As organisations battle skills shortages, shifting employee preferences and constantly evolving regulations around safeguarding and wellbeing, providing staff with the platform to reach their full potential has never been more important for business leaders. Four pain points resulting from these industry agnostic difficulties stand out as particular blockades to productivity and profitability: high staff turnover, dwindling employee performance, labour and data compliance and workforce flexibility. It’s vital that corporate leadership teams identify strategies their organisation can adopt to overcome these challenges, while simultaneously building a more motivated and engaged workforce. Neil Pickering, Senior Manager of HR Innovation at UKG outlines some effective ways of addressing the most pressing pain points for modern businesses:
1. Managing employee turnover
Despite a slight decrease in the volume of unfilled jobs last quarter, in the UK there are still almost one million vacancies businesses are unable to find candidates for. With skills shortages presenting as an ongoing problem for companies nationally, it’s time for organisations to recognise the true value of retention. The best way to manage employee turnover is to prevent it altogether and cultivate an environment where employees can see a long-term future with the company. This begins by developing a positive business culture, where all employees feel valued and appreciated. Organisations can adopt a range of strategies to achieve this, from financial incentives such as fair pay and bonuses, to initiatives that clearly define career paths. Work-life balance is now a top priority for employees across sectors, so this should be a key consideration for companies thinking about how best to attract and retain staff. Empowering employees to take control of their schedules and create a balance that best suits their needs can achieve the flexibility they seek. This can be delivered through an HR portal, accessible remotely via a website or app, where staff can self-service actions that permit them to update schedules and book time off. For example, employees could arrange shift cover without consulting their manager via the portal, giving them the autonomy to decide when they work.
2. Optimising employee performance
Business leaders should find ways to motivate their staff and create a work environment where they genuinely want to succeed. This cannot be achieved without significant effort and investment, with businesses that make employee engagement a priority sure to reap the benefits in the long run. Poor employee performance can have a severe impact on business growth, limiting productivity and often reducing the overall quality of goods or services the company produces. However, this isn’t an issue business leaders can solve alone – they must work with staff to win their support for company objectives. Extensive training programmes, greater flexibility, two-way channels of communication and better knowledge access are all easily actionable measures that will earn employee buy-in. Ultimately, employers that invest in the development of their staff are far more likely to have a motivated and productive workforce. Staff will also perform better in a work environment where they feel as if they truly belong. Investing in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI&B) initiatives can support efforts to ensure that all employees are treated equally, have fair opportunities and feel accepted in the workplace.
3. Labour and data compliance
Businesses have both a moral and legal duty to go above and beyond when it comes to supporting employees. They should look to improve health, safety and wellbeing measures for all staff, which means creating a work environment where employees feel comfortable, both mentally and physically. A key area of concern is labour scheduling conditions, which some organisations may have unintentionally fallen foul of in recent years. Leveraging labour scheduling technology that automates the provision of accurate pay and working time compliance, while managing burnout through safe scheduling, is a reliable safeguarding tool for a business and its staff to prevent such incidents from happening. Complying with data protection legislation, for instance GDPR, is another hurdle modern businesses must overcome. Storing all records digitally in a secure manner provides the organisational structure needed to remain compliant. Similarly, adhering to National Living Wage legislation should be front of mind for business leaders. This is more than a legal requirement – motivating employees will be an uphill battle if they do not feel they’re paid fairly. While welfare issues outside of pay have risen in importance for the workforce as a whole, fair compensation remains the number one priority. As a result, business leaders should implement a wage structure that is not only compliant, but makes all staff feel that they are genuinely rewarded for the effort they put in.
4. Adapting to change
With a myriad of challenges facing today’s businesses that show little sign of abating, employers must be able to rely on their workforce for continuity and sustained growth. Developing a resilient and highly adaptable workforce is the only way to move with the times and continually modernise business processes. Technology is a particular area of importance when it comes to an organisation’s development, with companies that refuse to innovate in danger of being left behind. Recent research from IBM revealed that 42% of enterprise-scale companies have deployed AI in their business, with a further 40% experimenting with the implementation of this technology. With technological evolution a must for organisations across industries, it’s vital that employee buy-in is earned for any tech solutions a business introduces. Firstly, ensuring any changes – as well as the rationale behind them − are clearly communicated to all staff will help win their trust and support for innovation within the company. These solutions often streamline processes and act as a help, not a hindrance, to the day-to-day lives of employees. Therefore, companies must consider how they can convey change as a positive step so that it is embraced, rather than shunned, by the workforce.
It’s also crucial that business decision makers evaluate how they approach choices surrounding organisational change – building a healthy culture and achieving revenue, compliance or brand-oriented goals don’t have to be mutually exclusive objectives. Intuitive and advanced HR technology can drive both if leadership teams understand its potential and deploy it correctly.