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Kelsey Bergen
Last month I established some background information about why we are facing workforce challenges in our community, across the state, and throughout the nation. In the months to come I will continue to share some insights on a variety of solutions that can support the community in continuing to grow our workforce, as well as some tips that businesses can implement.
I want to start by focusing on what businesses can do, since they are the ones feeling the largest impact of this trend and need solutions that can be implemented to see results tomorrow and not 5-10 years from now.
When we look at trends in the housing market, we describe them as a buyers’ market or a sellers’ market. Using that same logic in the business sense related to workforce, the best way to describe the current climate is as an employee market opposed to an employer market.
That means employees are in the driver’s seat so to speak. Currently there are enough jobs available that if an employee leaves their position tomorrow, they could be employed again in a matter of days or less. They might not be able to find the “right” job immediately, but they would be able to earn a paycheck, so they aren’t as heavily reliant on their current job and employer.
So, what can an employer do in their own business to address the current employee driven market? As with most solutions, there is no easy answer, but the first step should be focusing on employee retention. In a time when an employee could go work almost anywhere, the employer needs to make the employee want to stay in their current position or at least within the same company.
Here are five ways to develop employee loyalty:
* Be welcoming to new employees and make them feel like they are part of a team.
* Treat all employees like an important part of the success of the business.
* Make sure everyone in the organization feels included in finding a new and better way of doing things.
* Ensure employees are listened to, and management follows through on promises made to employees.
* Establish promotions that are fair.
As this list illustrates, research shows that a high wage and perks have less impact on a positive work experience than how an employee feels they are treated at work. There will always be a business willing to pay more, but the best thing an employer can do to combat that fact is to truly get to know and show respect to their employees.
This can happen by sitting down one on one several times a year to check-in with the employee to get to know them and learn about how they are feeling about their position and the organization. Find out if they are happy with their position and what changes could be made to make them happy. Some of those requests may not be able to be met by the employer, but some of them may be obtainable and if the company is able to follow through on some of the requests and ideas, the employee is going to become more loyal to the business and stay in their position longer.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach for a business to address workforce challenges, the overarching theme that can benefit a business of any size is creating a company culture that employees want to be a part of because they feel valued. This might seem like a tall order to follow, but businesses that dedicate the time and resources to this will continue to find and retain employees no matter what workforce challenges continue to arise.
KELSEY BERGEN serves as executive director of the ADC. She can be reached at kelsey@growaurora.com
