Employment trends expert weighs in on new findings and what employers can do to reduce the ever-rising employee attrition rate
Last April, a report from Gartner HR predicted that the annual turnover of U.S. employees would increase by a full 20% this year. Now, a new survey from professional development company Kantata shows that 4 out of 10 full-time American employees are seeking to go freelance.
“The Kantata survey shows that flexibility and freedom are the new must-haves for employees,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA, an employment solutions firm with locations across the country. “The pandemic is partially behind this new drive for more autonomy. Results showed that 60% of American workers say that working remotely became more attractive to them recently.”
So, what can employers do to reduce the ever-rising employee attrition rate?
“According to a 2022 Gallup Poll, benefits and income are important factors to employees, but the ability to create a healthy work-life balance is almost equally as important. People want to feel like their workplace will promote or at least support their personal well-being,” says Wilson. “If you want to be competitive in today’s tight hiring market, you need to be able to illustrate to your employees (both prospective and current) that you truly care about them as people.”
Wilson says that this may be difficult at first, especially for employers and managers who are used to the old-school way of keeping things purely professional and simply clocking in and clocking out each day.
“It might feel foreign to many employers, but the companies who can make their workplaces feel compassionate, inclusive, and empathetic are going to do much better at keeping workers than those companies that just stick to the old system of simple rewards like bonuses and raises,” says Wilson. “The good news is that it doesn’t cost a lot on the front end to start making your workplace feel more mellow and supportive.”
Wilson says employers might consider creating a thoughtful, intentional ‘workplace well-being initiative’ that they can advertise to prospective employees and use to retain current employees.
“Many companies are adding well-being initiatives to their handbooks and their HR practices,” says Wilson. “These often include things like hybrid work schedules, increased flexibility, more vacation days, and freer rein when it comes to things like sick days and family leave. Today’s workers don’t want to feel like they need to beg for days off or explain their whole life story when they need to call in sick. This can be a huge shift for employers who worry about creating an overly permissive environment, but it’s okay to experiment with new policies and wait for your results before making a permanent decision. Maybe working hybrid will show a reduction in employee productivity, or maybe people will abuse the system and take too many days off in a row without any explanation. If so, you can revise your policies as needed. But the only thing that is going to get companies, especially small businesses, through this tense time is a willingness to be flexible and to take small risks and think outside the box.”
For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.