It’s no secret that the pandemic changed how and where people work. As businesses attempt to adapt to today’s ever-evolving workplace, managers and HR professionals can’t ignore that employees’ priorities have changed. According to the latest JOLTS report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.9 million employees voluntarily left their jobs in January 2023 despite a looming recession and companies across industries enacting mass layoffs. This statistic implies the workforce is still open to new opportunities, and people are looking for a job that meets their needs personally and professionally.
Achievers Workforce Institute’s (AWI) Employee Engagement Retention report reveals that career progression and work flexibility tie as the top factors driving employees to job hunt in 2023. As companies try to navigate working with a leaner staff, they face the challenge of retaining their company leaders and employees. Fortunately, below are four critical steps employers and HR professionals can take to create a work environment that increases productivity and retains their company leaders.
A Hyper-Personalized Approach Is Worth the Investment
Hyper-personalization is critical to today’s workforce, especially when employers are working with different generations in one group. Additionally, companies increasingly need to invest in hyper-personalization as economic uncertainty continues to worry employers and employees alike but for different reasons. However, even amid a rosy economic outlook, hyper-personalization presents an invaluable opportunity to reward and recognize those contributing to your business and show up in meaningful ways to each employee, bringing outcomes that benefit your organization overall.
What is hyper-personalization? It’s when companies closely monitor employee satisfaction, truly take the time to understand everyone’s needs, and adapt employee experience to fit these unique preferences. HR leaders can achieve these customized experiences by leveraging feedback surveys or data-driven artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
For example, organizations that spend the majority of their pulse feedback survey effort on organizational actions are missing the nuance of meeting employee feedback at that level. It’s critical for departments and managers to look at their data sets and understand the nuances of what’s happening at their level. These may eventually get rolled up to organizational actions, but to make meaningful, personalized change, managers need to listen and take action at their team or individual level based on that feedback.
After company leaders identify employees’ customized preferences, they can optimize and tailor recognition and feedback to each employee’s personalized results. Employee recognition programs are incredibly impactful tools for giving employees a sense of personal belonging and connection. In fact, employees who report they’re never recognized are 39% more likely to say they’ll job hunt, according to AWI’s latest research. However, 79% of employees also say they would stay at a job longer if they felt supported, cared for, and valued. Employee recognition and appreciation should be implemented more frequently, not just during employees’ annual, biannual, or quarterly reviews.
When companies implement employee recognition consistently and frequently, they truly see its impact on their employees, creating a sense of community and helping increase engagement and productivity. It’s this hyper-personalization through frequency and consistency that makes this recognition so impactful. People are the heart of any company or business, and HR leaders and upper management must invest in meeting employees where they are to effectively retain talented leaders. Ultimately, if executed properly, it’s a win-win scenario. When your people thrive, the company thrives.
Hannah Yardley is a Chief People and Culture Officer at Achievers and focuses on empowering employees and creating a culture of performance through her work with sales, product, and people development. Before joining Achievers in 2021, Yardley spent nearly a decade at Deloitte delivering consulting services to some of the world’s largest companies in talent strategy and cultural transformation. Most recently, she served as the global vice president of people and culture, during which she helped the scaling organization manage its rapid growth.