YourtalentretentionguideCContentsIntroduction3Supportyourpeoplefinancially4 Prioritisewellbeing5 Recogniseandreward7Getflexible8Provideaprogressionpath9Whattotakeawayfromthisguide1022|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDEIIntroductionPlus,theissueofrisingpricesmeansPlus,theissueofrisingpricesmeansemployeesareonthelookoutforwaystoboosttheirfinances.Eveninnormalcircumstances,peoplewillalwayskeepaneyeonthejobmarket.Thetougheconomicoutlookmeansthiscouldnowbecomeevenmorefrequent.It’snotalldoomandgloomthough.There’slotsofthingsyoucandotopreventatalentdrain—somethingwe’lluncoverinthisebook.Enjoy!beenachallengeforbusinesses,butthishasonlyincreasedinrecenttimes.Forstarters,theGreatResignation(rememberwhenthatwasthebiggestbuzzwordinsteadof‘inflation’?)causedabigshiftinemployeemindsets,whichstilllingerstoday.Peoplearemorewillingthanevertoleaveajobifitdoesn’tmeettheirneeds.Theglobaltalentshortagehasalsocontinuedtorise,meaningcandidateshaveallthepower.They’reinhighdemand,andaregoingtogetlotsofopportunitiescomingtheirway.Thatinturngivesbusinessesalotofproblemsintermsofretainingtalent.3|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDESupportyourpeoplefinanciallyLet’sstartwiththemostobvious.Theeconomicconditionsacrosstheglobehaveledtomanypeoplefeelingthestrain.Rightnow,thisisthemainthingbusinessesarelookingtosupporttheiremployeeswith.Acompetitivesalaryisthenumberonewaytohelp,butwe’realsoawarethateverybusinesshasitsownfinancialsituation.You’llknowbetterthananyoneelsewhatyoucanandcan’tafford.Inadditiontopaythough,thereareotherthingsyoucando.Forexample,youcouldprovidefinancialeducationormoneymanagementservices.Thesewillgiveemployeestoolsandknowledgewhichcouldbereallyimportantatatimelikethis.It’sagreatexampleofyoushowingyouparents,flexibleworkingcanreducechildcarecosts.Bothcommutingandchildcarecanbeabighitonpeople’swallets,soaflexibleapproachtoworkissomethingthey’dreallyappreciate.Youcanalsolookintomakingpeople’ssalariesgofurtherwithanemployeediscountscheme.Thesehelpemployeessavemoneyonawiderangeofthings,fromtheweeklysupermarketshop,tolargeandoccasionalpurchasesliketechorholidays.Thiscanputhundreds,ifnotthousands,backintotheirpocketoverthecourseofayear—ineffect,you’regivingthematax-freepayrise.Again,itshowsyoucareaboutyourpeopleoutsideofworkinghours,whichisagreatwaytoincreasetheirloyaltytoyou.careaboutthemasawholeindividual,notjustwhilethey’reatwork.We’llgointoflexibleworkinginmoredetail,buthavingthiscanhelppeoplefinanciallytoo.Forstarters,itcanreducethecostofcommutingbyallowingthemtotravelatnon-peaktimesorhavingdayswheretheydon’tneedtospendoncommutingatall.Forworking4|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDEPrioritisewellbeingOverthelastfewyears,you’veprobablynoticedanuptickofpeopleaskingaboutwellbeingininterviews.Questionssuchas:?“What’syourwork-lifebalancelike?”?“Doyouoffermentalhealthbenefits?”?"WhatsupportisthereifIeverhaveanyissues?”Buthavingastrongwellbeingofferingisn’tjustgoodforgettingpeoplethroughthedoor.It’soneofthebestwaystokeepthem.Anemployeethatfeelshappyandhealthy,andknowsthey’llbewellsupported,islikelytostickwithyou—regardlessofotherjoboffersthatcomein.It’snotjustaboutthebenefitsyouoffereither.Itallstartswithyourculture.Itneedstobeonewhereemployeewellbeingcomesfirst.Encouragepeopletosetboundaries,turnoffemailnotificationswhenneeded,andtrytoeliminateunnecessarymeetings.BurnoutwasaleadingcauseoftheGreatResignation,soyouneedtogetaheadofthegameandpreventthisbecominganissueinyourbusiness.Thephrase‘underpromiseandoverdeliver’isagoodonetoapply,tostoppeopletakingontoomuch.Thisshouldallberole-modelledbymanagers,toshowthatwellbeingisn’tsomethingyoujustpaylipserviceto,butsomethingyougenuinelybelievein.Makesurethey’retrainedtospotthesignsofburnoutaswell—checkoutourrecentBlueMondayblogforsomeusefultipsforlinemanagers!55|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDESimilarly,seeifyoucanenhanceyourannualleaveallowances.Rememberannualleaveisn’tjustforwhenyou’regoingonholiday.It’sakeypartofeveryone’stoolkittopreventburnout.Asforthebenefitsthemselves—varietyiskey.Notwopeopleareexactlythesame.Everyonewillhavetheirownindividualwellbeingchallenges.Somemaywanttogetfitter,othersmaywanttoimprovetheirqualityofsleep,orspeaktoaprofessionalaboutproblemsthey’rehaving.Workwithwellbeingpartnerstoofferawholesuiteoftoolsthatpeoplecanuseasandwhentheyneed.Thisincludesaccesstogymclasses,yogasessions,counsellors,meditationappsandlotsmore.“Employerscanimplementpoliciesthatencourageapositiveworkcultureandpreventthethingsthatnegativelyimpactemployeewellbeing.Youcanstartwithsomethingassimpleasofferingflexibleworkingschedulestoallowemployeestoeasilybalancetheirpersonalandprofessionallives.Therearealsoarangeofpracticalthings,suchaswellbeingworkshops,webinarsandmentalhealthresources.Thekeyistobeproactiveaboutsupportingemployeewellbeing,ratherthanbeingreactive.”TylerLowe,FounderatLovingLifeCo.66|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDERecogniseandrewardEmployeeswanttofeelliketheirworkmattersandthattheireffortsareappreciatedbypeopleatthetop.Sometimesthiscangetlost,andcausesemployeestolosemotivationforthebusiness.Butifyougetitright,they’llfeelmoreinvestedinandpassionateaboutwhattheydo—increasingyourchancesofretainingthem.Astrongcultureofrecognitionandrewarddefinitelyhelps.Manybusinessestendtohavesomesortofsocialrecognitionplatform,butyoucanalsosimplifythings.Endofweekshoutoutsandquarterly/yearlyawardscangoalongwaytodevelopingthisculture.Itshouldinvolvebothseniorleadersrecognisingtheirteams,aswellaspeersbeingabletorecogniseeachother.Whenitcomestorewarding,it’stimetomoveawayfromaone-size-fits-allapproach.Rememberwhenwespokeaboutwellbeingandsaidthateveryonehastheirownchallenges?Well,everyonehastheirownwantsandneedsaswell.Sohavingasinglerewardforgoodwork—suchasashoppingvoucherorabottleofchampagne—justwon’tcutit.Whatiftherecipientdoesn’tshopatthatstore?Whatiftheydon’tdrink?Evenifyouhaveanotherrewardinmind,whatarethechancesofitbeingmeaningfultoeveryindividual?Butbylettingemployeespicktheirreward,youcanguaranteethatthey’lllikewhattheyreceive!Plus,itgivesthemafeelingofempowerment,whichisagreatboosttomorale(andthereforegreatforemployeeretention!).77|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDEGetflexibleThisisfastbecomingamust-haveforpeople,ratherthanthenice-to-haveitusedtobe.Astoucheduponearlier,aflexibleapproachtoworkcanhaveallsortsofbenefitsforemployees,andthereforehelpyouretainthem.Ofcourse,thismeanssomethingdifferenttoeachorganisation.Somemaybeabletoofferaworkfromhomeoptionquiteeasily,whereasotherbusinessmodelsrelyuponpeoplebeingon-site.Findsomethingthatworksforyou,whilestillprovidingvaluetoemployees.Beforeputtinganypoliciesinplace,it’simportanttofindoutexactlywhattheywant.It’seasytoassumeeverybodywantstoworkfromhome,butactually,youmayfindthatyouremployeeslikebeingintheoffice—butwouldpreferflexibilityintermsofhoursworked.Manybusinessesthathaveahybridworkingmodelfindthatthisworkswellforemployerandemployee.Notonlydoesitallowpeopletomanagetheirlivesbetter,butitcreatesabetterbalancebetweendeepwork(athome)andcollaboration(intheworkplace).CompaniesCompaniesshouldthinkoftheirworkingenvironmentsasofferingmaximumchoicewithinaframeworkthatsustainablymanagescompanygoalsandculture.Approachthisasaniterativeprocess—thingscanchange,andthat'stotallyok!Also,enjoyit.You'rebuildingthefutureofwork,afteraparadigmshiftinthewayweapproachourroles.It'smeanttobeuncertain,butit'salsomeanttobeexciting!MollyJohnson-Jones,Co-founderandCEOatFlexa88|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDEProvideaprogressionpathThebestemployersdon’tjustofferajob—theyofferacareer.Ifemployeesdon’tseeopportunitiesforadvancement,thenthey’relikelytolookelsewhere.Youneedtoshowthatpeoplecandeveloptheircareerswithyou.Althoughmanagersarehistoricallytheonestohelpemployeesprogressintheirrole,HRhaveabigopportunitytosupporthere.Youcangiveteamleadersthetoolstoprovideemployeeswitharoadmapofhowtheycanprogress.Onewayistointroduceacareergrowthframework,tohelpemployeesseewheretheircurrentskillslieandwhattheycandotogrow.Thismightincludepeer-to-peerfeedbackfromcolleagues,reviewswithmanagersandsettingupamentoringschemewithseniormembersofthebusiness.MakeLearningandDevelopment(L&D)apriorityaswell.Thisisn’tjustaboutprovidingabudgetforpeopletoupskill,butcommunicatingitwell.You’dbesurprisedathowoftenemployeesareunawareofwhat’savailabletothem.Perhapsyoucouldgettestimonialsfrompeoplewho’vebenefitedfromyourL&Dprogramme—reallifeexamplesareoneofthebestcommunicationtoolsoutthere.Agreatwaytoshowpeoplecanprogressisbypracticalactions—inotherwords,yourrecruitment.Arevacanciesalwaysbeingfilledbyexternalcandidates,orarethereahealthynumberofinternalhires?Nobody’ssayingeveryroleneedstobefilledinternally,butthebestwaytodemonstratethere’saprogressionpathisbyactuallylettingpeoplewalkit!99|2023TALENTRETENTIONGUIDEWhattotakeawayfromthisguideHere’sarecapofthekeypointstotakeaway:Supportfi