Arrival of Amazon In Africa: Effect on Talent Acquisition and Retention

Let’s face it. Everyone wants to be paid in US dollars.

With the recent launch of Amazon Prime in Nigeria, it’s safe to state that we are drawing closer to earlier presumed speculations of Amazon spreading its tentacles into Africa. The rise of freelance services like UpWork, which allows for remote working experience and foreign currency payments, has made finding talent in Africa more difficult than ever before, and things may only get worse with Big Tech closing in.

According to TechCabal, the current demand for African talent is unprecedented. Over 38 percent of African talent work for foreign companies, and that percentage is expected to rise this year with the influx of large corporations. Now, more than ever, is the time to put extra effort into retaining your company’s talent so the big guns don’t steal them away.

Retaining your talent demonstrates your worth as a company and looks good for your brand because it reflects stability and care. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to stay and help the company grow, to speak highly of your company in public, and to recommend you to their friends. Let’s quickly go over some employee retention strategy questions you should be asking yourself right now:

• What is your hiring process?

As the saying goes, time is money, and it is critical that your hiring process reflects this. First impressions matter because they influence the decisions and ideas of both people moving forward, so it is necessary to make a good one. An orderly and convenient hiring process that reflects the importance your company places on its employees’ time and growth should be used.

• How does your company care for its employees?

One of the many reasons employees switch jobs is to gain more opportunities and better treatment. Creating benefit plans, recognizing their special days, allowing loans and other financial support requests, scheduling training courses, and other perks can help demonstrate that your company cares about its employees and supports their well-being. Your employees should feel needed and reminded that their presence is valued in the workplace.

• Do you have any recognition programs?

Keeping your team motivated is always good for business. Creating an avenue to recognize your team and acknowledge their efforts in a scheduled manner can also help your employees feel seen and appreciated. These activities could take the form of appraisals, feedback, reviews, and individual or group discussions. Depending on how your company operates, this could also serve as the basis for pay increases, bonuses, and other small gifts.

• How often do you run payroll on time?

It is critical to recognize that the pay promised to your employees for their services is the driving force behind their work for you; consider it a trade by batter situation. Disbursing salaries on the agreed date is you doing your part by acknowledging the contract in place. Paying salaries later than expected, without communicating in advance, can lead to employee dissatisfaction and, as a result, the loss of your company’s talents.

• How do you deal with feedback from employees?

It goes without saying that a workplace shouldn’t be a dictatorship. Employees should be able to freely and easily file complaints and provide feedback on ideas and developments in the company. It is your responsibility as an executive to take this seriously and respond to these issues with timely solutions by progress updates, depending on the circumstances or explanations. Keeping records of these complaints can also help your company measure growth and areas where you still lack.

Tip: You can calculate your current retention rate by dividing the total number of your current employees by the number of employees originally hired, multiplied by 100.

If at the end of the calculation you find your company lacking, then you have work to do.

Pade is a cloud-based people platform that helps African businesses hire, manage, and pay their global workforce. It helps with hiring, onboarding, information management, requests, payroll, compliance, performance and disciplinary management all the way down to exit.💙

Request a demo here.

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