.png)
Whether or not you've heard it be termed The Great Resignation, I'm expecting that you've begun to notice it around you. The Great Resignation refers to employees, on mass, deciding to leave their current job in search of greener - or perhaps more flexible or supportive - pastures.
An increase in employee turnover impacts the company in a matter of ways, with direct and indirect costs amounting significantly. Areas of cost accumulation include:
Recruiting & onboarding costs - it's not cheap to bring on a new member
Lost productivity - the new employee takes a while to get up to speed
Lost engagement - high staff turnover causes loss of engagement and reduced productivity of existing employees
Training costs - money spent on up-skilling individual employees
Cultural impact - when one or more employees leave, others begin to ask why
Employee retention is clearly a crucial topic, so let's dig a little deeper and ask:
What has prompted this mass exodus?
Employees decide to explore different opportunities for a myriad of reasons, be it personal or professional growth, employee perks, relationships at work, etc.. However, at this current point, analysts suggest that the introduction of hybrid/ remote working should shoulder some of the blame. This taste of a flexible working format has disrupted the working status quo, where now it appears that fostering a positive at-the-office environment is simply not enough. Employees need to be stimulated and supported.
What can companies do about it?
The important questions to ask here are:
1) are my employees satisfied? and;
2) do my employees feel engaged with the company?
Finding the answers to these two questions can reveal the necessity of some form of intervention that is directed at improving employee satisfaction and engagement, which are factors that are inextricably linked to employee retention.
One major, and largely cost-effective, strategy to drive employee retention is implementing an employee wellness program. Numerous studies have shown the significant positive effect that such programs have on satisfaction and engagement among employees.
These studies revealed that employees, when they are engaged in a corporate wellness program, feel as though the company is prioritising their health, they feel an increased alignment between themselves and the mission of the company and, resultantly, they are more satisfied with their position at the company and feel a greater sense of engagement.
One particular study revealed the employees were 4 times (!) more likely to remain at their current company after an employee wellness program was implemented for only 12 months!
Employee wellness programs are, in relative terms, largely inexpensive, particularly when placed in terms of return on investment with employee retention and increases in employee productivity.
If you'd like to hear more about this topic, or find out about our approach to employee wellness here at PreActive, please feel free to reach out!