Even after the past 18 months, the Great Resignation shows no signs of subsiding. A wide mismatch exists between an organization’s work environment and what its employees desire. The employees are re-evaluating their career choices and priorities, and as a result, hundreds and thousands of workers are quitting their jobs. The IT sector in India has been experiencing strong tremors, reporting significantly high attrition rates. As employees in large numbers rush towards the exit doors, companies have no choice but to drive employee engagement and retention of their talent.
The Great Resignation is not being fuelled only by high salary expectations. Instead, it is a pile of non-monetary benefits that modern-day employees are being drawn towards. Additionally, poor work/life balance, reluctance, lack of appreciation, feeling burnt-out, and reshuffling are few of several factors that influence employees’ decisions.
According to a recent report by Michael Page, 61% of Indian employees are willing to work even at low salaries for enhanced well-being and a better work culture that promotes happiness. As an immediate remedy to talent squeeze, organizations are focusing more on making themselves an attractive place to work.
An employee is believed to spend around a quarter of his life at work, which is why some even call a workplace their second home. Work culture is something more than just a buzzword, contrary to what some business owners believe. Your staff is your business; thus, by prioritizing their benefits and fostering a positive company culture, you have the opportunity to lead. This will help an organization get through a tsunami of resignations.
Even though company culture is not tangible, it has the potential to create or break a company and must be fostered appropriately from the start. An organization’s growth is automatically triggered when a strong culture and transparency are established from the beginning. Organizations can’t expect people to stay if they don’t allow them room to grow, make them feel at home, and provide them with prospects for advancement.
As an organization, the focus should be on the lowest attrition rates in the IT industry, and the credit goes to our ideology of building a purpose-driven, resilient, and people-centric culture. Out-of-the-box, unconventional practices are being explored and implemented to boost employee morale and foster engagement.
Here are some creative ideas that can help you retain your employees:
- Prioritize belongingness
Many think of corporate culture just in terms of the perks and in-office amenities. These are insignificant compared to a workplace where leaders prioritize building an environment where teams can effectively cooperate, whether they are working remotely or in the office, and where everyone feels accepted and respected regardless of their background. - Flexibility
Organizations these days are designing myriad new, employee-friendly practices to enhance the comfort of their people. Understanding the value of an excellent work-life balance, organizations actively switch to work from anywhere, giving their employees the desired comfort and ease of working. - Empower through L&D opportunities
Through consistent investment in organic talent development and forward-thinking workplace policies, many firms are building a long-term track record of their best-in-class talent. It promotes rapid learning and development opportunities for the employees and has helped the organization retain its top talent. This has helped to retain great talent while encouraging their people to upskill and cross-skill. - Promote well-being
According to a Deloitte study, 80% respondents voted for well-being as a top-ranked initiative. Whether it’s work-related anxieties or personal issues, everyone has their fair share of overwhelming moments. Today’s employees prefer to work with caring, enjoyable and empowering companies with adequate measures to ensure their well-being. Organizations are actively incorporating a flurry of health and wellness initiatives for their people.
The ongoing trend of mass resignations is changing the dynamics of the industry at a rapid pace. Although IT players are doubling up on fresher hiring, employee retention is a safe bet, considering the cost and resources involved in new employee acquisition.
The organisations emerged victorious from the great resignation wave, all thanks to the people-centric core values it abides by. The organization should comply with the practice that employee well-being includes being productive within the company and contributing to communities and society. Efforts should be made to build a robust and spirited work culture which fosters employee creativity and engagement and thereby promises to enhance their experience multi-fold.
(The author is Mr. Satya Sharma, CHRO, TO THE NEW. and the views expressed in this article are his own)
