With the corporate world beginning to return to its pre-COVID state, many companies are working on bringing their employees back to the office. Considering the widespread feelings of isolation and video call fatigue over the past year and a half, you would expect that employees would happily return to the office, but instead, they’re fighting against it. 

Employee turnover is at a high right now, so how can businesses retain their employees in a post-COVID era?

Related: Back to Work Gifts For Your Employees

5 Strategies Employers Can Use to Retain Their Employees in a Post-COVID Environment

High rates of employee turnover are not what employees want to see, especially now. With the high costs of onboarding and training new workers, it’s ideal to keep current employees rather than hiring new ones.

Here are five strategies for employers to use to help retain employees in a post-COVID state:

• Take Retention Initiatives

Think of offering your current employees retention incentives as an investment against the costs associated with bringing on new employees. Time and money spent on things like talent sourcing, onboarding, and training are much more significant costs than prioritizing employee retention by implementing retention initiatives.

You don’t want to lose any employees, especially not your top performers, and there’s a battle for talent going on between corporations around the globe. Prioritizing retention efforts isn’t optional in a post-COVID world.

Implementing both short and long-term incentive plans is a necessity, and the sooner you do, the better. One of the best ways companies are tackling this is by introducing employee recognition programs, which have benefits that go beyond employee retention, including:

• Strengthening company culture
• Encouraging employee engagement
• Motivating efficient work
• Growing your talent

• Offer Employees Flexibility

One major reason that employees don’t want to head back into the office (and many would rather quit than return) is the improved work-life balance and enhanced flexibility of remote work. While working in-office has its own benefits like better supervision, teaching opportunities, and community interaction, they don’t outweigh the advantages of remote work for most employees.

To retain these employees as your workers begin to transition back into the office, offer them more flexibility with their schedule and work. Many companies are successfully implementing hybrid workplaces, allowing their employees to work in person and from home depending on the day and tasks ahead.

• Show Employees That You Care

With the post-COVID economy climbing back up, there are countless job opportunities in every industry, both for remote workers and in-person ones. Employees have more choices than ever.

Now is the time to show your employees that you care about them and appreciate the hard work they’ve put in for you during the pandemic. It’s a good idea for your management team to meet with the employees they supervise and talk about their goals, both personal and professional. Employee retention relies on your ability to keep them engaged in their work and motivated at your company.

 

The employee recognition programs we mentioned earlier are also a great way to show that you care. You can also boost employee engagement by utilizing branded merchandise to raise office morale and offering your employees more opportunities to work with new teams or on new projects.

• Reinforce Workplace Culture

With many big companies moving toward hybrid workplaces, there’s a new challenge presented: creating a consistent culture for both online and in-person employees. At a time when businesses are making inclusion a priority, hiring remote workers gives them the opportunity to onboard employees from all over the globe that wouldn’t normally be available to work for them. 

Other companies that prioritize things like mentorship in the workplace can use online tools to foster relationships between their top talent and newer employees. Because creating a hybrid workplace is almost a necessity for employee retention post-COVID, fostering a strong corporate culture for all of your employees, no matter where they are, is just as necessary.

Related: Maintain Your Company Culture in the Hybrid Workplace

• Listen to Your Employees

There’s a variety of reasons why quit rates are rising all over, but some of the most prominent include the fact that employees are prioritizing work-life balance, child care, and concerns for their safety. These things affect all of your employees, both part and full-time. 

The post-COVID environment is raising new concerns with employees around the globe, and not only on the job site. Contact tracing and temperature screenings have become the norm at many companies, which can take their toll on employees. However, their concerns extend past that to issues with public transportation, transmission risks, etc.

Acknowledging and understanding your employees’ concerns on an individual basis and as a whole can help your company determine the best employee retention strategies for the situation. Talking to your employees is crucial, and holding one-on-one meetings or sending out company-wide surveys is a great way to gain some insights into the things they’re struggling with the most.

Related: The Best Employee Incentives

Retain Your Employees Post-COVID With 1388Tryon

Hopefully, the post-COVID workplace will grant employers and their employees more opportunities to strengthen their relationships and build long-term connections with each other. While things continue to change, creating a new normal hybrid workplace is becoming almost necessary to provide employees with what they want most in this post-COVID world, and retention relies on this fact.

 

At 1338Tryon, we believe that the best employee retention strategy for the post-COVID state of the workforce is implementing employee recognition programs to show them you care and have respect for their needs and wants.

Intertwining these programs with a hybrid workplace can help you hit every point on this list to retain your employees, whether they’ve been with you through it all or have recently come aboard. Employee recognition programs make your workers feel wanted and needed, making them less likely to jump ship at a time when companies across the globe are rushing to hire new workers. Grow and retain your team of talent in the post-COVID workforce with our team at 1338Tryon.

Get in touch with the employee retention experts at 1338Tryon today, and see how our unique employee retention programs can help you keep and nurture your talent!