How to Keep Your ‘Human Resources’ from Quitting!

Human Resources is by far the biggest asset for any startup or business owner. Human resources make up the workforce in any organization and are sometimes referred to as human capital, manpower, labor, talent, personnel, etc. While human resources or a company’s employees are the lifelines of the organization, keeping them from flowing out of the company can be quite a challenge. In one of its articles, Business Insider quoted that “a lack of career growth is one of the reasons workers leave their jobs, second only to low pay.” [2] Other reasons include a lack of trust and micromanagement, feeling underutilized, having an inefficient leader, poor management as well as communication, work-life balance, seeing good employees leave, etc. Here in this blog, we will highlight ways to keep your human resources from quitting.

1. Gen Z

According to a recent study quoted in the Business Insider, “Gen Z employees believe that they should be promoted in their first year.” [4] Gen Z workers are those employees who are under the age of 22. These newbies in your organization bring in freshness in ideas and technical skills while being more techno-savvy. In a startup, one might hire a Gen Z worker on the basis of minimal pay, but the time and effort used to train a Gen Z worker are a lot. Plus they like to hop on to other work opportunities if not provided a pay rise. Other reasons of leaving include [5]: 

• Concerns regarding their career choice and whether they chose the right path.
• Worries on paying student loans. 
• 60% percent aspire to be in management positions and try to find the quickest ways to achieve that.
• 75% say that they prefer a boss with coaching abilities.

How to Retain?

1. Outlining their achievements like celebrating ‘workversaries’.
2. Setting up perks for them like giving small bonuses or benefits to make them feel that their efforts have been realized. 
3. Providing flexibility to balance work and life. 
4. Coaching for motivation.
   

2. Women Employees

Reasons for women employees for quitting their jobs are:

• Gender pay parity – not an unknown phenomenon in workplaces in the US where a male counterpart is paid more in comparison to a female for the same position.
• Burnout – because of balancing both work and family life and expected to perform their best at both, women tend to feel burnout.
• Sexual Harassment – see the recent #MeToo movements.
• Bullying work environments whether male employees bully females, refuse to listen to their opinions, discouraged from participation. 

How to Retain?

• Fair Wage Rate.
• Avoid Burnout – Providing daycare for children, giving paid leaves or creating assistance programs for working mothers.
• Flexibility – Benefits like work from home or flexible timings destress a working mother.
• Sexual Harassment – Counseling should be available as well as strict actions to be taken against the perpetrators.
• Bullying – Women are bullied or ridiculed for voicing their opinions. There should be workshops to educate all employees on how to have an inclusive work environment as well as a platform for women to file complaints if they face such challenges.

3. All Other Members

Following their spouses or partners across the country, going back to school or finding a more lucrative work opportunity is beyond an employer’s reach. But there are some reasons that can be curbed by an employer to stop an employee from quitting their jobs [7]:

• A bad boss
• Unchallenging work
• Their contribution to the organization being unnoticed or not valued.
• Micromanagement
• Knowledge about the organization’s financial stability

How to Retain?

• Offer a two-way communication that empowers employees to give their opinion instead of being handed down orders.
• Most organizations recognize when work becomes mundane for employees and sometimes it is beyond their control to change their tasks, for example, a data operator would only be bestowed the task of accumulating data. While this is important for the company, it might become mundane to the employee after a matter of time. Hosting fun activities at work or compensating or recognizing their efforts would give them the necessary enthusiasm to continue with their tasks.
• Providing good benefits and attractive compensation together with recognizing success will motivate an employee further.
• No one likes someone breathing over their necks while they work, hence it is vital that employers keep a more relaxed work environment.
• Not knowing about an organization’s financial stability might give a sense of unease to the employee, for example, reduced work hours, layoffs, employee turnover, bad publicity, mergers or acquiring other companies, or salary freezes. A good way to tackle this issue is to keep your employees informed about each financial move so that they don’t feel threatened and leave their jobs in a haste for financial security.

These are some of the ways that you can keep your ‘human resources’ from quitting your organization. It is vital to keep the team motivated and moving ahead. A platform for dialogue, counseling, assistance, and recognition of efforts with better compensation would always keep your staff from leaving you. 

Do you have any success stories that have led your team to stay put? Let us know in the comments sections and follow Alumni Insider for more blogs like this. Also, get connected via Alumni Alliances to be part of a greater alumni community. To know more, click here!

 

References:
1. Feature Image – Arlington Research
2. Business Insider – Bosses, take note: Workers say lack of engagement is a top reason they’d quit their jobs
3. Image 2 – Mimi Thian
4. Business Insider – Gen Z workers expect a promotion after one year on the job, and their bosses are creating new titles and throwing ‘workversary’ parties to keep them happy
5. Cision PR Newswire – Study Shows Gen Z’s Expectations at Work: Fast Promotions, Good Pay and Bosses Who Coach
6. Image 3 – Christina
7. the Balance Careers – Top 10 Reasons Why Employees Quit Their Jobs