Employee retention is a big challenge for businesses especially nowadays when remote work is gaining popularity. With opportunities available left and right to people around the globe, it can prove indeed difficult to keep employees happy-go-lucky.
It’s difficult, but not impossible. To be able to understand the gravity of the plight, keep in mind that the overall turnover rate is 57.3%, out of which 25% is voluntary turnover, 29% — is involuntary, and 3% — high-performer turnover.
What these facts show is that employee retention may prove sustainable provided that a business can provide:
- Regular eLearning options
- Advancement models
- Fulfilling work that keeps employees engaged
The latter is role-specific and depends on various factors, so there is no universal guideline. However, different teams have different needs (and wishes!) and we’ll take a look at some specific tips in this regard here.
First of all, let’s take a look at hybrid work models.
Picking the Right Hybrid Work Model
There are six different hybrid work models:
- Almost entirely off premises
- Almost entirely on premises
- Partially remote work, large office space
- Partially remote work, multiple hubs
- Multiple microhubs
- Partially remote work, with flexible office space
Depending on the size of your business and the tasks of your teams, you may get creative with offering different arrangements to different employees. Some people simply love office work, while others will run away screaming if they can’t work remotely.
The bottom line is to know your workforce, but that much should be obvious without dwelling on the matter.
Big Enterprise Teams
Large enterprise teams come from all walks of life and form various departments. Obviously, different roles will benefit from different perks, but what’s certain to be valued by everyone is upskilling and cognitive learning.
Cognitive learning combines psychological best practices with teaching techniques, which results in making learning more efficient.
Frontline Teams
Much can be done on the frontline end as it is well-documented that these roles are being shunned en masse. On top of offering cutting-edge new tech that doesn’t make everyday processes more complicated rather than simplified, businesses should also consider safety tips for painters and others.
Safety always comes first — that much should be logical — so look into advanced approaches to pioneer the practice.
Remote Workers
When you don’t physically see your team on a daily basis, it’s important to be sure they’re also happy in their roles, by keeping in touch and including them in regular team meetings and activities. Also, consider teachable alternatives and courses that could be beneficial.
Remote workers are familiar with online courses and appreciate the opportunity to learn more as they are resourceful by definition.
In-Office Employees
Employee engagement may have a completely different meaning to people working in the office and people working remotely.
In-office employees are often too set in their ways to look forward to rapid changes, but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily happy with their position.
The two common questions you should find answers to are:
- Are your employees happy with their roles?
- How can you change things, if they aren’t?
The easiest way to get the answers is to rely on anonymous feedback. Anonymity ensures that answers will be honest (in most cases, at least). By listening to employees’ opinions and applying methods to make their work life more pleasant, you’ll also show them that you actually care about them.
Expats
Expats may be the most complicated link as they can adhere to freelancing or digital nomadism, meaning they need to be offered both flexible schedules and contract types.
For these people, understanding tax deadlines is one of the most important things, so make sure to help them in this regard. Expats who fall out of compliance with their U.S. taxes may find that they have a lot of challenges to work out.
Digital nomads may work for different clients or for a specific company for reasons rather similar to those of freelancers’. What’s more, as long as the company they work for allows remote work, then they can work from literally anywhere.
Digital nomads are specific in that they often choose locales that offer the best foreign tax credits, so don’t be surprised to find them in the most unexpected of places.
To retain digital nomads, you should make an effort to engage them via regular meetings so that they can fit within the team.
Call Center Workers
Finally, people working in call centers are often swamped with a myriad of repetitive queries from beginners. Efficient call center processes should take this into account and make sure call center agents are called for only when customers can’t be tutored to address the issue at hand.
E.g., FAQs are common practice, but of late, chatbots for customer service have taken over a large part of the role.
Overall, new tech, safety, upskilling and streamlined procedures are generally recommended, but make sure to accompany new solutions with appropriate training.
