Cultivating employee-centric people leaders
After I spoke on my first webinar, Blueboard took all the information that the panelists spoke on and turned it into a blog post! You can find the full article here - 3 HR leaders share tips to reduce regrettable employee turnover.
Cultivating employee-centric people leaders: 3 insights from Tiona Nicholas, Senior People Operations Specialist, Drata (Partnered with thinkhuman)
1. Organizations need to be people-centric.
“If an organization isn’t offering what the employee wants or needs,” says Tiona, “they’re going to go find an organization that will.” She points to the many companies that went remote in 2020 and then tried to get employees back into the office later in the pandemic. By that point, enamored with the perks and flexibility offered by hybrid remote work and working from home, many employees simply went in search of jobs at remote-first organizations.
How to take action: Implement the findings of your employee engagement surveys.
Not sure what your workforce wants or needs? Ask. Through employee engagement surveys, you can take the pulse of your workforce. But don’t just stop there.
"Taking action on what was said in the surveys is huge in an organization,” Tiona reminds us. “We cannot just collect all of that data and then do nothing with it."
She encourages employers to share those results (good and bad!) with the organization and take action on what was said. By doing so, you’ll show your employees that they can trust you to do what you’ve promised.
2. Employees have options beyond quitting.
It’s up to organizations to introduce alternatives to leaving, such as moving an employee to a different role or reporting to a different manager to help them thrive.
How to take action: Host effective one-on-ones.
Employee engagement surveys are good, but Tiona urges HR professionals to harness the power of effective one-on-ones. This is where the magic happens. Managers can truly connect on a human level with their direct reports by asking them how they’re doing and inquiring about how to better support them. As Tiona puts it: “These are the conversations that add up.”
In these discussions, a manager can better detect disengagement in an employee—and step in with options beyond the employee leaving the org entirely. It’s a nurturing and preventative approach, as opposed to the reactionary one of only doing something once an employee puts in their notice.
3. Onboarding plays a pivotal role in employee retention.
First impressions matter, and onboarding is no exception. Research by BambooHR found that providing a positive onboarding experience can triple the chances that a new hire will feel strongly committed to your organization. So if you, like many employers, find that new employees are leaving within the first few months, it’s time to reassess the way you introduce them to teams and train them within your company.
McKinsey & Company identifies five emerging HR operating models that companies are adopting in response to growing volatility (such as hybrid work and majority-millennial workforces). One of the models seeks to create a world-class employee experience—starting with the onboarding phase of the hiring process.
How to take action: Review and revamp your onboarding.
Not sure where to start? Tiona has a few suggestions:
Put yourself in the new hire’s shoes. Imagine you’re the person who just signed the offer letter. What do they need next? What kind of paperwork will they need to fill out? How can you best tailor orientation for that role? How will you prepare leaders to welcome the new hire?
Experiment! Tiona says not to be afraid to try new things; sometimes the best way to learn is through trial and error. Get creative, and have fun with it. At one organization she worked with, HR decided to host Lunch & Learn with the CEO where new hires got 30 mins to meet the CEO and ask her any questions that they wanted.
After 30 days, send them a survey. Ask for new hire feedback in a survey after their first month is over. That way, you can continue to improve upon the onboarding experience based on what new hires are saying, not just by using guesswork.