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BUSINESS
WHERE DID ALL OUR WORKFORCE GO?
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION. By Gry Tomte
In the past two years the world has been turned upside down. For everyone; business owners AND our teams.. Priorities have shifted, right? Have you felt it? I definitely have! So now that living with covid is the new normal and we’re ready to rebuild, we need the staff to do just that. Well, I’m not sure about you, but I’ve NEVER seen the job market this empty. It’s as if our workforce has shaved off two thirds overnight... So, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that one of the most important considerations in running a business in the post covid world is staff retention. But what does that actually mean? Why do people leave in the first place? There are two general types of resignations: leaving the industry all together - and leaving for another business similar to yours. Maybe even a competitor. Or working for themselves.
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Beauty Biz Year 15 Issue 3
Post Covid we are seeing more people reconsidering their work life balance, their distance to and from work, their purpose and also the environment they spend their days in. Some things you can control (culture, communication, training and development opportunities, growth opportunities, alignment to purpose, alignment to values, how you drive performance etc). And then there are some things we can’t control. But today, let’s focus on the things that are in our control. 1. Lack of job security. During the pandemic many employers’ first knee jerk reaction was to stand their team down instead of utilising them to grow the business and grow themselves. Some hard truths: if you get stood down 7 times in the past 18 months, you’d probably reconsider your career too.
And it’s not that I don’t understand it! Trust me, I do. But it’s a very valid reason why a lot of our workforce either started looking for different careers or started working for themselves. Whether we feel we were right in that decision or not. What I WILL say, is that being a people first business isn’t a short-term game. So, in the short term it was scary for us to keep everyone on. But in the long term it helped us stay in touch with clients, provide them with remote services and ultimately, generate a lot more income had we stood the team down and I had to do it myself! AND of course, it helped the team stay connected and in touch with their purpose and their value in driving the business forward. 2. Lack of contact/ 1-1’s I’ve spoken to a heap of therapists who from the moment they were placed in lockdown, didn’t hear anything from their workplace until they were back again. Imagine experiencing
