Creating employee experiences so that your agency staff never want to leave
It’s no coincidence that the top three1 workforce management challenges facing HR professionals right now are employee retention, employee engagement and recruitment. The knock-on effect of a poor recruitment experience, through to onboarding, staff experience and ultimately turnover is your everyday chain reaction. A chain reaction, chemical or corporate, depends not only on external pressures but also on the nature of the factors involved, and companies only have the ability to affect one of these.
%The Employee Experience Index2 notes the ‘core facets’ of a positive and human employee experience as: belonging, purpose, achievement, happiness, and vigour. If your team members are experiencing each of these things in the workplace; agency staff should never want to leave. Globforce3 and IBM’s survey found that people who scored highly in these facets were 53% less likely to leave their organisations. So how do you cultivate these feelings within your company?
1. Feedback
Feedback, as well as being essential for performance, is also fundamental in improving the employee experience. Being faced with a job that you haven’t been given the most effective tools to do is not enjoyable for anyone. Without direction on their performance, there is no way for employees to know whether or not they are completing their job effectively. Consistent and timely feedback is the most effective form of communication, and annual performance reviews aren’t enough anymore. Performance feedback whether it’s metrics focused or not, must be targeted and constructive. The numbers don’t lie; 43%4 of highly engaged employees receive weekly feedback and highly engaged employees are 87%5 less likely to leave the company. As well as being provided with performance feedback, employees must also be given the opportunity to provide feedback of their own. The easiest way to find out how to improve your company’s employee experience is to ask your employees what they believe needs either changing or keeping.
2. Recognition and Celebration
72%6 of UK employees state that they would work harder if they were appreciated. As well as being important for performance, recognition and celebration are also important for retention. Surveys7 have shown that employees who don’t feel adequately recognised are twice as likely to leave the company within the next year. There is often a disparity between leaders and employees about whether or not they are receiving recognition, which should never be the case. When providing a team member with recognition, in whatever form, this must always be targeted and meaningful. 83%8 of employees that believe they have received recognition for doing good work, report a more positive employee experience, whereas only 38% do when they do not receive recognition. If you can ensure that your employees feel appreciated, you’ll have agency staff that not only give you their time, but also give their best.
3. Growth
Typically, the focus of companies would be on growth in terms of profit margins or traditional business growth, however, growth in this context refers to individual growth and development for each employee. Facilitating growth within your company can look like various different steps from coaching and training to mentoring. In order to give your employees room to grow, it’s necessary to remove organisational barriers. Giving employees the freedom and opportunities to operate cross-functionally will ultimately increase their sense of vigour and give them room to flourish. Growth is listed9 as one of the most important metrics when measuring employee engagement and rightly so. 36%10 of employees are likely to leave their jobs within one year, but if you can ensure that they feel valued and autonomous, your agency staff will never want to leave, and that’s the real growth for your organization.
Sources:
1 - Globoforce
2 - Globoforce
3 - Globoforce
4 - Officevibe
5 - Officevibe
7 - Talent Map
8 - Globoforce
9 - Office vibe
10 - Perkbox
