Introducing ‘Five Reasons to Raise Our Human Game’, our latest series of articles looking into the top five people challenges in 2024 that we identified in our exclusive research. In this series, we discover why human connection is the ‘antidote’ to the rising issues affecting workplaces around the country, including unprecedented levels of stress and burnout.
With data showing that nearly 50% of employees and 53% of managers are reportedly burned out at work, this article outlines the critical importance of effective talent retention and engagement strategies in combating employee dissatisfaction, disengagement, and ‘quiet-quitting’.
We seek to address the pressing need for companies to prioritise talent retention and engagement. By understanding the power of human connection and the value of upskilling managers in people skills and expertise, we guide companies on how to develop their talent and cultivate high-performing teams that drive productivity and growth.
Why Talent Retention Matters
More than half of workplaces reported retention as a top concern for the year, with 46% expressing concerns about their organisation’s capacity to meet employees’ expectations around work-life balance, mental health and wellbeing support, and wages.
The importance of talent retention cannot be overstated in today’s dynamic workplace landscape, where workplaces are grappling with various internal and external economic pressures.
Beyond the financial costs associated with recruitment and onboarding, employee turnover is detrimental to a company’s success. Turnover leads to loss of knowledge and skills, disruption to culture, and decreased morale among remaining team members.
Employees who feel undervalued or disconnected from their work environment are more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere, leaving companies struggling to maintain stability and momentum. This underscores the necessity for companies to prioritise talent retention and engagement as a strategic imperative for continued success in the long term.
Understanding the Root Causes of Disengagement
Before delving into strategies for effective talent retention, it is essential to first understand the underlying reasons why talented employees are increasingly disengaged and ultimately decide to leave their positions.
Employee disengagement often stems from a variety of factors, including limited opportunities for career advancement, ineffective leadership, and poor work-life balance.
- Limited Growth Opportunities
Stagnation in roles with no clear path for career progression can lead to boredom and disengagement. Employees who see no opportunities for growth within a company will start looking elsewhere for advancement.
Only 35% of employees believe their current job offers good prospects for career advancement. Employees crave challenges and opportunities to develop new skills, and when these are absent, they may lose interest in the work they are producing.
- Ineffective Leadership
Managers play a critical role in employee engagement and retention. In Joblist’s 2023 Job Market Report, 39% of respondents who quit their jobs in 2022 said they left because of bad management or a toxic workplace. This shows how managers lacking the necessary people skills to support and motivate their teams will contribute to low morale and disengagement.
Ineffective leadership can manifest in a variety of ways, including micromanagement, inability to communicate, or failure to provide recognition and feedback. Employees need strong and supportive leadership, not only to feel valued and motivated in their roles but also to have a healthy relationship with their workload where they feel confident in asking for support.
- Poor Work-Life Balance
Employees who feel overwhelmed by work demands and struggle to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life are at an elevated risk of burnout. Today’s fast-paced expectations are resulting in long hours and constant connectivity. This is leading to increasing dissatisfaction and inefficiency in the long run.
Poor work-life balance can also result from unrealistic expectations, tight deadlines, or a culture that prioritises work over personal wellbeing. When employees feel unable to disconnect from work, it can negatively impact their mental health and stress levels, which in turn leads to adopting ineffective coping mechanisms.
The Business Case for Upskilling Talent
Employee disengagement is a prevalent issue, with more than half of employees in large organisations reportedly disengaged and 43% reportedly exhibiting low satisfaction and commitment. Disengaged employees are more likely to take sick days, put in less effort, and are less focused on delivering outputs, creating huge consequences for an organisation’s overall performance.
Investing in talent development is not only essential for retaining employees but also for driving growth and innovation across the organisation. Disengaged employees are less productive, less motivated, and more likely to leave their jobs, resulting in increased turnover costs and decreased overall performance.
Moreover, over two-fifths of employers also report that promoting talent from within to fill the skills gap is among their top challenges. In fact, 43% of smaller organisations find it difficult to provide regular and ongoing employee training and development.
Companies must recognise the value of investing in their employees’ development to remain competitive in changing, fast-paced, environments. By providing opportunities for growth and advancement, companies empower employees to reach their full potential and perform more efficiently, contributing to the overall success of their team.
Additionally, fostering a culture of continuous learning and upskilling ensures that companies remain agile and adaptable in the face of evolving market demands and economic conditions.
Strategies for Talent Retention and Engagement
By investing in growth opportunities, leadership development, work-life balance, and human connection, companies can drive a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered.
Provide Growth and Development Opportunities
Companies can foster employee engagement and loyalty by offering comprehensive growth and development opportunities. This goes beyond traditional training programmes to include a comprehensive skills framework with access to various learning resources, like workshops, seminars, and mentorship programmes.
Importantly, employers must recognise that each framework must be adaptable to the needs of a diverse workforce, understanding that people are at different stages and have different aspirations. Otherwise, implementing a generic skills framework will fail to empower and motivate employees to their fullest potential, nor will it help retain or engage employees who are already unsatisfied.
By providing avenues for skill expansion and career advancement specific to their aspirations and needs, employees feel valued and supported, leading to greater job satisfaction and increased investment in their roles and the company’s overall success.
Offering a balanced investment in human skills development alongside technical skills enhancement is also vital.
By focusing on interpersonal skill development, such as communication, empathy, and teamwork, companies are ensuring that employees are not only equipped to collaborate effectively but can also confidently progress into managerial roles that depend on effective people skills.
This approach enhances employee performance and contributes to a positive work culture in which everyone’s goals and needs are recognised, respected, and met.
Invest in Leadership Development
Strong leadership is essential for creating a positive and engaging work environment. Investing in leadership development programmes equips managers with the skills and tools they need to effectively support and engage their teams.
These programmes should focus on fostering self-awareness, empathy, active listening, and emotional intelligence among leaders. It should also involve leaders being able to recognise and address employee stress and wellbeing needs.
Managers who are trained to identify signs of burnout and offer appropriate support contribute to a culture of trust and connectivity. Moreover, creating psychological safety, promoting open communication and providing constructive feedback enables leaders to cultivate teams where members feel motivated and able to perform at their best, protecting and enhancing their overall wellbeing.
When people feel connected to themselves, the work they’re doing, their colleagues, managers, and their leadership team, this will lead to healthy and high-performing teams.
Support Work-Life Balance
Supporting a healthy work-life balance is increasingly critical for maintaining employee wellbeing and satisfaction, as well as meeting the needs of a diverse workforce.
Companies can promote work-life balance by implementing comprehensive mental health policies, offering flexible and remote work options, and providing access to wellbeing resources such as counselling or stress management.
Satisfying staff’s remote or hybrid working expectations has emerged as a key challenge for 45% of employers. This may also involve revising flexible working arrangements to better accommodate a diverse range of needs beyond standard compliance with the new Flexible Working Bill.
By encouraging and supporting employees to manage their workloads and schedules in a way that works best for them, companies reduce stress levels, increase productivity, and foster positive working habits.
Drive Human Connections
Building genuine human connections within teams cultivates a collaborative, innovative, and resilient workforce equipped to cope and adapt in fast-paced environments.
Creating a sense of community and belonging is essential for fostering employee engagement and loyalty. Companies can facilitate human connections by encouraging teamwork, collaboration, and open communication among employees.
This can be achieved through consciously building “belonging cues” into a team culture. These might be micro-moments of connection – taking two minutes at the start of a meeting to check in with a colleague on a personal level, or more structured – such as team-building activities and mentorship initiatives. Regular team collaboration and two-way feedback also play a key role in fostering a sense of team belonging and trust
Additionally, creating a culture of psychological safety, appreciation and recognition is key to driving human connections. Companies should aim to openly acknowledge and celebrate achievements, milestones, and exceptional performance to reinforce a sense of belonging and recognition among employees.
This approach ensures that companies are not only meeting the technical needs of their employees but are also bridging the gap in their emotional and social needs. By helping employees form meaningful relationships and support networks, companies create an environment where everyone feels comfortable, valued, respected, and motivated to contribute their best.
Raise Your Human Game with POINT3 Wellbeing
Fostering human connection and developing essential human skills is crucial for building healthy and high-performing teams. Our solution is a suite of training experiences designed to empower your people to focus on the human aspect of their jobs.
At POINT3, we specialise in human skills training tailored to support, educate, and energise employees, managers, and leaders. Together, we help businesses create the greatest impact by focusing on your people.
Join us on our mission to help businesses build high-performing and healthy teams through the power of human connection. As part of our programmes, we develop relationship skills, emotional agility, and the ability to navigate challenging and changing workplaces with ease so that employees feel more connected to their work and their teams.
Reach out to our team to discover how you can Raise Your Human Game today.