With the chronic skills shortage across the labour market here to stay, the art of retaining staff is even more important.
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| Beverley Main |
New Zealand’s declining birth rate during the past 30 years, coupled with our ageing workforce, will have an increasing and ongoing impact on the labour market.
Add to that the fact that 14 per cent of our population is permanently overseas and 24 per cent of our tertiary qualified has left our workforce, and employers are really in hot water.
So, if you have less choice in regards to whom you can employ, and more competition from other employers, the first step as an employer is to concentrate on keeping the people you already have.
Common-sense retention strategies include:
acknowledging good performance regularly;
providing as much flexibility as possible;
making jobs as interesting and varied as possible;
giving staff a sense of purpose and job satisfaction;
training or up-skilling staff as much as you can;
allowing staff to have autonomy and ownership of responsibilities;
delegating authority and decision making wherever possible;
acting with integrity and authenticity at all times; and
making employees proud to work for you and your organisation.
Branding is really important to all businesses, no matter what size, and smart operators invest a lot of their energy to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Creating a sustainable and compelling point of difference is vital to achieve this. In the current (and future) labour market, employer branding has become increasingly necessary if you want to attract the best people.
So is paying them what they are worth, regardless of the pain to your bank balance.
The cost to replace staff can be huge, and not just in recruitment terms. The time it takes to get them up to speed — to fit within the culture of your business, to understand your business, and be able to relate to your customers or clients — all add to the final bill.
Interestingly, in these tight employment times, many organisations are getting referrals for new hires from their existing and recently-departed employees, so maintaining a good employer brand has never been so important.
Being a good employer is not an unattainable goal and is hardly rocket science. Getting the basics right in terms of creating the right culture and attracting the right people is half the battle.
Ensuring you have the right systems in place to not only operate your business but to keep an interest in your staff’s development also makes good business sense.
The employers who take the time to develop their people will be the ones to make the most profit at the end of the day.
If more employers recognised their moral obligation to assist every employee to be a better and more highly skilled worker, this country would not have the productivity problems it’s currently facing.
