Discover how HR Tech can help your company maintain employees during the Great Resignation. Read on!
The Coronavirus pandemic has had many social effects. In the world of work, two key trends have developed. One is the shift to remote working as workers have left their physical offices. Second is the ‘great resignation,’ a perceived reshuffle of the global labor market.
Due to various reasons, many employees nowadays are not satisfied with their current employment. This has made HR’s job harder, as companies must clamor to keep their best talents and rapidly rehire as workers drop off.
Recent years have also seen an astounding development in HR tech to adapt to these employment trends. Forget endless Excel spreadsheets to keep track of payroll. There are now apps that will do it all automatically for you.
The rapid growth of SaaS Marketing indicates a trend of companies using online services to facilitate their operations. As AI and machine-learning tech improve, it’s more important than ever that HR teams get to grips with the basics of these new apps.
This article will provide insight into leveraging HR tech to sustain employee retention specifically.
Keep your team connected
The shift to working from home (WFH) has changed the dynamic between employers and employees. This is especially true for team communication, as virtual meetings have in some ways replaced the face-to-face conversations of once-bustling office spaces. In the face of rapid change, forward-thinking companies will reap the benefits of offering remote work options.
This means HR teams must grapple with digital methods of communication for managing employees. Namely, VoIP calls using a cloud PBX phone system or live chat software have become the applications of choice. Of course, these apps come with their own conventions and etiquettes. Nobody likes turning promptly to a virtual meeting just to wait 10 minutes for the boss to join!
Calendar planning software is one useful remedy for keeping everyone on the same page. Sticking to clear timings and deadlines will provide you with peace of mind and protect your employees from zoom fatigue. It’s just one factor that will improve your workplace culture and drive up employee retention.
Another useful tool for digital communication is using real-time file-sharing software. Allowing multiple users to edit the same files will improve overall workflow efficiency. Gone are the days of emailing multiple iterations of the same doc; now, you store it all on the cloud.
Offer evaluative insights
One of the essential parts of any job is learning new skills. Employees like to feel as if their labor is valuable to themselves and their future careers. As such, you must demonstrate the benefits of their role and nudge them towards improvements.
Performance evaluation tools will prompt employees to recognize their strengths and strive for greater development. As a general rule, the more transparency in this process, the better. The best tools will provide benchmarks, targets, and goals to aim for.
There is a risk with employee evaluation that it becomes overly critical. Instead of dragging employees into performance evaluation meetings, you may consider using omnichannel retail software to provide less-intrusive means of feedback.
Recognize and reward strong players
Meritocracy is a critical concept in running a company. It’s in the interests of both employer and employee that roles are assigned to those that are most deserving of that position. The most meritocratic companies will maintain an edge over their competitors as they attract and retain the best talent.
On the other hand, companies that fail to appreciate or reward employees will see higher burnout. Even worse, they may feel as if their talents would be altogether appreciated elsewhere.
But how can your business show appreciation to those ’employees of the month’? Well, of course, there is the temporary bonus of offering a pay rise, but it will take more than that…
For starters, you should be giving your employees regular feedback. This shows them that you care about their professional and personal development. In many respects, this is similar to the psychological tactics used by retailers to increase buyer motivation. Essentially, you’ll want to do the same by cultivating a friendly and welcoming work environment. Giving constructive and genuine feedback will surely create a team of highly driven and motivated workers.
Delegating freedom to your employees is another important aspect of retention. A 2022 Gallup poll revealed that 58% of employees want the freedom to do what they do best. By giving them the freedom to play into their strengths, your workers will be more productive and self-reliant.
Encourage employee feedback
Feedback is a central concept for improvement. For employees, it’s a chance for them to voice concerns, as well as present new ideas. HR teams that make extra effort to listen will enjoy a more productive and happy team. In fact, employees who feel that their voice is heard are 4.6 times likelier to perform their best at work.
If you neglect this stage of employee feedback, don’t expect a productive workplace. Instead, you’ll likely experience professional ghosting as workers feel disempowered to voice their concerns.
Improve your employee onboarding
Perhaps the most important stage of the employment cycle is the onboarding phase. Here, employees will get their first impressions of your company, its processes, and its culture. Showing extra care at the beginning will surely pay off in the long run. If not, you can expect that employees will feel dissatisfied and are more likely to jump ship down the line.
As such, it’s critical to optimize your company’s recruitment process. Talented candidates will draw more attention from employers and have relatively more bargaining power. Therefore, you must make a good impression to stand out from the competition.
One way to do this is by speeding up your recruitment process. Ideally, you should aim to be replying to candidates within 10 days. Workplace tools that evaluate employee potential during the hiring phase are also useful. For example, AI-driven insights into candidate pools can provide HR teams with the info necessary to expedite a strong application.
You may also consider exploring the use of a byoc cloud in your workplace to ascertain where the best candidates have been discovering your job adverts.
Time is of the essence
One advantage of remote working is that it has strengthened teams with members across multiple time zones. Online workspaces provide for collaboration across international borders, allowing businesses to attract the best talent wherever it may be.
Remote working has also come with its drawbacks, like the unrealistic demand of always being available. Timesheet software can benefit both HR and workers in this respect.
From HR’s perspective, you will develop a picture of when your employees are available and happy to be contacted. From the employee’s perspective, their concerns about not being paid for overtime will be eased by being able to clearly see clocked hours.
In general, you want to avoid wasting employees’ time and quickly redress their workplace issues. Offer a direct line to HR via online platforms or with the use of toll-free calls. A toll-free number meaning they can call your HR without them paying a buck to show that you are serious about your employees’ concerns and welfare.
HR Tech Conclusion
To conclude, HR tech developments have provided employers with more tools than ever to run a successful team. Those who adapt to this tech the best will enjoy greater employee retention in a ‘job seeker’s labor market’.
Making maximum usage of apps to automate work processes will free up time for you to engage with your team and hear their feedback.
