employee engagement – Talent500 Blog

5 strategies to retain your top tech talent amid the great reshuffle

Posted on May 1, 2022July 11, 2022 by naveen

With digital frameworks and operation models becoming cornerstones of modern businesses, the demand for tech talent has never been higher. So much so that there’s a supply shortage with the unemployment rate for tech jobs being just 1.7%. This gap between supply and demand, while promising for employees, makes retention a #1 priority for all companies.

Unfortunately, attrition rates have soared as a result of the talent shortage and retaining employees has become tricky. There are several contributing factors at play here, such as burnout, automation, and inflation in wages. Bigger corporations have more money to throw at problems, but the lure of a bigger paycheck simply doesn’t enjoy the shine it used to.

Modern employees are a unique tribe – they know what they want and aren’t willing to compromise on the essentials. Be it the right culture or flexibility provisions, these individuals prioritize holistic development. This is good news for companies looking to retain talent as it means that a targeted focus on employee value proposition (EVP) can be the key.

Viable strategies for talent retention

Leverage automation in HR practices

As a result of the pandemic and the hurdles it put workforces through, a survey in 2021 found that employee engagement took a nasty hit. 40% of firms noticed this negative impact, which meant nothing good for retention. At such a juncture, re-engagement can take many forms and communication rests at the heart of it all. But how companies communicate is just as important.

With the rise of digitalization and automation in workplaces, companies may be tempted to optimize HR practices with these technologies. While this can work in some cases, engaging the existing workforce may require a more personalized approach. Automation has definitely improved HR processes, and modern applications such as chatbots play an instrumental role in assessing employee performance and sentiment. Companies would do well to institute such provisions wherever possible, while also sprinkling in the human element wherever possible.

Make career development a key pillar of operations

Tech talent is constantly looking for avenues that help them address skill gaps and most look to their employer to build them. Studies have found that a lack of learning and upskilling opportunities is a critical proponent of attrition. In fact, about 40% of employees will quit jobs in the first year if training isn’t prioritized. This is a very alarming finding, especially in the current landscape where attracting capable and skilled talent is a herculean task. Moreover, companies should look at career development as a way to help employees attain their personal development goals.

For many, a job title that ranks higher on the corporate ladder means little in comparison to the progress they experience in learning new skills. The benefits here extend beyond their ability to do better work and take on more responsibility. It actually builds their confidence, and this is an invaluable trait to have in any employee. For most tech companies, the following approaches can work wonders.

Invest in bootcamps that offer specialized, skill-based certifications
Develop project management skills
Focus on developing in-demand skills:
- Cloud computing
- Cybersecurity
- AR and VR
- AI and ML
- Blockchain

Revise benefits periodically to be in tune with modern-day standards

Wages are just one half of the remuneration equation and the perks offered are just as important, if not more. For long, it was the consensus that perks were the incentives deployed when budgeting restraints cut into wages. While it may have worked in the early 2000s, modern tech talent is after the whole package.

In fact, these individuals will choose flexible hours or remote working, for instance, over a pay hike. Moreover, data from a report found that about 37% of the surveyed employees said they would take a 10% pay cut if it meant they could work remotely. All this indicates is that today’s tech talent wants their needs met, and in doing so companies could see better retention numbers. Some of the top benefits that companies must consider adding to their policies include telehealth, mental wellbeing provisions, comprehensive healthcare, and educational initiatives.

Another interesting one to consider is unlimited PTO. While not actually unlimited, it is built on a good-faith model, wherein employers trust employees to take as much time off as they need to be optimally productive. In fact, in doing so, it was noticed that employees took less time off overall.

Rethink company culture and infuse it with out-of-the-box models

Culture propels the company vision and modern employees are attracted to companies that have a defined culture. This is especially true for IT professionals as their professional needs are often different from nontechnical employees. For instance, considering the fact that these individuals generally enjoy higher wages, competition amongst employers is fierce when it comes to attracting talent. As such, more money doesn’t always work as a lure as much as an enabling culture does. Historically, these professionals have prioritized growth and development, seeking out workplaces that focus on employee upskilling and career progression.

As such, tech startups and MNCs began rethinking their approach to culture in order to stand out. One notable initiative was Google’s 20%-time policy, which paved the way for innovation back in 2004 and is still active to date. The concept is fairly simple, wherein employees were encouraged to spend 20% of their time to work on ideas that would benefit the organization. For employees with innovative passions, a workplace with a culture that spurs innovation is definitely the right fit. Similarly, another unique approach to company culture stems from Google yet again, wherein they celebrate mistakes and even reward failure. For employees, this eliminates the fear of being penalized for exploring their creative sides.

Promote employees with intent and thought

Offering promotions without careful thought does little to fuel progression or build worthwhile teams. Companies often default to this tactic when employee engagement dips or needs a refresh. The approach also sends the worst message across, which is that employees only matter when the company stands to lose them. A better way to go about is to give promotions the right amount of thought.

By being an active component of the conversation regarding an employee’s desired career path, HR teams can restructure and tailor roles to better suit employee aspirations. Moreover, in considering specific career paths, responsibilities and aptitudes, employers can showcase that they are listening and are willing to bend, when possible, to enable meaningful growth for worthwhile employees.

Minimizing attrition requires a dedicated effort and companies ought to look inward to optimize efficiently. For many looking to simply hire and combat the issue, the cost of doing so will soon become a limiting factor. In some cases, something as simple as investing proactively in infrastructure that gains a positive response can do the trick. Contrary to popular belief, tech talent isn’t all that hard to please and all companies need to do is be more attentive. For this level of targeted talent management, a viable solution is to partner with Talent500.

Our talent management and hiring protocols help Fortune 500 and high-impact startups build, scale, and maintain high-performing teams. Among our key features are the best-in-market L&D activities on offer, designed to improve engagement and reduce attrition. To know more about our services, schedule a consultation.

What companies can do to empower employees to be productive anywhere

Posted on April 5, 2022 by naveen

As the popularity of remote work is growing, the challenge to keep employees productive while empowering them is real. A distributed workforce is the future for companies and learning to adapt to this work culture shift is important. When your employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to keep them engaged and feel inclusive. As a manager, the onus is on you to develop trust among the employees and inspire them to take responsibility to be more productive.

How do you achieve that?

Through employee autonomy and empowerment.

In simple words, this refers to the philosophy of encouraging employees to make decisions independently on their own and to take accountability of their tasks. As a manager, your role is to support this decision-making and make employees feel more confident about themselves. As employees work remotely, you cannot micromanage them. You have to let them have autonomy and flexibility.

Here are some important tips for empowering your staff for business success.

Start by demonstrating trust

Unless you make your employees feel important and valued, they will not be able to make independent decisions. To achieve this, you will have to gain their loyalty by showing your trust. Instead of explaining the means, introduce your employees to the end goals and let them take their path. This approach might not achieve everything that you want, but the employees will feel empowered due to increased autonomy and flexibility.

Establish clear communication

As a leader, it is your responsibility to bring transparency to the communication between the distributed workforce. You must bring everyone on the same page, as a communication gap will create confusion and the employees will remain in the dark about what they are supposed to do. Another important factor in empowering your employees is to clearly define the company vision to the staff. Finally, clearly define the tasks and duties that they can work on independently.

Avoid small talk – build a connection

As the distributed workplace environment further reduces the chances of one-on-one conversations, small talk doesn’t cut it anymore. It is important to remain engaged and connected with your employees and have deeper, quality conversations. To instill a sense of empowerment in your employees you must know them on a personal level. Have more personalized conversations such as accomplishments and complaints they might have, ask about their work progress and what’s going on with their families. This not only encourages your employees to feel more engaged but also helps you to grow as a leader.

Make way for self-improvement

When employees learn new skills, they feel more empowered and it helps improve the company as a whole. This is why continued upskilling and reskilling programs are important; it empowers employees to take on new challenges at work. It also enhances their personal growth which is important for their empowerment. Companies that have resources make tools and ways available for employees to take courses to learn new skills. If you do not have such resources, you can allow flexibility in your work schedule such that they can pursue upskilling programs. You will be surprised how constructive such support can be for your employees’ well-being and work ethic.

Delegate responsibility not just work

As a leader, you can easily impart empowerment to the employees almost immediately by delegating not just the work but asking them to take more responsibility such as handling an important meeting or pitching a product you all have been working on. The best way to let them feel important and motivated about their work is to let them work on projects that people and customers notice. This will make them realize that they have a real effect not just on business but on other people as well.

Employee empowerment can help companies not only grow but take on challenges with a distinct zeal. When you make them feel empowered you have better chances of retaining them, sparking job satisfaction, improving customer service, and driving individual growth.

At Talent500, we are empowering companies by helping them build and manage global teams. To know more, request a consultation.

The employee-manager relationship – why it matters now more than ever

Posted on April 5, 2022 by naveen

Remote and distributed ways of work are gaining popularity and very quickly becoming the norm as companies are offering permanent work from home and hybrid work options to employees. As a result, there is an increased spotlight on the employee-manager relationship.

The way teams are communicating due to the hybrid work environment has changed at a breakneck pace. This has caused a shift in how employees and their managers interact on a day-to-day basis.

Let’s explore how the employee-manager relationship has changed in the wake of the pandemic and distributed work culture.

Building better work relationships

From an employees’ perspective, there has been a decline in communication with their managers since the pandemic. For managers, this might look like a loss of control over employees, but this actually demands that both parties make the extra effort to stay in sync in their relationship, with managers taking on the load more heavily.

When done right, it could lead to employees feeling more connected and engaged with their team members, managers, and the organization. According to a survey by Paychex, around 66% of employees agree that they have received more honest communication from their managers during the pandemic. This has made them feel more confident about their roles and their productivity has improved.

As a manager, you need to bring an increased level of transparency and accountability to your communication with employees. As research has pointed out that job satisfaction is the second most important determinant, after mental health for employees for retention, managers need to create a positive experience for employees.

A new perspective on employee development needs

22% of employees report disinterest of their managers in encouraging or enabling them to learn at all. Only 17% of employees report that their managers help them create a plan or set upskilling goals.Learning and development have been the cornerstone for the engagement and retention of employees. But today, managers are struggling to keep track of what their employees need. Also, there is a growing worry among employees that their skill sets will fall behind due to rapid technological advances. They are looking up to their managers to help them keep up with these advances through reskilling.

As a manager, you must be more involved in the learning process of employees. Make this involvement collaborative. In the post-pandemic era, employees want more control over their work-life and look for opportunities that better align with their interests, goals, and experiences. This is why rather than telling your employees what to learn, have a discussion with them about their aspirations and goals.

Incorporating a bidirectional feedback loop

Collaborative conversations are more important today. A bidirectional feedback loop is what you need to reinforce trust and loyalty with your employees. In this age of work, sharing feedback with employees about their performance is just half the battle, you need to extend them the same favor and take their honest opinion on how supportive and empowering the managers are in helping them grow.

As a manager, it is your responsibility to help them proactively share their honest opinions and feedback. For instance, you can encourage opinion sharing by asking how you performed in a client meeting. You can also show vulnerability by asking them which aspects they think you can improve upon.

Many managers are letting the employees take control of the team meetings by setting up an agenda for regular check-ins. This is a clever approach to schedule meetings focused on topics important for employees. This also gives them more control over their career and development. You can learn a lot about your employees from such meetings like what they want to learn to upskill, what their career goals are, and what interests them most.

A renewed take on the employee-manager relationship

As a manager, there is a lot that you can offer to mentor and coach employees in a time when building connections is more important than ever. As employees evaluate their jobs, they want to feel more connected to their roles – a reason that is greatly affecting the attrition rate.

This is why your new approach towards the manager-employee relationship should focus on taking on the role of a coach and mentor and guiding employees to be their best – at work, but also from a holistic growth and development point of view. Taking this approach shows employees that you genuinely care for wellbeing, value their presence in the organization, and are dedicated to their growth.

Talent500 is a powerhouse managing global teams for Forbes500 companies. We hire, build and manage global talent for you. Schedule a consultation to discuss your needs.

8 ways to boost employee engagement levels to new heights

Posted on January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 by surya

There is no doubt that employee engagement is critical to employee satisfaction and retention. To put this in numbers, companies that can successfully engage their employees increase their chances of retention by 87% as per studies. A happy and satisfied workforce is motivated to churn out their best, perform optimally and maintain better overall productivity, ultimately adding to company coffers.

Unfortunately, the pandemic and its restrictions have made employee engagement an uphill battle for HR departments. With little to no personal interaction and a taxing transition to the remote work environment, many companies now face a significant change in culture. While this has received positive feedback, it has led to low employee engagement in many cases. Addressing this problem is critical, and there are many tactics you can undertake.

Here is a mixed bag of long-term strategies and quick fixes you can implement to boost your company’s employee engagement.

Optimize processes to increase efficiency at work

Prior to the pandemic, a OnePoll survey found that 26% of an employee’s time in a working day is wasted doing unnecessary chores. These tasks included working with outdated processes and technology or attending unnecessary meetings that offered little to no value. The impact of such inefficiency worsened in a remote working environment. The Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report in 2020 found that engagement dropped to 20% last year. Naturally, it is safe to assume that this did no favors for an employee’s overall daily performance.

Replacing inefficient practices with optimized and time-saving ones can improve an employee’s work quality, thereby boosting morale. For instance, having an effective document management process in place can ensure that employees have one less thing to worry about, making work manageable. According to the same report, work-induced stress was also at a high, with worry amounting to 41% of the problem. Instituting provisions that minimize instances of stress and worry is sure to increase efficiency, and engagement as well.

Create open communication channels and prioritize feedback

Communication is another aspect of an employee’s workday that normally requires optimization. This not only includes HR-employee communication but also communication among colleagues. Effective comms ensure employees can complete daily tasks without any hitches. Streamlining modes of communication can further help streamline workflow, as well as the chain of command.

With more companies embracing remote or hybrid working styles, it is now essential to have desktop-less communication channels. This will help ensure:

Easy accessibility and availability of all persons involved with a given project.
Reduce friction caused by the lack of physical presence, usually known to restrict workflow.

Employees want feedback, as this helps them feel acknowledged. It simultaneously improves employee engagement as there are no gaps in the communication. Enhancing communication between management and employees seems the obvious first step in this regard. Other smart options include:

Asking managers and team leaders to schedule frequent check-ins and review sessions with their teams.
Providing additional training to ensure that a blanket-style approach isn’t employed to every employee’s need or problem.
Creating an environment that encourages open and honest conversation between employees and management.
Encouraging managers to deploy every possible communication channel to give and receive feedback.

Review and polish your onboarding process

Well begun is half done, and this applies to your company’s onboarding process as well. This is a pivotal moment where the new joinee gets a first-hand experience of the company’s culture, atmosphere, and fellow employees. If done right, it can set the correct tone for a new employee, helping them envision their career growth and personal development. So, your onboarding should lay the foundation of a working relationship that is engaging and inclusive.

A critical aspect of the onboarding experience is the office intranet. It helps new employees to know and understand your business, the processes to be followed, fellow employees, and company culture. Moreover, adding a personal space like ‘My Profile’ provides a digital space for employees to express themselves, building camaraderie. All of this guarantees a simple, effective, and seamless onboarding experience, ensuring employee engagement from the start.

Provide working flexibility to employees

Employees expect their companies to help them achieve the elusive and much-needed work-life balance. They expect employers to be empathetic enough to help them meet their personal commitments. Work-from-home flexibility and remote opportunities were proven tools that guaranteed satisfaction, and to an extent increased employee engagement. But with the pandemic and the recent shift to digital working conditions, additions must be made.

For instance, allowing your employees to choose their work timings is a good start. This shows that you care about them and their personal lives and are invested in their well-being. Optimize your processes and workflow in a manner that allows your employees freedom in choosing their timings. Showing empathy on your part will significantly boost engagement and overall productivity.

Recognize, appreciate, and reward employee efforts

When employees feel acknowledged, valued and rewarded, they are motivated to do better. However, this should not be the sole purpose of recognizing and appreciating employee efforts. Ensure that you do so solely for the quality of work and effort, highlighting their value to the company. Seeing colleagues being motivated and rewarded for their work and efforts will also boost the morale of the entire workforce. It will inspire them to work harder, ultimately improving employee engagement.

Invest in upskilling your workforce

Investing in your workforce is synonymous with investing in your business. Providing employees with opportunities, training, and education to upskill tells employees that you see potential and are ready to invest in them. Not doing so can not only harm productivity, but also affect retention and employee engagement. Helping your employees improve in the very aspects they are lacking inspires confidence, improving engagement.

Promote shared company culture and core values

Take efforts to promote a consistent culture and core values throughout the company. This ensures that every employee shares, and is part of a common culture that drives them at work. While it helps improve employee interaction and engagement, it also helps align employee goals to company purpose. A transparent and shared company culture results in a highly productive and fun working environment. Moreover, it fosters a bond of trust between managers and employees.

Undertake actionable employment satisfaction and engagement surveys

A successful employee engagement strategy is incomplete without taking honest feedback and reviews. A transparent and collaborative approach can help you build a lasting and effective engagement program. To this effect, undertake regular feedback in the form of polls, surveys, and interviews. This makes the employee a stakeholder in the betterment of the workforce, providing you with actionable data about your engagement program.

Money is not the only reason employees leave companies. Employees today want a job that caters to their well-being while treating them with respect and in an inclusive manner. A well thought-out and employee-centric engagement program can help you create a brand that attracts new talent and retains the current workforce.

As per a survey, a point increase in employee satisfaction transcends to a 1.3-point increase in customer satisfaction. So, it is in your company’s best interest to prioritize employee well-being to ensure customer happiness.

At Talent500, we help you build employee engagement solutions that feature a streamlined onboarding process, and access tools that optimize engagement. With our best-in-class benefits, managing a remote team becomes easy with us as your EOR. We leverage a host of community activities, learning and development initiatives, and many more methods to help bolster employee engagement. To know how we can help you achieve this goal, book a consultation online.

Combatting the Great Resignation: 3 ways to strengthen your ranks and retain employees

Posted on November 10, 2021 by naveen

Don an employer’s hat, and you’ll quickly realize that the Great Resignation or Big Quit of 2021 resembles a war-like situation. You have opposing camps scouting for seasoned and new talent, employees who will willingly “turn coat” for better prospects, and a rise in “adieus”, each of which leaves employers with fewer resources.

Resignations are on the rise — 4.3 million Americans called it quits in August 2021 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As per a September 2021 SHRM report, over 40% of the US workforce have new jobs on their radar. Further, research shows that employee turnover can result in overall costs to the tune of 90-200% of the employee’s salary.

From the employee’s point of view, the Great Resignation is truly “great”. The very fact that workers are ready to call it quits in the face of rising vacancies and on the back of pandemic-related pay cuts means the grass does seem greener on the other side. Yet it isn’t all downhill, experts suggest, and employers can make their companies resilient by identifying the root problems behind employee attrition.

Here are 3 factors fueling the post-Covid employee exodus, and countermeasures you can adopt to keep your talent happy and at home.

Tackle burnout with organizational changes

The year 2020 is considered as the most stressful year in history by many, but by the reports, 2021 could be worse. The Employee Well-Being Report by Glint notes a 9% surge in employee burnout between April and July 2021, a figure that’s 12% up from a year ago. Concurrently, happiness at work fell by ~3%. These are alarming figures, and McKinsey further points out that employee burnout is underreported, partly because burnt-out employees have already left the office.

a. Unplugging and recharging

While there isn’t the faintest doubt that the uncertainty and fear roused by the pandemic has contributed to alarming stress levels, experts suggest the burnout experience may have roots in organizational factors that were askew before 2020. Here are some:

Demanding workloads
Lack of time to complete tasks
Insufficient support from employers
Unclear career trajectory and stagnation

Reports have it that resignations are highest in the IT and healthcare sectors, and this ties in well with the idea that heavy workloads coupled with less time are fueling burnout. LinkedIn had its team of ~16,000 employees take a weeklong vacation, with paid leave, starting April 5, 2021, and efforts to reduce work-induced stress such as having no-meeting days are paying dividends.

b. Bolstering employee engagement

To ‘listen’ and to ‘engage’ are crucial steps to improving employee retention. In fact, even before Covid-19, surveys showed that up to 76% and 92% of employees would seek other jobs because they didn’t feel valued and because of a lack of empathy, respectively. As per Herzberg’s 2-factor theory, ‘recognition’ is a motivator that spurs employees to perform better. In the same vein, peer relationships and job satisfaction are hygiene factors that must be met if employees are to fulfil their psychological needs.

Employee engagement is essential to retention. Here are some quick ways to boost it:

Invite feedback
Communicate regularly
Increase face time
Recognize performers
Organize volunteer events

Make hybrid work a permanent feature

Most employees know hands-on the benefits and limitations of working from home: 10-second commutes versus decreased collaboration, flexible schedules versus the ability to keep work and personal life separate, and so on. What employees want today is the ability to choose.

Money matters in every job market; however, reports indicate that professionals are willing to forego monetary benefits to retain the option to work remotely. A study by GoodHire had 61% of respondents agree that they’d take a pay cut (some even up to 50%) to maintain their remote working status. About 70% would forfeit benefits like health insurance and retirement accounts to work remotely, and 85% would apply to companies that offer the option to work from home.

a. Adopting a hybrid work model

The middle ground, which employers must seek, is a hybrid work model. Offering flexibility in terms of work timings and location, the model has advantages too big to neglect:

Improves productivity
Increases job satisfaction
Maintains company culture
Enhances mental health
Provides options for collaboration
Safeguards relationships
Keeps employees safe during breakouts of the virus

Meet the soul-searching worker with clear answers

Most employees have spent months if not the entire year evaluating how they work, why they work, where they want to be in 10 years, what their life goals are, and more. Top board members have resigned, citing reasons such as changed life circumstances and perspectives post COVID. The result of all the introspection is a workforce that’s keen to invest in themselves.

a. Extending options for growth

HBR notes that mid-career employees, aged 30 to 45, are the ones driving the spate of resignations. As opposed to young professionals, these are employees who can leverage their experience to seek better career progression. How to invest in their personal development and have them remain in your organization instead? Here are some options:

Have cross-departmental training programs
Organize workshops on soft skills
Reward initiatives and not just results
Offer opportunities for networking
Assign a mentor or coach
Send employees on training programs
Invest in self-paced learning resources

Investing in employee wellbeing

Employees today are on the lookout for wholesome benefits instead of simple office perks. Free coffee and foosball tables won’t make the cut, but some that will include:

A shorter work week
Wellness packages
A sabbatical
Mentorship programs

Many employers wrongly assume that money is the main reason employees quit. The truth is many leave for a better job, and today, one that caters to the health and wellness of the workforce is sure to stand out.

Strengthening and consolidating your workforce is essential to a strong post-pandemic recovery. There may be some pent-up resignations that surface in the near future, but paying attention to burnout, flexible work, and career growth is sure to help you turn the tide on the turnover tsunami and transform a deluge into a drizzle.