Between the pandemic and a possible recession, it's a tough time for Australian businesses. One unforeseen challenge facing managers is the record rate of employee turnover – predicted by Gartner to be 50 to 75 percent higher than before the pandemic – with resulting vacancies also taking longer to fill.

With recruitment and training costing businesses valuable time and money, managers need to focus on strategies to increase the retention of existing staff. This can involve taking a more active approach in communicating with employees about their career paths and providing them with opportunities and engaging reward programs.

1. Encourage Internal Progression 

According to Gartner, 41 percent of employees who are considering a new position look outside of their current organisation first. To avoid losing valuable talent, managers need to make internal career paths more visible and to have fruitful career conversations with employees.

The focus of these conversations should be less about keeping employees satisfied in their current roles or team and more about exploring the opportunities for in-house growth. Managers should provide feedback on employees' strengths and ideas for how these could be applied in different roles across the organisation.

2. Support Career Experimentation 

Work disruptions during the pandemic caused many employees to reconsider their jobs and careers, with as many as 56 per cent having applied to jobs outside their existing career paths in 2021, according to Gartner.

Managers should support and encourage employees to try out new roles and responsibilities they may not previously have considered, investing in training to support their professional growth and make talented workers even more valuable assets. In larger organisations, this may involve managers working together and simplifying processes across departments.

3. Employee Engagement Programs 

Compensation alone is no longer the key to employee retention. Employees are more likely to stay with a company if they feel engaged with their work and are recognised and rewarded for their efforts.

Employee rewards programs can boost satisfaction and retention, but only when they are relevant and satisfy employees' real needs. The most effective reward programs are tailored to the individual employee and offer benefits from a wide range of participating merchants. Organisations can avoid the time, cost, and effort involved in establishing these networks and relationships themselves by using a dedicated reward and loyalty platform.

About My Rewards International (ASX:MRI)

My Rewards International (ASX:MRI) is a fast-growing global provider of customised subscription-based marketplaces for corporates and consumers. My Rewards’ core solutions include Loyalty tech, Rewards and Customer Experience. Since its incorporation in 2000, My Rewards has steadily grown to connect over 5.8 million members with more than 4,500 global, national and local suppliers. My Rewards provides more than 120 corporates with Employee Engagement and Customer Loyalty Programs to help them retain, engage, and attract employees or customers. My Rewards’ clients include some of the biggest household brands in retail, financial services, and telecommunications, including Telstra, Ramsay Health, MLC and AIG.

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