Employees are the secret ingredient to organizational success, yet companies are struggling to keep them. In recent years, millions of Americans have been quitting their jobs—a trend dubbed the Great Resignation. Last October alone, a grand total of 4 million Americans jumped ship. That’s nearly three percent of the overall workforce. Tech workers are even more inclined to head for the nearest exit, according to a recent Gartner survey, with only a quarter of respondents expressing intent to stay with their current employer.
Turnover in tech has been heightened by widespread layoffs as well. Major tech players have been slimming their ranks dramatically: Meta just announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs (in addition to the 11,000 people it laid off in Q4 of last year), while Amazon is laying off 9,000 people (in addition to the 18,000 layoffs it announced in January). Add it up, and more than 100,000 U.S. tech workers have lost their jobs this year alone. It’s creating an environment where tech talent feels like they need to make moves to stay in secure employment.
Given the volatility of the current tech employment landscape, it’s high time for companies to approach employee retention with a bit of creativity. Retention starts the moment an employee is hired but must evolve as they do. Let’s dive into unconventional strategies that can breed improved retention.
The Importance of Emerging Technologies
In a Pew study conducted last year, more than half of respondents expressed that they left their position because they did not feel respected at work. While many factors can make an employee feel undervalued, a common one is being assigned work that is below one’s skillset. While digital transformation is usually framed as important for remaining competitive from a business perspective, it can also drive improved employee retention by freeing workers from redundant manual processes so they can focus on strategic, rewarding tasks.
For example, I recently sat down with a CIO who working to ease the burden on his 8,000 person workforce caused by the +12,000 manual processes they needed to perform. By leveraging emerging technologies like automation, the CIO was able to build an entirely new culture for his team—one that improved efficiencies, reduced mistakes, and made employees feel more challenged and engaged. He did so by implementing a monthly training program in which employees learned UI Path by automating one of their own manual processes—which brings us to my next point.
Upskilling is Non-Negotiable
Employee retention, particularly in tech, goes hand-in-hand with continuous training and upskilling. According to the Pew study referenced above, while 57 percent of employees left their jobs because they did not feel respected at work, an even greater portion (63 percent) left because there were no opportunities for advancement. Training employees on an ongoing basis—also referred to as talent enablement—is one of the most effective ways to improve talent retention. Put simply, a stagnant employee is likely a dissatisfied one.
Ongoing training is non-negotiable for other reasons too. For one, technology evolves fast. Currently, the average half-life of a technical skill is just 2.5 years. Thus, ongoing training is important to keep employees engaged and ensure they have the skills your organization needs. The training curriculum should be tailored to your organization and complemented by agile exercises aligned with broader business goals. Employees want to remain relevant, and they want to grow. Showing employees that you’re willing to invest in their careers is one of the best ways to boost retention.
The Bottom Line
By now, most business leaders understand the importance of employee satisfaction. But that doesn’t mean they know how to create it, much less maintain it. Tech jobs tend to offer highly competitive salaries, which is great for attracting workers. But as the data shows, good pay does not necessarily translate to company loyalty. The good news is that talent enablement—which includes automating rote work and offering continuous learning—is the secret sauce to keeping employees engaged and satisfied. The current employment landscape is riddled with instability and likely to stay that way. But that doesn’t mean your team or company must accept high employee turnover. Instead, make it known that you are willing to continuously investment in your employees—then follow through on that promise. You’ll love the results.
At Revature, a leading tech talent enablement firm, Bob Gasser is responsible for Account Management, and Strategic Vendor Partnerships across Revature’s corporate client base. Bob has enjoyed a 32-year career in the financial services industry including stints as Head of US Equity Trading at JP Morgan, the CEO of two public companies including NYFIX, an executive in residence role at McKinsey, and most recently Head of Trading Technology at Barclays.