Retention Insights from the Great Re-Evaluation

Closing out season 3 of PULSE, Jeanne Meister, Executive Vice President of Executive Networks, says it’s time to switch to a Great Re-Evaluation mindset, as businesses have been focusing on navigating the Great Resignation. Listen in as she talks with host Rob Parsons about what companies can look at internally to increase retention of current employees, including the different generational needs, training opportunities, personalized benefits, and more. 

Topics include:

00:19 – An introduction 01:31 – Top reasons employees stay at companies 02:53 – The generational difference for retention 03:09 – Frontline workers vs. knowledge workers 04:10 – What frontline workers are looking for 05:30 – The importance of training in the workplace 07:10 – Diversity in the workforce needs diversity in approach 09:09 – Personalization of benefits

Make sure to subscribe to our channel as we gear up for season 4 with some great guests from this year's HR Technology Conference.

Resources:

Learn more about generational differences of employee benefit preferences at www.paychex.com/secure/whitepapers/generational-differences-benefit-preferences.

DISCLAIMER: The information presented in this podcast, and that is further provided by the presenter, should not be considered legal or accounting advice, and should not substitute for legal, accounting, or other professional advice in which the facts and circumstances may warrant. We encourage you to consult legal counsel as it pertains to your own unique situation(s) and/or with any specific legal questions you may have.

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to pulse a Paychecks HR podcast where HR professionals find insights on today's top issues and inspiration to build and lead effective teams in a healthier workplace.
I'm your host rob Parsons.
Hi folks,
rob Parsons here and welcome to pulse.
We're joined again by jeanne meister,

(00:25):
founding partner of future workplace and now E.
V.
P.
Of executive network,
jean has teamed up with paychecks to conduct research into employees,
top concerns in this new era of work and as the workplace honestly keeps evolving and changing today,
we're going to discuss the factors that actually lead employees to stay in their jobs,

(00:47):
which I think is that is an important and interesting topic.
Gene welcome back,
thank you so much for having me back rob.
I'm excited to be here.
And we we did some really interesting research because so much of the research now is about leaving the great resignation,
right?
And this research I lie.

(01:09):
I like to think of it as we're moving from the great resignation to the great reevaluation.
I think workers are re evaluating whether they want to stay with their company and employers should be evaluating how do we get more workers to to retain,

(01:29):
how do we retain more workers?
I love that.
It's it's a huge topic.
And another reason I like it is I feel like it's something that HR professionals can actually impact.
We can't handle greater economic forces and things going on.
But in terms of our workplace we can't move the needle when it comes to retention,

(01:50):
can't we?
We actually most definitely can.
And in the article that I partnered with paychecks and in writing,
we have some very specific strategies that companies can undertake.
But let's talk about that research because it was interesting.
It surprised me on the reason people stay first of all over,

(02:16):
almost half said they don't plan on changing jobs so that in and of itself is significant.
We're starting to see a little more stability here in the marketplace and that varies by generation for sure.
And it varies by industry sector.
But I think overall we are beginning to see a movement for workers really saying to themselves,

(02:44):
why am I going to stay at my current employer and job stability and meaningful work where the to top reasons,
I think that's so interesting.
And unsurprisingly,
as we so often do you found difference differences with the generations in terms of meaningful work versus job stability.

(03:06):
They didn't line up exactly the same,
did they?
No,
No.
And so we have,
um,
not surprisingly,
boomers are interested in flexibility and that's what's gonna keep them working at their employer.
Um,
we,
the way we,
we segmented the 604 workers,
we segmented them not only how they work where they work in terms of whether their,

(03:32):
um,
remote or hybrid or fully in person,
but we also segmented the types of roles they have and we call them either active.
The frontline workers or sedentary.
The knowledge workers.
And for the,
the knowledge,
the sedentary workers of the knowledge workers,
they want more flexibility in their work environment.

(03:55):
But for the active workers,
they want to be appreciated more for the work they do.
They want to find more value in what they're doing.
So I think these are pretty significant findings,
I think they are too.
And i it's something I've touched on with a few guests.
Those frontline employees were real heroes the past two years still are.

(04:21):
And and generally it's a role that doesn't get appreciated.
Generally,
it's a role that's not valued,
it's considered part time or we just move them around and and in actuality it is important and it is meaningful.
And I love that your research revealed that we have to acknowledge that yeah,

(04:43):
they are really the the segment of the workplace that does not have a voice until now.
There's a lot more articles and our research on,
you know,
what is it that they really want.
And so much of what they want is career growth.
They want stability in their jobs.

(05:05):
They want to find meaning.
They want to feel valued for the work they do and they do want to see a path forward for themselves,
for their families.
How do they grow in their career?
And I think that those are really important,
basic issues that I don't think we've focused enough on as employers or as HR professionals.

(05:30):
I agree.
It's a it's an old american myth.
I started in the mailroom and I earned my way up,
right?
But but that those career paths aren't as obvious anymore and you're right.
That is something HR professionals can can impact.
I know it wasn't necessarily research but just in your experience,

(05:50):
what are you seeing HR pros doing to help pull together some of that skills development and that career path thing?
What are the how do we react to that?
Yeah.
Well,
first of all,
I think we have to step back and say,
what are what is our company doing,
Right?
What are they,
how are they spending their investment in training and development across which segments of their workforce?

(06:15):
And is it aligned to their strategies and to the personal growth objectives of the workers?
I I do think that we also touched upon stay interviews and um it's it's definitely happening with younger employees and I think it really needs to be a practice that H.

(06:36):
R.
Should really champion in their organizations and and actually train managers on how to conduct these because some people may feel uncomfortable.
And I mean,
it's really having an open and honest conversation about your career?
What do you expecting?
How do you how can you be more successful in your career?

(06:58):
What are the resources and training you think you need to further excel in your job and all managers need to be having these discussions and what you're touching on is something that you've you've talked about a lot and you've seen in the research is that the old cookie cutter approaches don't work anymore.

(07:19):
These aren't assembly lines,
everybody's different.
Every worker is different.
We see generational differences,
background differences.
The the diversity of the workforce requires a diversity and approach and we can't just pretend everybody's the same,
can we?
Absolutely not.
And that's why,
you know,
some of the other um strategies focus on frequent pulse interviews and segment with your workforce and segmenting them by by generation by how their their work environment,

(07:53):
by the type of role they do knowledge workers or frontline workers and really uncover what is important to each segment,
what matters most And you are going to see differences for example,
um,
what might matter most to some someone that is fully um,
in person may be a benefit of an employer paying partial um,

(08:20):
commuting expenses,
given how expensive gas has been recently.
And for the fully remote or hybrid worker an employer might consider as a new benefit,
um funding internet,
um,
charges at your home or furniture or desk for your for your home office,

(08:42):
if that's where you're gonna be working three or four days a week.
So I think when you,
when you think about these benefits,
you know,
real segment that the other thing we found is the importance of mental health benefits for younger workers and financial well being benefits for gen X and baby boomer benefits,

(09:06):
baby boomer generation.
I love that you touched on that because it really is now,
it is that time of year,
we have to start looking at benefits.
We've got to start getting ready for 2023.
Um beyond some of those points that you just touched on,
what else did your research reveal about benefits uh and their impact on retention.

(09:29):
The importance of personalization of the benefits to different segments of the workers.
That is really the top line here and then to drill deep if we're talking about financial wellness benefits,
which are important to very important to millennials and gen Xers,

(09:51):
what exactly are we talking about?
We're talking about financial coaching,
financial planning.
We're talking about student loan repayment.
Um we're on a pause here right now,
um and soon our president will decide whether um that,
you know,
whether the,
the people that have student loans are gonna resume repaying,

(10:14):
but um that is,
that impacts a lot of people um that are new to the workforce.
And I think just overall financial education,
I think,
you know,
we're,
you know,
we're all in need of that and that's what this overall umbrella of financial wellness is doing and for the frontline workers emergency um savings accounts and same day access to funds um when you receive them.

(10:45):
So I think we need to segment the workforce and then drill down on what exactly these benefits can be offered to for different segments of the,
of the workforce and I love just what you were touching on their gene.
There's there's an element of creativity uh and and how we come at it from from the employee's point of view and not always just the employer's point of view because a lot of these benefits don't necessarily cost us a lot to offer,

(11:17):
but they can be very valuable.
So I I love that you touched on that there um any last thoughts to share as we uh as we wrap up this episode?
Well I think that um as I started,
I think it is the period of great evaluation that we're going into and I think that you know,

(11:38):
the last year the the we have said that the pendulum has swung um where there is certainly a more activist workforce um with seeing more choices for themselves uh in the workplace.
And I do think I'm beginning to see it move a little um more to the center and both the workforce and employers are are in an evaluation mode.

(12:08):
What makes sense for me as a worker?
Do I want to stay?
Do I want to leave?
And importantly,
you know,
for the employer since it costs so much money to find the right talent,
a lot more emphasis on what can I do as an employer to impact my employee retention?

(12:29):
Yeah.
It's it's always smarter to keep your good people than always just trying to find new good people.
Absolutely.
And as you said,
when you opened up rob,
this is a topic where H.
R.
Really can have a proactive and meaningful role in their organization on on employee retention.

(12:51):
I love it,
jean once again,
another great episode.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you so much rob and thank you to our listeners.
If you want to read Gene's article about this research,
you can visit paychecks dot com slash works.
That's paychecks dot com slash W.
O.
R.
X.
And of course,
if you have any ideas for the podcast or any guests you think might be interesting or you'd like to hear from,

(13:15):
let us know.
You can visit pay X dot me slash pulse topics.
That's P A Y X dot M E slash pulse topics.
Thank you all once again and please stay happy and healthy.
This podcast is property of Paychecks Inc 2022.

(13:36):
All rights reserved.