How engagement, trust, and talent transformation aid employee retention

In a candidate’s market, employers and HR teams can’t simply lean on the age-old methods of increasing compensation and equity to keep staff. According to Glassdoor, the average US employer spends about $4,000 and 24 days to hire a new employee. This is not efficient or profitable for businesses today. In order to succeed with long-term retention, leaders need to look at the big picture and understand the full employee journey— that means leaning into engagement, managerial trust, and ample growth opportunity as key pillars of a retention strategy. Below are three steps HR leaders and managers can take to ensure they’re keeping employees happy, engaged and around for the long haul.

Step 1: Managers must practice consistent and active engagement

According to 2021 data from Gallup, only 20% of employees are engaged at work, globally, and actively disengaged employees report miserable work experiences and are generally poorly managed. HR leaders and managers must develop a keen understanding of individual and team experiences in order to create an authentic, safe, and engaging environment. Why? Employees who feel valued and supported in their journey have higher retention rates, and data has even shown that engaged teams are 21% more profitable for their companies.

Maintaining a consistent connection with staff should start during the onboarding process, and continue throughout day-to-day tasks, and every milestone in between, including if or when an employee exits the company. If an employee’s life cycle comes to a close, exit interviews should be required. These interviews are a moment to learn what that particular relationship was lacking and where improvements can be made that will help your organization avoid the same problem in the future. By staying actively engaged with employees, managers can keep a pulse on their satisfaction. Establishing a culture of engagement also provides employees with a foundation of support, which is essential for creating trust— more on that in the next point.

Step 2: Establish trust

Each step in this process is essential and builds upon the previous— trust between an employee and manager is not given, but earned via a base of engagement. Trust can be established in many ways, these include: transparency into business practices and processes, treating employees with respect and as equals, soliciting performance feedback at all levels, through recognition and rewards, and by supporting their growth (whether it’s on a personal or professional level).

A trusting and supportive relationship should also be accompanied by an open line of communication, so make it abundantly clear that you’re available to employees, as this allows them to express concerns or needs before you reach the exit interview phase of the life cycle.

Step 3: Invest in employee growth

Investing in employees is a key way to increase engagement, and thus retention. According to recent research from Udacity and Ipsos, 85% of enterprises and 70% of employees value building skills that can be used on the job and for critical projects right away, and 80% of enterprises who offer learning and development programs say they are at least moderately successful. When it comes to younger generations, a majority of those between the ages of 18 – 49 believe their employers should invest in their future by providing skill training. Younger employees across regions also expect employers to pay for talent transformation initiatives.

When determining what skills to invest in, make it a two-way conversation. Often employers think they know what employees want, but the reality is that managers need to actively listen to what the employee desires before coming  to a mutual decision. The decision should land on skills both the employer and employee would like to invest in. Many of the most in-demand roles that are hardest to fill involve data science, AI, and ML, which can provide a win-win for the employee and employer. The employee can transition to a higher-paying technical role with greater impact and the employer can finally move forward on the most important digital transformation initiatives. Programming, digital marketing, and product management can present challenges as well, with “digital marketing specialist” landing itself as one of the top 10 most in-demand jobs, according to LinkedIn. By providing tangible ways for employees to invest in themselves via talent transformation solutions, HR leaders and managers can absolutely increase retention rates.

As companies continue to prioritize and monitor retention during an unprecedented moment of competition for talent, focusing on engagement, managerial trust, and investing in employee growth is an essential and strategic way to emerge from The Great Resignation on top.

Dana Bennett is Chief People Officer at Udacity.