This past weekend called for a time of reflection and expression of gratefulness, as many Canadians celebrated our national Thanksgiving holiday. As employees and organizations come to terms with feeling valued and how to express it, the holiday seemed like the opportune time to assess how we as employers can be better at proactively demonstrating value.
As a wave of employees experience a paradigm shift, grapple with a sense of belonging and seek meaning in their work, many are already living out this year's buzzword by way of the “great resignation”. Some however are on the cusp; feeling a bit dazed and confused. Organizations can instill clarity by resetting their “great expectations.” As work evolved in the how, where and when it was being done, then likewise a sense of disconnect has been created as to whom we are working for. Leaders must define the values, missions, and goals of the business in today’s context. What’s more important is the necessity of defining the day-to-day business norms. For example, what are your expected work hours with a flexible schedule? When should you be responding to emails and are you supposed to have your camera on during a TEAMS call? These may be the most basic of questions, but all of them are contributing to increased levels of ambiguity and creating a lack of stability; hence the need for employers to articulate newfound business protocols.
By announcing your expectations as a business, you cement the employee and employer business relationship. To increase the value proposition, it takes data, inside and outside knowledge to ensure you retain the key players in your organization. With a tightness of skilled workers and competitors poaching talent, you best know what critical roles are at risk, what the emerging ones are, and the depth of your talent pipeline or lack of. Tapping into your internal HRIS you can get a lay of the land, and overlay this with market insights, to address whether pay levels are competitive or far off.
Recent exit interviews can be the evidence you need to justify off-cycle pay adjustments, particularly for valued employees who are at risk of being offered higher salaries than what you have them valued at. Base pay adds a level of stability, any top-up to it can be enough incentive for individuals to leave. For most, we would contemplate our worth and question why our current employer isn’t valuing us in the same way as a prospective company when the offer far exceeds one's current salary.
As an employer, don't be the one waiting on the sideline only to make a move for when an offer is presented by an employee now at risk of leaving, especially if you knew all along that, if push came to shove, you would match it. For many, the backhanded increase is a perceived hindrance to the once-loyal relationship. The fact that an individual needs to produce the artifacts to get an employer to nudge is enough to question your worth and their purpose to stay. Instead, be proactive in your valuation of key performers; retain the merits of your relationship and present an increase in advance (where feasible, of course). Doing so strengthens the bond between the worker and company, increases engagement and productivity, and will likely save you time, effort, money, and the skill set you would have had to recruit for. Most importantly, you retain respect.
Reena Paul (CCP, GRP) works as a Senior Compensation Consultant. She is passionate about all things “total rewards” and has experience in dealing with all stakeholders of an organization and strategizing optimum client-focused solutions. A lover of data and the story it tells, Reena enjoys the exploration of presenting and discussing compensation with a fresh perspective. Connect with Reena directly on LinkedIn.
Image source: Unsplash image with credit to Simone Maage.
Comments