How To Hold on to Your Employees

If you struggle to retain talent and keep your current employees from leaving, you are not alone. The Great Resignation is continuing to take the job market by storm. There is no end in sight – so instead of reacting, it’s time to start adapting. 

To begin, companies need to understand why employees are looking for new positions. A recent poll conducted by Talkspace featuring 1,000 full-time employees from July 29th – August 2nd discovered that the Great Resignation correlates with stress. 

Respondents considering resigning from their position answered with: 80% describe themselves as burned out, 43% have a hard time sleeping due to stress, and 39% feel short-tempered. Many factors go into it, but most employees are stretched thin from the pandemic and their ability to adapt and respond.

At the peak of Covid, it was common for companies to let employees go due to budget cuts from the pandemic, but the employees left had to continue the work of themselves, on top of the additional work of others. Agencies are the most affected by the Great Resignation due to the nature of their intense work and extended hours. 

To navigate the Great Resignation, agencies need to start thinking not only about how they can retain new talent but what they can do to keep employees with one foot out the door. Here are a few ways leaders in the industry can approach this phenomenon. 

Take the time to understand employee’s wants and needs

One of the most significant issues leaders have with keeping employees with one foot out the door is a lack of understanding. It can be easy to get caught up in client work and deadlines. Agencies need to remember employees have a life outside of work with personal wants and needs. 

Work has become less about working to make money. Employees are looking for support and a sense of community. Mental health, for example, has become one of the biggest crises in the nation, and most people feel it is the company’s responsibility to put the mental health of employees first. 

In the poll conducted by Talkspace, 74% of respondents would find paid time off for mental health help, 69% would appreciate an open-door policy with managers, and 64% would value subsidized counseling and therapy. Initiate a conversation with your employees about what leaders can do offer more support. The more supported employees feel, the better they will perform. Not only is it beneficial for employees to have an exemplary support system, but it is valuable for success. 

Be proactive, not reactive 

For agencies to successfully retain their current employees, they need to be innovative before their support becomes trendy. If an employee hears a company is offering benefits that your company isn’t, at that point, it will be too late. 

Think outside the box and have these conversations with employees to construct better reinforcement. To keep employees from leaving your company, they need to have their needs met before realizing they aren’t getting what they need. 

The last thing companies should do now is tighten up policies, such as the return to full-time on-site work. When you understand and adapt to employees’ needs, it will attract new employees and help you retain talent. 

We understand your struggle and how frustrating it is to hire and keep talent in this market, but you need to adapt rather than react. Companies have been ruling the job market, and to retain talent, you need to accept this shift and move with the current.