Many reasons people quit, 6 ways to make them stay | Ramya Parashar | COO | MiQ

India has always been a highly competitive market for technology talent, but the pandemic has brought a paradigm shift in the way we work and prompted many to rethink about ‘why’ we work.

Businesses must reinvent themselves through digital transformation and improving their employee experience to win the war for talent. The key factors why workers quit are:

● Growth opportunities: lack of learning and development options is the prime reason why people look for new jobs, especially in emerging technology domains
● Compensation and perks: workers always look for better benefits, pay and perks
● Flexibility and wellbeing: in a hybrid working model, workers save commute time and can invest it in their personal lives – be happier and more productive
● Work culture: people look for organisations with a diverse and inclusive culture and stress-free work environment

A silver lining in this great reshuffle has been the opportunities it has brought for talent from tier 2 and tier 3 towns in India. Typically, firms invest more in their training and upskilling, but it makes for engaged employees and helps nurture top talent. With rising attrition, firms are now more focused on talent attraction and retention.

Here are my 6 recommendations that have kept employees engaged and attrition rates in check despite global challenges:

1. The 80/20 Approach – Identifying the top 20% ‘performers’ and making them ‘Champions of Change’ helps drive better cultural alignment and enhances results. These champions promote development opportunities for the wider team, coupled with job rotations, foster learning and employee engagement, thus building a high-performance ecosystem.

2. Review Compensation and Perks – Periodically and proactively correcting pay inequities across job bands, roles and genders, drives employee stickiness and trust.

3. Employee Wellbeing Initiatives – Acknowledging the support employees get from their families to be successful in their job goes a long way. Driving wellness initiatives and benefits around tele-medicine, vaccination drives, OPD Reimbursements for dependents shows that the firm genuinely cares about the wellbeing of its employees.

4. Developing Leadership Capabilities – The pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders in business and beyond. Utilizing this opportunity to groom and nurture future leaders in creative ways works wonders. Moving away from a ‘task driven’ style of leadership to lead, coach and engage people with empathy, trust and compassion goes a long way in retaining talent.

5. Elevate Employee Experience – Strong employee relationships are built on company values, flexibility, transparency, regular feedback and recognition. Firms are investing more than ever in creating great experiences for their employees throughout their journey.

6. Listening to Employee feedback – Regular check-ins, pulse surveys, help enhance two-way communication and address employee issues. Listening to employee feedback, identifying action areas and implementing changes shows employees that they are valued.