Many businesses have been tasked with enduring a period of unprecedented upheaval among staff turnover in recent years. Challenging conditions brought on by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic have seen more employees rethink their roles and change career paths.

With some HR experts anticipating the Great Resignation 2.0 in 2023, employers may be braced for more turnover for the foreseeable future. While this could be a nervy period for HR departments throughout the country, it could also be the perfect opportunity to adopt new ways of keeping workers happier for longer. 

With this in mind, let’s explore seven essential tips that can empower employers to retain their talent for longer, and to get the best out of them: 

1. Develop a Watertight Recruitment Policy

For small businesses especially it can be tempting to rush the recruitment process to ensure that you have staff in position and ready to go quicker, but this can ultimately be damaging to the company. 

More patient and comprehensive recruitment policies are rewarding for employers. To help optimize your efforts, it’s worth taking the time to create detailed and specific job descriptions and deploying an interview process that has at least two stages to better learn about the competencies and cultural fit of candidates. 

It’s also worth avoiding the temptation of skimping on the vetting process when applications begin to filter through. Always look for redeeming qualities before banishing a CV into the ether. 

2. Utilize More Engaging Onboarding Processes

The onboarding process stands as the perfect opportunity for employers to make a strong first impression on their new recruit. With this in mind, it’s important to create a process where the employee can ease their way into the new workplace. 

This can be achieved through the creation of easy-to-follow but engaging training materials that can guide employees through all of their early challenges. 

Onboarding can also be a chance for employers to help their staff to settle into their new teams, and taking them out to lunch or organizing team building exercises can be advantageous. 

Don’t be afraid to adopt virtual onboarding processes to accommodate users who are working in a more hybrid environment. This can involve virtual office tours, and VR team building sessions. 

Although these may seem like more complex approaches to utilize in the onboarding process, they can be invaluable in helping new remote workers to better understand the company and really feel a part of the company culture. With the arrival of 5G, it’s far more straightforward to develop and share virtual experiences with employees, and with Apple’s latest smartphones like the iPhone 14, embedded LIDAR comes as standard–meaning that it’s easier for businesses to create virtual office layouts to share with employees. 

3. Deliver Tangible Benefits and Rewards

There’s nothing more satisfying for employees than having an effective benefits scheme to enjoy. While reviewing the wages of staff can be a challenge for businesses given the severe economic climate, there is certainly scope for employers to provide workers with a kitchen full of fresh fruit and a well-stocked fridge. 

Rewards schemes can also be great to take part in if costs aren’t an issue. Furthermore, for some businesses it could be worth obtaining a PRS license to play radio stations in the office. 

4. Always Ensure that a Progression Path is Open

One of the best ways of limiting instances of employee turnover is to continually ensure that each staff member has an opportunity to grow and further develop their skills within your business. 

This means that there should always be access to workshops and chances to build skills that could see further industry progression. As a key facet of this, it’s important to continually hold target setting meetings with employees to ensure that they have active goals that can be achieved through your business. 

5. Ensure that you Care for Employee Wellness

Too many businesses today treat employee care as an afterthought when it can be an essential tool in limiting costly staff turnover. 

To care for your employee wellbeing, be sure to adopt the right support programs that can offer help to stressed or unhappy staff. At a time of great financial difficulty, adopting some financial planning classes can also be a great asset. 

Teaming up with a local gym to offer discounts or to enroll staff on nutrition programs can all be beneficial to the happiness of workers which can then improve their job satisfaction. 

Fundamentally, a lack of recognition, perceived overwork, and a lack of autonomy can all lead to employee turnover. Be sure to look out for early signs of employee stress and show plenty of understanding for their concerns. 

6. Mentoring New Employees can Bring Great Benefits

The simple act of pairing a new employee with a carefully selected mentor can be a great asset in the onboarding process. This provides new recruits with an approachable senior member of staff that they can quickly contact to have their problems solved. 

Mentors are capable of welcoming new hires to the company, offer guidance, and help new team members to integrate themselves into the workplace–whether it’s in-house or remote. 

Furthermore, mentoring doesn’t have to be limited to new staff. Existing team members can also improve their levels of job satisfaction and, in turn, their likelihood to stay for longer by adopting mentors within a company. 

7. Always Ensure that Employees Know They’re Appreciated

Employees should never feel underappreciated in a business. Now only does a lack of recognition lead to more employees leaving a business, it can also cause existing workers to drag their heels more frequently in the face of deadlines–causing productivity to drop. 

Regularly making sure that the hard work of employees is appreciated is a simple improvement to make in a company, and is one of the most tried and tested means of retaining talent for longer. 

Imposing a rewards-based promotion structure, bonuses, commissions, gifts, or financial rewards for good performance can all be great tools for keeping employees motivated for longer, but even the simple task of congratulating staff on their hard work can be a big help. 

While many businesses are set for more challenges to retain their staff over the coming months and years, there are many approaches that can help to limit instances of dissatisfaction before they manifest into motivation to resign. By taking some small steps to ensure that employees are appreciated and well-supported through their onboarding process, your business can thrive with your most talented personnel in position for longer.