2021 was the Great Resignation. 2022 was the Great Reshuffle. What will 2023 bring us? Based on what we are seeing from candidates and employers, it will continue to be a candidate’s market.
Our labor force is declining in numbers. Approximately 2,100 births per 1,000 women are required for each generation to replace itself. The US has been below replacement levels since 2007. Covid allowed employees to have a voice in the workplace. As employers, we must make strategic changes to stay competitive because there simply isn’t enough people to fill every open role.
SHRM recently came out with an article highlighting why people leave and what you, as an organization, can potentially do about it. Last August, the SHRM Research Institute surveyed over 1,500 HR professionals in the US to understand the top reasons why workers were leaving their organizations. The number one reason? Inadequate total compensation. 30% of the of the respondents said they would need to increase their compensation by about 8% while 37% of respondents said they would need 12% or more of additional compensation. But the problem with employee turnover is not just total compensation. It is also the need for workplace flexibility and the ability for employees to develop and advance. What can your organization do about it?
TIP 1: Improve Compensation Transparency
Some organizations may be able to adjust their budget for increased total compensation while many may not. One way to combat this is to increase pay transparency. Help employees understand their total compensation package (i.e., base pay, bonuses, 401K, and benefits). The more communication and transparency around this allows team members to make more-informed decisions. At DISHER Talent Solutions, we have two offer stages, the pre-offer and the actual offer. The pre-offer is walking the candidate through what compensation will look like. That way, there are no surprises when they receive their actual offer.
When we present our actual offer to a candidate, we try to do it in-person. If that’s not an option, Microsoft Teams is a great resource. During this time, we walk them through their total compensation and what that looks like. This allows the candidate to ask questions and have an open dialogue about total compensation with full transparency.
DISHER Talent Solutions also recently invested in salary.com. This tool allows us to internally ensure we are market competitive and helps us find ways to grow our team. The market keeps changing, and many employers do not have accurate, up-to-date salary information. We are able to work with our clients to show them what the market is currently offering. We help them stay competitive. We advise our clients in ways to make an offer more attractive, whether it’s workplace flexibility, PTO, or highlighting their benefits.
Tip 2: Increase Workplace Flexibility
Speaking of workplace flexibility, this is another area that is extremely important to today’s workforce. Owl Labs worked with Global Workplace Analytics to survey over 2,300 US workers in July of 2022. They found that 52% would take a pay cut of 5% or more to have flexibility in their working location. 23% said they would take a pay cut of 10% or more. Employee preferences have evolved and are here to stay. Workers choosing to work remotely went up 24% and hybrid work preference went up 16%. In-office work dropped by 24%. What can you do about this? Ask your team. When you allow your team members to have a voice and you listen—it shows you care. If remote or hybrid work is not an option, (i.e., in manufacturing settings), there are other ways to improve flexibility.
There are several ways to be more flexible.
Offer flex hours. For example, Globe Manufacturing Co. LLC in New Hampshire allows their employees to choose their start time. For first shift, they can choose between 6:00 and 8:00 AM. When this policy was first implemented, about 80% chose to keep their 6:00 AM start time. But their bond with the company improved because they felt empowered by having a voice.
I have also seen compressed or short work weeks. Some manufacturers have a three-day or four-day work week for their team on the floor.
Consider offering floating holidays so team members can choose when to take time off. At DISHER Talent Solutions, we are given three floating holidays a year to use whenever we wish. We have a policy of use it or lose it, and I can confidently say, we use it. You could also ask your team members if you should have a holiday shut down. If there is hardly any work done between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, could you give your team members that time off to be with family and friends?
Another option is to offer part-time or job sharing. This can make your organization a more appealing place to work. If the role requires a full-time person, job sharing allows two people to share one role. One person could work Monday to Wednesday and the other from Wednesday to Friday.
Get creative with your team members and provide flexible solutions that meet their unique pain points!
Tip 3: Build-In Career Development & Advancement
The final way to reduce turnover is to have a plan for career development and advancement. Work on increasing communication around promoting from within. If you are looking to fill a new position, have you looked within your current team to see if someone would be a fit or have interest? This also decreases their onboarding time because they are already ingrained into your organization.
One company in West Michigan has a clear career path for each position. This is communicated to candidates during the interview process so they know how they can advance and progress. It allows candidates and current employees to actually see a future in that organization.
Career development doesn’t need to mean hierarchical growth. Allowing a team member to grow their skill sets in certain areas enables them to get outside their normal day-to-day work, learn something new, and try something different.
At DISHER Talent Solutions, we equip our team members with the opportunity for 80-hours of training time each year. This can be accomplished through training workshops, continued education, and certification programs. But it can also be done through reading and listening to podcasts, being part of a Subject Matter Community, or working directly with a mentor.
We also have an internal email called “Ask DISHER”. If any team member has a question about anything, they can send an email to the entire organization, and teammates provide knowledgeable solutions or guide them to a place where they can find the answer.
We must look at the workforce differently. Employee preferences have changed; therefore, employers need to adapt or get left behind. As an organization who desires to be sustainable for years to come, make it a priority to improve compensation transparency, increase workplace flexibility, and strengthen career development and advancement with candidates and team members. If you don’t, you will continue to lose great people. And we simply do not have the numbers to replace them.
Let us know how DISHER Talent Solutions can help you reduce turnover. Our award-winning team of Certified Diversity Recruiters is ready to go to work for you.
