1. Prioritise personal and professional development
Needing more of a challenge, a higher salary, or wanting to learn something new are often the catalysts for New Year resignations. Working proactively with your employees to understand their aspirations, goals, and motivations can help them feel valued throughout the year.
If flexible working arrangements are important to a team member, work together to find ways to implement working from home a few days a week or modifying start and finish times so they can better balance family commitments.
If a team member is ready for new or more responsibilities, provide training in a core skill or stretch opportunities to try something new within the organisation.
2. Document critical information to reduce knowledge drain
Filling a vacancy from a key employee who has resigned isn’t the end of the story. The new team member will need to get up to speed and learn the ins and outs of the business and their new role. Even highly experienced new hires will have some learning curve to navigate in the first few weeks and months.
Encouraging employees to document their workflows and insights as a regular part of their role helps promote knowledge transfer. This is useful for new hires and makes it easier to cross-train employees in multiple areas and better manage coverage during annual or personal leave.
3. Support remaining team members
Resignations can create uncertainty and an increased workload for the remaining team. Providing support, reassurance, and, if necessary, redistributing tasks can help maintain a balanced workload and prevent burnout.
4. Create a workplace environment that promotes wellbeing
Team morale can take a hit when a number of employees leave within a short period. Open communication about why employees have left and how gaps in the team will be managed will help alleviate anxiety and keep everyone focused on meeting milestones and objectives.
A focus on workplace wellbeing can also help to reduce employee turnover. However, it’s more than just team-building exercises and free lunches and involves cultural and strategic changes to ensure all employees feel valued. It’s a strategic decision that requires buy-in from the entire organisation.
5. Use each resignation as a learning opportunity
Resignations are inevitable, but they don’t have to derail your operations. Instead, each resignation can be used as a learning opportunity to refine your practices to reduce the impact on your organisation in the future.
Take the opportunity to gather and review feedback to find areas where there may be room for improvement or update policies to keep up with employees’ expectations.
Contact our team to discuss your recruitment and employee retention needs on 1800 868 254 or set up a meeting.