What do employees want from their employer and their workplace? The question isn’t new, but the answers are changing. What it takes to attract new talent, and keep your current workforce engaged and satisfied, is rapidly evolving. Employers must adapt to remain competitive. It’s time to evaluate, update, and, in some cases, replace traditional strategies for employee engagement with fresh ideas that meet the needs of workers today, tomorrow, and beyond.
A Bankrate survey in August 2021 reports that 55% of people in the workforce are likely to look for a new job within the next 12 months. That’s up a bit from the 52% reportedly seeking new jobs in 2021. A whopping 56% of people, including the lowest paid workers, named flexibility as their primary reason for looking to jump ship.
What employers need now are comprehensive employee engagement strategies that help reduce employee turnover, and that consider the differing needs and priorities of a multigenerational workforce. What works for Millennials may not satisfy Gen X employees, and what matters most to Baby Boomers may not be important to Gen Z. A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works, and employers need to consider the unique needs of each segment of their employee population in order to successfully build a culture that keeps employees engaged.
What do employees want in 2022 and beyond?
Overall, employees want flexibility — they want more control over their work schedules, options for remote and hybrid work, relevant benefits for their stage of life, and, according to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), 32% of workers want more frequent and transparent communication from their employers. There are generational differences in day-to-day work as well. Millennials and Gen Z, for instance, expect a more transparent and collaborative manager, whereas Baby Boomers like the structure of the traditional hierarchical management model. Another example: going into this pandemic, people believed — and continue to believe — that young people would be the most resilient and older groups would be the most fearful, but the opposite is true.
It’s crucial to understand the generational differences as we think about employee engagement. As you consider which employee engagement ideas to add to your retention strategy, you’ll need to learn how to customize each tactic for each generation represented in your workforce. And, across the board, if you’re unsure about what your employees want, it’s best to ask rather than assume.
Best ways to reduce employee turnover
Here are some employee retention ideas to help you keep your multigenerational workforce engaged and satisfied:
1. Conduct regular employee surveys. Don’t guess or make assumptions about what your employees want. The most effective way to learn is to ask them. Survey employees about their current employee experience, as well as what they would like to see change. Ideally, these surveys would be anonymous so that employees feel free to be completely honest without fear of repercussions.
2. Frequent informal check-ins between employees and their direct supervisors. When employees feel that their managers care about them, they’re more likely to stick around. Tailor the types of check-ins to each employee group and if you’re not sure what they prefer, ask them. Even better, offer employees a menu of options — video meeting, phone/audio call, email or chat — so they can choose what works best for them from week to week.
3. Offer formal mentoring and career path coaching to employees who want it. According to Indeed, Generation X workers value building new skills, while Baby Boomer employees may prefer to act as mentors and coaches to younger employees and pass on their wisdom to the next generation of leaders. Helping younger employees see a future within your organization, and showing them a clear path forward, can result in higher employee motivation and better retention.
4. Revamp your employee recognition program. It’s no longer effective to wait for five or ten years to recognize employees for their service, especially as many employees are leaving well before their fifth anniversary. Consider adding a one-year or three-year acknowledgment — or go all out and celebrate every single anniversary of an employee’s hire date. Acknowledging “firsts” (first day, first training completed, first performance review, etc.) is another way to show employees they matter. It’s also important to make these recognitions meaningful. Few employees want an engraved clock or a logo coffee mug to commemorate these milestones — most want the flexibility to choose a gift of their choice, such as name brand, popular merchandise, or a gift card to spend when and where they choose. (Again, if you’re not sure what your employees would appreciate, ask them!)
5. Reward employees for career accomplishments and embodying organizational values. Offering rewards and recognition can help employees feel valued – especially if they are praised for living the companies’ values – and reinforce the organization’s commitment to its mission, values, training, promotions, and team wins. The types of rewards you offer may differ among generations of workers and across individual personalities, and so might the way you disperse the rewards. Some people crave public attention and would like to be recognized in front of their peers, while others prefer to stay out of the spotlight. Managers should know employees well enough to make these judgments, but it never hurts to ask.
6. Tailor your communication methods. Whether this is for manager-to- employee communication or organization-wide messaging, you need a mix of verbal, written, and digital communication to effectively reach everyone in your multigenerational workforce. For example, Baby Boomers tend to prefer verbal updates so video and audio meetings might work best for them, while Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z workers may prefer email or chat messages.
7. Promote and foster community. Organizations where employees feel a sense of inclusion and belonging have lower turnover, higher productivity, and higher rates of employee satisfaction. According to Gallup research, highly engaged teams have 43% lower turnover, 18% higher productivity, and 66% higher employee wellbeing. Host virtual events that bring everyone together and offer a mix of sessions that allow employees to learn something new, share ideas about a problem, play games (prizes are a bonus!), and network with employees from other departments.
8. Prioritize employee mental health. The topic of mental health became a national conversation amid the pandemic and continues to be an essential concern for employees as we move forward. Employees want to feel that their employer supports their mental health and well-being in authentic ways — beyond an annual Mental Health Awareness Week and an Employee Assistance program. Learn about the new strategies you can use to support employee mental health, such as more frequent conversations that destigmatize mental health, more flexible time off, and leading by example.
Delivering an employee experience that matters
Creating a workplace, and a work culture, that helps employees feel valued and seen is a tall order. But in today’s high-traffic talent market, employers need to make employee engagement a top priority in 2022. Employees want flexibility, and this means employers must be ready and willing to remain flexible and continue to adapt as our world, and the needs of workers of all ages, continue to evolve.
So, what is the best way to deliver this custom-tailored employee experience on ServiceNow? The best way to deliver a custom, unified employee experience is through Intellective’s Employee Experience Pack. The Employee Experience Pack makes it easy to capture data and information across the organization and deliver it in an easy-to-consume manner without your employees having to search all over creation or call a helpdesk to find what they need. You can also customize their experience based on generational demographics, department, geographic location, and a whole host of other factors.
