Attract, Retain and Engage: Where Do We Start?
Written by Mariateresa Romeo
Over the last two years, we have heard a lot about great resignation, talent shortage, and workforce transformation.
Working in the corporate world for twenty years, I can tell that unhealthy and strained worker-employer relationships have always been the cause of low retention rates or poor performances. The pandemic and the resulting paradigm shifts in our organizations and societies have expanded and amplified these phenomena. Far be it for me to dissect the latest survey or study results on HR trends or suggest apparent solutions to talent attraction, retention, and employee engagement. Instead, I would like to give some helpful hints to navigate and sort out such complex matters.
Answering the following questions can help you narrow down and prioritize problems between your organization and its employees and undertake necessary actions.
- Do your employees feel trusted, and do they trust their leaders?
- Do they perceive the company’s ethos and values?
- Are you able to detect unethical and non-inclusive behaviors?
- Do your most talented resources understand how they fit in the organization’s plans? If so, do they also perceive the organization’s willingness to support their personal growth and wellbeing?
- How much are the following practices embedded in your culture?
feedback (confidential conversations about performance, behavior, and attitude provided to foster personal growth and improvement)
validation (unconditional recognition of an individual intrinsic human value, offered regardless of performance)
recognition (conditional praise based on job performance, behavior, and attitude)
Sometimes the real challenge is that organizations cannot answer these questions because they don’t have the pulse of the situation, particularly their employees’ engagement level.
It might seem discouraging initially, but it is a clear sign of the first step to take: analyzing the quality of the relationship and measuring the level of employees’ commitment and connection to the organization.
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