Employee Experience
Should I Stay or Go? 3 Steps To Avoid The Great Resignation
There’s a perfect storm brewing between an awakened workforce and an uncertain economy.
Employees are quitting their jobs – in what has been termed ‘The Great Resignation’ – while employers adapt to geopolitical, economic and social crises. Soaring inflation and the likelihood of a recession means organisations are looking to tightly control costs, whilst employees are looking for better pay and a work/life balance.
People who are not truly engaged in their roles are not staying put or putting up – they’re quitting. More than one-third of employees plan to ask for a raise in the coming year, and one in five said they are extremely or very likely to switch employers, according to PwC’s Global Workforce Hope and Fears Survey 2022.
In this blog we’ll outline some key things you can do to improve employee satisfaction and avoid the ‘The Great Resignation’.
What Is ‘The Great Resignation’?
The Great Resignation is the name given to the trend of people choosing to quit or change their jobs or are considering doing so in the near future. Why are so many employees quitting? Flexible working, furlough schemes and business grants, not to mention a world-shaking health crisis, has prompted people to reflect on what really matters to them – and it’s not just pay.
The last few years have opened employee’s eyes to the possibilities of:
- Fulfilling roles that better reflect the values of the individual and directly impact the success of the business
- Caring and conscientious employers with ESG and Duty of Care transparency
- Hybrid work environments which open up new career paths previously hindered by geography or logistics
In response, employers have to work harder to motivate, engage and attract employees. Financial employee retention strategies, such as higher pay and superior benefit packages, are one way to do this.
But what else can you do?
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DownloadHow To Avoid the Great Resignation
Benefits and pay is still crucial, with 71% of survey respondents citing being fairly financially rewarded as the most important consideration in whether to quit. Employees satisfaction is more complex than that, with survey respondents saying they are less likely to quit their job if it is fulfilling (69%), they can be their true self (69%), their team cares about them (60%), they can be creative and innovative (60%) and they can exceed in what is expected (58%).
Employees also seek employers that look beyond financial performance to broader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations. They want to see a transparent record on protecting worker health and safety (65%) and the organisation’s impact on the natural environment (53%).
Finally, half of survey respondents say that when they work (50%) and where they work (47%) is the most important factor in staying or going.
Action Plan to Boost Employee Engagement
The PwC survey suggests that personal fulfilment, safety and environmental transparency and hybrid working are the key drivers of employee retention. So, how do organisations measure up to these demands and avoid The Great Resignation?
- Automation
Automating menial tasks frees up employees to engage in more fulfilling tasks, be more creative and innovative – which 60% of respondents said was important or very important – and contribute in more meaningful ways to the success of the business. Only 26% of respondents said their employer is automating or enhancing work through technology, which is an area of possible improvement.
SAP Concur solutions help businesses reduce points of friction and burdensome administrative tasks that can lead to low job satisfaction. Time previously spent submitting and approving expenses, processing invoices and managing travel bookings is time spent on more valuable, fulfilling activities.
- Transparency and Responsibility
While most businesses are taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint, and many are making net-zero pledges, only 23% of employees said their company helps them minimise the environmental impact of their job, another area of possible improvement. Likewise, although 65% of respondents said an organisation’s record on employee health and safety is extremely or very important to them, only 54% said their employer is transparent in this area.
SAP Concur solutions helps your business embed more sustainable options into your travel booking, so employees feel empowered and supported in making sustainable choices. Using an automated, digital solution helps ensure your data is accurate and supports you in locating your employees in near real-time for improved Duty of Care.
- Hybrid working environment
Many organisations are beginning to ask: “Is hybrid working here to stay?” Employees are looking for a mix of in-person and remote work, with 63% saying they expect their employer to offer that kind of approach in the next 12 months. Hybrid working changes spending categories (e.g., home office equipment), the way expenses are processed and tax and local regulations as people work from different locations.
SAP Concur solutions empowers employees to submit expenses remotely, from any location, using a mobile app. Employers can apply policies, control costs, adhere to regulations and understand where money is going no matter where it’s spent.
Conclusion
Organisations of all sizes must adjust their workforce strategy to the unique needs of their workers and focus on employee experience to succeed in today’s challenging environments. By automating your spend management and travel processes, you give employees more time to focus on value-added tasks, greater sustainability and Duty of Care options as well as tackle the challenges of a hybrid working environment.
To find out more about how SAP Concur solutions can address the issues raised in the PwC survey visit Concur.co.uk.