2019 has been the year of the employee journey. As the war for talent ratcheted up yet again, the struggle to attract and retain talent has led to more and more employers to realise they need an optimal employee experience. And this war is expected to continue unabated in 2020. So, what can you do to stay ahead of the competition next year? Here are five things to consider:
Focus On Building A Personalized Relationship
As Employee Journey Mapping becomes increasingly normal – visualising the entire employee journey from recruitment, to career opportunities to moving on – forerunners can start to think about taking it to the next level: building personalised relationships with employees. By using design thinking and sentiment analysis to innovate in the workplace and increase employee engagement, HR departments can better understand and serve the needs of the 2020 workforce. At work as well as elsewhere, millennials expect convenience, connectivity and functionality. That means online. Giving them fast access to a system that offers them the training and mentoring they need will help your business thrive in the 2020 workplace.
Focus On Retaining Talent, Especially In The First 12 Months
As the war for talent continues to bite, retaining talent is going to become even more important in 2020 – and especially at the start of an employment contract, where there is so much to gain. Research shows that 33% of new employees start looking for a new job in the first six months of starting their current one! And 23% actually up and leave within 12 months. Obviously, these costs significant time and money when it comes to finding replacements, especially in a tight labour market. It’s therefore essential to give ‘retention’ the same degree of attention as ‘recruitment’, with the key question being asked how we keep more of our people.
Identify Your Influencers And Show As Well As Tell
Never underestimate the power of role-modelling. It’s long been common knowledge that about 70% of someone’s workplace happiness is influenced by their manager. This means that ‘showing’ is just as important as ‘telling’, particularly in times of organizational change. Managers who fail to demonstrate behaviour that is line with what employees are being told they must do or how they must act undermine change and make progress harder. Just as important is peer-to-peer influencing. Both negative and positive. Take the famous coffee-machine chat between colleagues: is the tenor for or against? Do they generally support what’s happening or dig their heels in? It matters because peer reactions influence people as much as what management says and does.
Treat All Employees The Same, Regardless Of Their Contract
All employees, it is regardless whether they’re on a permanent contract or self-employed, every person who works for you commits to your organization on a daily basis. The job happiness of flex-workers matters just as much as those on permanent contracts and contributes just as much to the happy customers/winning organisation value proposition. So, communicate with your flex-workers in the same way you communicate with every other staff member.
See Diversity And Inclusion As Part Of Your Licence To Operate
Customers and consumers increasingly expect the organisations they do business with to reflect the society they live in – age, gender, ethnicity, religion, able-bodied and disabled, sexual orientation, education and national origin. Research by McKinsey has found that more diverse and inclusive companies grow faster and are more profitable. Among other benefits, diversity and inclusion boost innovation and creativity, improve a company’s reputation and business decisions, help companies attract high-quality candidates and improve knowledge sharing and employee engagement and retention.
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Author- Sascha Becker, Consultant ‘Change Communications, Employer Branding & Employee Alignment’. Author of the book ‘The Employee Journey’.
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