Fighting the talent recession

Why are your people leaving and what are you doing to address this?

Talent retention must be a top priority for all businesses. Our survey highlighted the very clear risks of not addressing the reasons people leave their roles. 45 per cent of respondents indicated that the reasons people leave are not addressed or managed well in their workplace. This is an increase of eight per cent compared with our 2021 survey.

Understaffing, the identification of early burnout warning signs, reward and recognition and career development were also of high importance to respondents. 61 per cent of those currently looking for new roles wanted to have improved access to regular wellbeing check-ins.

Key retention strategies that respondents rated as most important include:

78 per cent said flexible working hours/hybrid working including working from home
74 per cent said career development strategy that links to the recognitions and rewards programme
73 per cent want regular performance feedback and performance and development reviews
70 per cent want programmes that enable all staff to actively participate in the workplace
69 per cent are attracted by wellbeing initiatives and subsidies
68 per cent want learning to support leaders to manage diverse teams incl. on mental health and wellbeing
62 per cent want programmes in place to support diverse, innovative and creative thinking in the workplace
59 percent want mental health awareness training and mental health first aid for staff

Senior leaders believe they are more proactive at addressing these issues than their teams do. However you look at this, it tells us that it’s not working.

What can you do?

Learn why people leave and take action to address this.
Senior leaders need better insight into what is really going on in their business and understand operational pressures against budget expectations.
Consider your capacity to change and meet the needs of your team.
Drive a career development programme in your workplace – this is an excellent way to demonstrate to employees that you value their career goals by providing a positive and supportive company culture.
Build culture and programmes that reflect what your employees need and want.
Offer flexible shift rosters and remote and / or hybrid work models wherever possible. This will help employees manage high fuel, transportation, food, and caregiving costs, and it will provide you with access to a broader talent base.

Practical Solutions and Resources

FREE Resources for EMA Members

To access these resources, login using your EMA Member account.

FREE Digital Library with First Steps

Through First Steps, and available to members and non-members, you have free access to the small to medium business-focused Workplace Wellbeing Risk Diagnostic Tool, and a range of e-Learning and resources.

Assess how your organisation is coping with their wellbeing and to identify key areas to develop as an organisation.

Resources:

Free Digital Learning:

Building capabilities

1:1 Assistance from an expert:

Your EVP is an internal promise to your employees that defines what people get from working for your company. It helps you build your brand’s internal and external perception and attract and retain talent for your organisation. Our EVP consultancy option is popular amongst our members, and we have worked alongside them to develop a clear and attractive EVP that attracts the talent they need to grow their business.

If this is something you would like to hear more about this, please reach out to pxp@ema.co.nz

Resources:

Courses

Coaching Mentoring and Delegation

This course teaches the crucial differences between coaching, mentoring and delegation, giving you a range of skills in each to improve organisational performance. You’ll learn the key principles of each approach, and how to put them into practice in your daily interactions with team members. By increasing your capacity to motivate others, your team will feel more inspired and achieve new heights.

Motivating Individuals and Teams

There’s a skill to motivating others and it starts with you. Once you’ve realised how to motivate yourself, you can work on your team and ultimately create a culture geared towards high performance. This one-day course covers self-motivation and the skills you need to inspire and activate motivation in others. You’ll gain a deep understanding of what motivation truly is and how it works within a business context.