Employee turnover has long been an area of concern for businesses across the board. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation, turning traditional workplace models on their heads and sending employers worldwide scrambling to hang on to key team members.
Add to this the fact that remote work is now one of the biggest draws for top talent, and you have some serious work to do as an employer to bolster your retention strategies.
Luckily for businesses within the localisation industry, remote work goes with the territory – and even offers many benefits.
For instance, going remote with your business means that you have access to a far deeper pool of talent. The real challenge, however, is identifying ways to retain this talent, particularly in the context of a global remote workforce.
The challenges of retaining a remote workforce
It’s estimated that 32% of all employees worldwide are working remotely as we begin 2022. This means that the scope of talent has not only widened for employers, but more and more employees will be seeking opportunities further afield. This poses a significant challenge in itself for employers.
Another major obstacle faced by businesses facilitating a predominantly remote workforce is an insufficient employer/team engagement. With few employees ‘on the ground’, maintaining frequent communication can often fall by the wayside. Lack of one-on-one time with management and colleagues can often alienate a workforce, damaging the connection that is so important for both team building and company commitment.
What’s more, once the cracks begin to show and employees start to leave to take new positions simply because they did not feel sufficiently connected to their employers or their team on a personal level, this can have a knock-on effect on their co-workers. Losing valuable team members who are professional, easy to work with and extremely adept at their job can lower staff morale and motivate others to follow suit.
So, what can be done to dissuade talented recruits from looking elsewhere?
The first step is to build an effective retention strategy that critically assesses each action required to retain the most promising talent. Such a strategy will not only have a positive effect on staff retention, but it will also drastically reduce the financial cost of turnover, which is estimated to fall anywhere between 90 to 200% of an employee’s annual salary.
5 steps to promote high retention rates of remote staff
Now that the challenges surrounding remote retention have been explored, it’s time to take action to overcome them. This can be achieved by implementing five key steps.
1. Find the source of the issue
If your most talented assets are leaving, it’s vital to identify why they are leaving your company. This can be achieved by obtaining feedback through thorough exit interviews. If you can build a pattern with this information, you will be better positioned to pick out your weak points as an employer.
However, what is arguably more important, is finding out why your existing employees are staying. Investing time and effort into figuring out your attributes as an employer will enable you to excel in these areas, ensuring your team continues to benefit from the aspects of your company culture that matter most to them.
You can collate this information by providing regular opportunities for employee feedback, which will additionally inspire confidence in your team that they are being heard and their opinions are valued.
2. Pay attention to what your employees value most
Value – this is a term becoming increasingly more important to employees globally, both in terms of a company’s values and how they are perceived to value their people.
A survey conducted among 5,000 adults across the US, the UK, France and Germany found that more than 70% of respondents would look for a position elsewhere if they noticed a deterioration in their current company’s values and culture statement. This figure highlights just how significant it is for a company to uphold its values and ethos in the eyes of its employees.
Furthermore, individuals that feel valued within their role are far more likely to display increased levels of loyalty and productivity. A great way to offer reassurance in this area is to provide regular recognition, either through performance-based bonuses, promotions or even verbal acknowledgements of a job well done.
Creating a monthly or quarterly ‘awards ceremony’ to recognise high-performing candidates is also a great way to incentivise employees and boost morale while establishing an opportunity for the entire team to catch up virtually.
3. Provide a flexible working environment
Offering your team flexible work hours that provide them with a better work-life balance can drastically improve your ability to retain top talent. In fact, a staggering 89% of organisations that facilitate flexible work options report better employee retention rates.
The reality of working remotely is that the lines between professional life and personal life can quickly become blurred. Providing flexibility will allow employees to feel more in control of both elements, improving job satisfaction and company loyalty.
Take this approach one step further by continuously checking in with team members to ensure their workloads are manageable and offering assistance in instances where they feel under severe pressure.
4. Support employee learning and development
Encouraging professional development and upskilling amongst a remote workforce across a vast geographical area can be logistically difficult, but finding innovative ways to facilitate the process is a must. Showing belief in your employees by providing them with further learning opportunities will make them feel valued while instilling the promise of a future within the company.
Aside from upskilling with a view to internal career progression, there are other opportunities for growth that employers within the localisation industry can offer. Giving recruits the chance to explore positions in new markets overseas can be a hugely appealing prospect for those wishing to establish themselves further within their role while experiencing a new culture and way of life.
5. Develop a standout onboarding process
A standout employee onboarding experience can improve retention rates by 82% so it is vital to ensure you have a fantastic onboarding process in place for new hires.
Virtual onboarding calls for some extra effort in terms of how you engage with new staff from the outset. Make it a memorable experience and one that educates and informs the new hire, both about the company and its culture, as well as the job at hand.
Use this initiation period to display supportive management characteristics, offering regular communication and hands-on involvement throughout. It’s also integral to continue your commitment to the onboarding process after it has come to an end, by delivering on any promises – either role or salary-related – that you may have made in the initial stages.
Improve remote retention through frequent evaluation
Consistently evaluating your in-house processes in line with employee recruitment and retention is a vital exercise for localisation companies wishing to remain competitive in a transformed professional climate. This means keeping constant tabs on your existing HR practices and amending where necessary to adjust to the new challenges raised.
Working with a global recruitment partner such as International Achievers Group will enable you to stay at the forefront of emerging recruitment trends and to continuously create teams that are built to last.
With a focus on long-term relationships, International Achievers Group specialises in creating a match in fit, culture and values between the localisation companies we represent and the professionals we introduce to their teams, and we excel at it.
Get in touch today to find out more.