As 2021 draws to a close, many of us head into the new year with a fresh mindset and goals that we’d like to achieve. By reflecting on the previous year, January often proves to be a time when we are all open to change.
As the job market continues to boom, this leaves many employees with the opportunity to jump ship if they wish to change job roles. According to career agency Reed, they saw a 26% increase in job vacancies month-on-month – with May 2021 resulting in the most job postings across one month that they’d seen in over a decade.
Alongside this, the Office for National Statistics stated that job vacancies hit a staggering 1.1 million between July and September – the highest level since the statistic was first monitored in 2001.
But what can employers do to prevent workers from leaving? In this article, we share some top tips on ways of retaining staff members in 2022.
Provide training and development
Having a clear path of progression for any team member is vital to keeping workers content. When you employ ambitious staff members, it’s important to fuel their hunger with ongoing training and development programmes.
Don’t fall into the trap of simply viewing a new starter as someone who has a long way to go before they will establish any real recognition within the wider company.
However, investing time and effort into new starter training could help bring talents to the surface much faster, which can ultimately feed into the success of the business as their confidence begins to grow.
Work perks
Perks at work are something that everyone can get excited about. Whether it’s opening an email to free food vouchers or allowing staff members to clock off an hour early once a month, it doesn’t take much to leave workers feeling grateful to be part of such a considerate company.
At this time of year, a Christmas party is always a great crowd-pleaser. Create a buzz around the office by handing out beautifully designed leaflets as invitations for everyone to motivate them.
Wellness offerings
In recent years, there has been a global shift towards understanding the importance of mental health – and this is applicable both inside and outside of the workplace.
Wellness offerings are a great way to make workers feel valued while showing them how much their mental wellbeing means to you. This could be in the form of offering free lunchtime classes once a week, such as yoga or mindfulness sessions. It could be a free flu jab or getting a key speaker in to discuss different wellbeing topics.
Remember: this can also extend to remote workers too. Care packages are another gesture to show you care, which can be sent directly to the doorsteps of employees.
Flexible working
By now, remote working has become a familiar concept to most businesses across the UK and beyond. This new way of working has given employees new flexibility and, for some, has helped to cement a better work-life balance that they didn’t have previously.
It gives employers who can offer this a huge advantage when it comes to snapping up new talent and retaining current staff members.
HR Future Staff Writer
