be more willing to grant leaves. This lets employees attend to personal issues in a more timely manner, which in turn allows them to bounce back to work faster.

While many countries around the world are now relaxing mandates on COVID-19 prevention and control, the pandemic is far from being over. The virus is still up in the air, affecting employees and their families’ well-being. Not only that, but other world crises are also still happening. From the war between Ukraine and Russia, rising gas prices, and inflation, people all over the world are not exactly experiencing their best years.

Offering a flexible setup and granting leaves is a show of empathy that bonds employers to their employees.

Work flexibility can do wonders for employees’ job satisfaction and retention. (Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash)

Encourage employee engagement and keep morale high

Employees who feel invisible at work feel less appreciated. And their inability to voice out their thoughts and ideas can lead to more stress. With mental health taking the world’s stage, especially during the pandemic crisis, employees with low morale tend to feel less loyal to the business and more prone to moving on under pressure. As such, employee engagement and retention go hand-in-hand.

Increase employee engagement by including employees in decision-making activities. Encourage them to share their thoughts and listen to their opinions and insights before finalizing a decision that will affect their work direction and efforts. After all, they are the executors of your business strategies. It will let you know if they can accomplish the tasks properly and in a timely manner, or if you need to hire more people and delegate better to avoid burnout among your employees.

You can also keep spirits high by providing enough work breaks throughout the day, sponsoring recreational and team-building activities, and celebrating small wins with your employees — even if it’s just buying coffee for the team. Show them that you care and that work can also be fun. Develop high employee morale and retention will follow.

Employees who feel great doing their jobs are employees willing to go the extra mile for the business’s success. (Photo by K8 on Unsplash)

Build and recognize talent and loyalty

Your work as an employer should start by hiring skilled and talented people that share your business vision. But it doesn’t end there. You also have to retain them. Keeping high-performing individuals improves the chances of business success. However, these talented and ambitious people have a lot of options.

Pump up job satisfaction and employee retention by recognizing their talent and work contribution accordingly with promotions and benefits. On that note, promote in-house instead of hiring externally when possible. This will keep your current employees excited about work and will help them avoid the feeling of being stuck.

You can also provide upskilling opportunities through sponsored training and workshops. Keep them up to date with industry practices and innovations. This will also benefit the company in the long run as their improved skills can be used for in-house tasks, project management, and operations management.

Verbal recognition is not enough. Reward skill, talent, and results with benefits that improve the employee’s work experience and quality of life. (Photo by Lukas on Pexels)

Amp up employee benefits as necessary

The top reason why US employees quit their jobs in the past year is that the pay was too low (Pew Research Center). Giving employees enough compensation and benefits to have a decent living is an employee retention basic that many employers forget.

And this should not be strictly limited by the set minimum wage. Employers know best the circumstances of their employees, especially as affected by current events like the pandemic, which has raised medical expenses, and inflation, which has raised the prices of goods and services. So if you’re a business owner, adjust pay and benefits accordingly.

Employees are more focused at work and function best when their basic needs are met.

Not only that, but providing necessary and timely assistance builds a mutually beneficial relationship wherein employees will also have your back during unprecedented times.

To last the race, your team should support each other throughout the different obstacles thrown your way. (Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash)

Practice work-life balance

Ensuring your employees have work-life balance gives you a happy, motivated, and energetic workforce that’s ready to face day-to-day business struggles.

To do this, try to avoid asking for overtime if possible. Having a clear divide between work hours and personal time allows employees to switch off, relax, and possibly make plans with their friends and family.

You can also provide team-building activities that build work relationships. Better relationships at work let employees maximize break times and relax before jumping into work again. A quick laugh with a workmate can improve mood in an instant. These work relationships also give employees a support system should things go awry on their ends, leading to improved employee performance.

Finally, make sure to delegate tasks accordingly and ensure that workloads are achievable. Should an unexpected influx of additional work arrives, why not try hiring on-demand employees to help out? Putting the burden of poor planning and business administration on employees can add weight to their shoulders and lead to work of poorer quality and a lessened desire to continue working for the company.

Work-life balance lets your employees live fulfilling personal lives before and after work. (Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash)

Employee retention factors greatly into the performance of a business. A hard-working and high-performing workforce will keep your business running like a well-oiled machine, improving its chances of longevity and success.

Run an online business employees will love

Are you ready for the Great Resignation? With Cafe24, you can be.

Starting a business and running it successfully can be stressful work both for business owners and employees. There is a lot to be done in order to keep business processes in tiptop shape. Sadly, too much stress in today’s business climate can lead to short-term employees that can’t wait to hand in their resignations.

One of the best things you can do is starting an online business with us at Cafe24. Online business management is so much easier than traditional business management with our ecommerce solutions that optimize and automate online business processes from inventory management, to order fulfillment, marketing, and payments.

Online small business employee management is the most achievable for new, up-and-coming entrepreneurs. (Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash)

With us, you can keep your employees less stressed and more energetic. Accessible anywhere with an internet connection and through any smart gadget, Cafe24 also lets you manage business online and offer lockdown-proof flexible working setups.

Some of our top apps include Facebook Channel and Market Plus which lets you sync products on your website to different platforms like Facebook Marketplace, Lazada, Shopee, and Amazon. It’s so easy to market and sell when you have the right tools.

Cafe24 innovates the online business experience so your employees can have the best working experience.

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