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Word on the street is that “the great resignation” is among us here in Australia. We have seen it on a small scale but according to Harvard Business Review, 4 million Americans quit their job in July 2021. Are we next?

We aren’t here to scare you, in fact the opposite. At Pace, we want to support you in ensuring that this isn’t you. The truth is, accepting a new role isn’t anyone’s preference. It costs businesses thousands, and it drastically changes the lives of candidates. Employees must up and leave and re-introduce themselves to a brand-new pool of people, sometimes only to discover, this new role isn’t for them.

So, while job changes are a part of life, it’s worthwhile doing what you can as an employer or an employee, to make your current place of work the one you’ve always wanted. Our Sales and Customer Service, Senior Consultant, Nikita Nilmadhub has put together a series of tips to assist you with finding ways to retain your staff and ensure your organisation has implemented the best processes and practices to do so. For candidates, these tips serve as a great way to direct transparent conversations with your employers and voice your concerns before it’s too late.

Let’s get into it.

Take off your Manager (or “I am more superior than you”) hat

Don’t get me wrong. It’s important to be professional at work, and you should be acting as a Manager when it comes to assisting your staff in finding solutions, coaching, training etc. However, personal lives and professional lives intersect, whether we like it or not. Get to know your staff. Allow yourself to make them feel heard, valued and respected. You’ll find showing empathy and a little vulnerability is a great way to increase buy-in and commitment.

Ineffective Leadership

You may have heard by now that poor leadership is the number one cause of employees looking to leave their roles. An open conversation when an employee first starts, or even during interview stage, about learning about how they work best, can prevent a mountain of management issues in the future. Employees want to feel supported and empowered and it is impossible to manage everyone under the same leadership style if you want to create a culture with good retention.

While one employee responds to clear direction and a level of autonomy, the other may respond to accessibility and a higher level of nurturing. Consider doing your research on leadership styles or taking a course on recognising the types of communication and leadership styles people best respond to. Udemy is a great resource for a variety of courses to suit any budget.

Creating opportunities for career development

A large portion of our job as recruiters involves speaking with people. A lot of the candidates we speak with, if not all, value career development as one of the most important factors when accepting a new role. It’s in our nature to demand progression and feel challenged. Understand what development looks like for your employees individually (because trust us, you will be surprised). For one employee, it could be a change of role whereas for another it could be partaking in a course. Ensure you can showcase the progression of current employees and make it clear how available the same opportunities are for others in their career, when the time is right.

Conflict within culture

As your team grows, it will become easier to miss signs of conflict between team members.  Tension between individuals slowly but surely begins to chip at motivation and quality of work. This will not just be for the individuals who exhibit conflict, but also for other employees who witness it. Implementing checks such as a quarterly anonymous feedback survey regarding the internal business could be a good way of combatting this.

However, it’s important to be careful your surveys aren’t designed as an ego boost for leaders. Ask questions you may be scared to hear the answer of, expose your own weaknesses and provide employees with an opportunity to help you develop rather than covering things with band aids.

In this day and age, whilst salary is still an important factor, it is most certainly not the be all and end all. The more candidates we speak with, the more we’re finding that good management, a supportive culture and scope for progression, are increasingly becoming non-negotiables. Retention says so much about your business, don’t get left behind. If you’re not sure where to start, contacting us is the first step. As recruiters, we serve as much more than a means to find new employees. Give us a call to discuss what we’re seeing in the market and cost-effective ways to increase retention.