Many employers are reeling from the high number of resignations and the unprecedented difficulty of hiring new employees. It’s a “seller’s market” out there for hiring and retaining employees, and those employees are making organizations pay. Over the past two years, employees learned a great deal about themselves, their families, and their needs for work-life balance. They have demands that we must meet if we want to attract and retain them, and in many cases the competition for employees is unrelenting.
We know employees want flexible work; however, in the current environment, employees also see employee development as a key aspect in evaluating potential employers. Accordingly, to stem the tide of resignations, many organizations are planning significant improvements in employee development: culture, preventing employee burnout, employee benefits, training/upskilling—just to name a few—to design strategies for hiring and retention.
As you work to bring new employees on board and retain current employees, there is one aspect about employee development that is often forgotten but can give you an advantage over other hiring organizations.
Some organizations do a great job related to tuition reimbursement, coaching, training, and other employee development tactics. But to dig deeper into more meaningful employee development and to get an edge over other employers, do employees know their next roles and what performance expectations will lead them to their future roles? And can your organization communicate this idea in the actual hiring process? Many employees want to know about the path forward in the organization, and if they understand it, they will feel more empowered and engaged at work because there is a clear path forward.
One organization planned this progression for each level and job type in the organization. As a result, each employee knew what would be required to progress up the organization and the various routes that were available. It takes some careful planning to define this type of information, but it will yield tremendous future benefits for the organization. Employee morale soared and complaints of favoritism stopped.
In thinking about employee development paths up the organization, don’t hesitate to explore creative options that can extrinsically, yet inherently motivate employees and take your organization to a higher level of performance–new ways of developing and advancing employees through the organization. In a recent blog, I shared an innovative idea for rethinking your organizational structure for stronger employee development, motivation, and retention, while also building in flexibility for the future business: One organization I spoke with has 85% Millennial employees, has a traditional hierarchical structure (with traditional pay structures within that structure), and was regularly losing its best employees even before the pandemic–a highest percentage were Millennials. The company is currently evaluating realigning to a more cross-functional structure that would allow employees to enter the organization in one cross-functional process, orient themselves to the organization, move up within months to a new level/role in that process; then within a few months move up to a new project manager role in that process. Within a year or two, the employee will move to a new cross-functional process and progress in a similar way. And so forth.
This structure for employee development not only provided higher employee satisfaction because of interesting, challenging work that changed regularly, but also provided employees with a clear understanding of career progression within the organization. In making a change like this, organizations work to align HR processes, pay, recognition, etc. to support the improved, cross-functionally aligned organization.
In summary, organizations may be losing a competitive advantage if they do not ask this question: in recruiting and retaining employees, how can the organization communicate a clearer vision of the path forward for the employee?
For more information or for a complimentary 60-minute strategy session for reducing employee turnover, please set a meeting, email me, and/or follow or message me in LinkedIn.