This year the Queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne.
Part One: The rise and fall of ‘long-term service’
While few people can say they’ve been in this role for such a long period of time, staying in one job for a number of decades was much more common in the Queen’s generation and the generation preceding. For Baby Boomers (roughly estimated to be those born between 1946 and 1964), spending a lengthy amount of time in one job is considered the norm. This is likely a result of many Baby Boomers receiving a Final Salary Pension Scheme, which was very lucrative. For them, a job for life meant just that: having stability and growing with the business. Meanwhile, research from Deloitte showed that 43% of millennials plan to leave their current jobs within two years – and only 28% have plans to stay beyond five years. For this generation, the concept of staying in a job for a lifetime is almost unheard of.
Part Two: What makes employees leave?
Recruiting and training new staff members can be extremely costly for employers and cause a seismic shift in the everyday operations of a team. But is retaining staff for a long period of time realistic in 2022, given that Gen-Z and Millennials are prone to job hopping? In order to answer this question, let’s look at some of the top reasons people leave their jobs. Working it out is as easy as A, B, C.
1. Opportunity knocks…
One of the top reasons for leaving a job is that the employee has found a better opportunity. This is incredibly subjective: what seems like a ‘better opportunity’ for one employee might be a challenge that another employee would hate. With this in mind, employers should remain open to employee requests, and be aware that these will be different from person to person. While some employees are happy staying at one level, being trained and educated to progress is paramount to another employee’s success. Both of these types of employees are useful, and as a business leader you should take the time to understand what your employees need to make their current company the best possible one on the table. Of course, consistent pay reviews are crucial to ensure employees feel financially rewarded for their efforts.
2. Let’s get flexible…
Another reason that employees might crave a change is a lack of flexibility. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a monumental move towards ‘hybrid working’, with stats from the ONS revealing that the proportion of working adults who did any work from home in 2020 increased to 37% on average from – up from 27% in 2019. While the ‘work from home’ mandate has now been lifted in the UK, employers should navigate the transition back to the office carefully, and consult their team on how they’d like to proceed. With so many employers offering flexible working, if you don’t, you might miss out on the top talent. Businesses should be flexible when it comes to factors such as work hours, sick days and working from home. A failure to do so may result in staff members jumping ship for employers who offer this in abundance.
3. A little appreciation goes a long way
Feeling under appreciated is another reason that employees might hand their notice in. As a manager, you might offer praise to a team member for a huge achievement – but acknowledging all the work that goes on behind the scenes is equally important, if not, more so. Your team members will naturally get a feeling of accomplishment from completing a tricky task or problem, but supporting them along the way and recognising the hard work they put in day-in, day-out is essential. Appreciating your employees could be as simple as saying “thank you”, or for more of an impact, you can offer them rewards.
Some more traditional companies might choose to wait when it comes a new era of service-period celebrations. However, already it is less of the norm for someone to stay in a job role for 10 years, as has been in the past. With this change must come a reactionary change in the way we reward service, nimble rewards for smaller achievements and work anniversaries are the future. Why not celebrate the six-month-anniversary, the year anniversary and small milestones, because we know that the long career stints, of previous generations is a thing of the past.
Part Three: The Role of Rewards in the Short, Medium and Long Term
Rewards can be a handy tool to keep employees motivated and committed. However, there’s clearly quite a difference between buying a round of coffees in the morning, and letting an employee take a three month sabbatical! Rewards can work to support employees in the short, medium and long term, with smaller rewards supporting short and medium commitment, and larger rewards working for long term goals.
In the short term, small rewards such as pastries, morning coffees and buying lunch are all low-cost, daily options that will put a smile on employees’ faces. Remote employees needn’t miss out – you can send them a voucher for a coffee or offer to pay for their Friday night takeaway. It’s also helpful for those in senior positions – e.g. the CEO or head of department – to take the time to thank staff personally, with an email, phone call or video message. This helps show that everyone is part of a team, and the impact of hard work can be felt all the way throughout the business. That is key to our values at Prezzee – we work to ensure there’s a level of Human Interaction (HI) in all of our work, and hearing those at the top of the business sing your praises is part and parcel of the HI experience. It’s also great for employee retention: according to TINYpulse data, “21.5% of employees that don’t feel recognised when they do great work have interviewed for a job in the last three months — compared to just 12.4% that do feel recognised”.
Ideas for rewards for the medium term – e.g. rewards that will have a larger impact on staff – can be ingrained into how the business works. Letting staff leave early on Fridays is a classic reward that keeps them motivated, while company socials and away days act as a motivator. Try to keep these ‘medium-term’ ideas occurring on a regular basis, so employees have something to look forward to. At Prezzee, we have an annual ‘Wellbeing Day’ where staff take the day off to relax and recharge – and it always results in staff coming back to work with a smile on their face. Don’t just take our word for it: 2021 research from Deloitte “found that 75% of employees who receive monthly recognition are satisfied” – it’s the little things!
Long-term rewards can be a game changer for employees who want to hold onto their staff as long as possible. These rewards must be something that sets your business apart from the others, something that employees will rarely find in another company. This can include offering longer Maternity/Paternity leave, paying for staff to get new qualifications, or offering sabbaticals for long-standing employees. Research from Lorman found that “87% of millennials believe learning and development in the workplace is important” – tapping into that hard-to-pin-down market.
By offering these types of rewards, you will give employees an incentive to stay with your business.
Rewards are incredibly useful tools to keep staff excited about coming to work, but they aren’t the sole reason for employee satisfaction. Combining rewards with a culture that allows employees to make suggestions and grow with the business can help you retain them. While Gen-Z and Millennials are more likely to job hop, creating an environment that they want to stay in will almost certainly keep them for longer. If they’re particularly good employees, let them know that the door is always open for them to return when they’ve got more experience – don’t sever the relationship. With the rewards you offer, there might just be a queue of ex-employees hoping to return! Finally, make sure you shout about the rewards on offer, via social media, blogs, and in the press. This will help potential employees understand your values, and entice them to apply for a role.
