Retaining Employees in Uncertain Times

• Posted by Lori Walker-Sartain March 26, 2022 - Filed in Business - 555 views

  Retaining Employees in Uncertain Times

  By: Lori Walker-Sartain

   

  HR can be one of the most difficult jobs at any facility.  It can be the heart and soul of a company and when the heart stops beating, the company can fail.  When it thrives, the company reaps the benefits.  So how do you retain good employees?

   

  According to Cheryl Stargratt, HR Leader for Tangerine and award winner for the HR Leader of the Year in 2017, “I think more CEO’s and organizations would do themselves justice by having their up and comers and future leaders doing a stint or taking a rotation in HR.”  Stargratt says that if you put them through a role of HR it will make them better leaders and give them a better understanding of the roles they want to fill. 

   

  Another piece of advice from Stargratt is to be patient. “Don’t be bored, take chances and be resilient in your career because there are different paths for people to get to the destination they want and there is no one path that crosses everybody.”

   

  Digital transformation is happening around the globe and to stay on top, you must stay on top of software and educate yourself.  Stargrantt has been working in the HR field for over a decade and believes new technology can help all HR departments but knows it can be intimidating to some. “Don’t be afraid.  You know I have no shame in not knowing how to do it and I took a lot of pride in saying, hey I signed up for a coding class because I need to stay current. “ She says that educating yourself is key.

   

  Stargratt tells us, that one of the most important factors to include in your organization is to truly align your employees values with a purpose and when you do, you will retain your talent. “I think looking to develop people as people want to be developed and I think it’s not about having the expectation that people are going to stay 10 or 15 years that they owe us…They want to come from an environment where their experience is a good one just like our client experiences.”

   

  According to the Employee Benefit News, the cost of losing an employee is 33% of their annual salary.  Keeping your employees saves money, time and makes a stronger organization.

   

  Stargrantt believes, “It’s just not connecting the head, intellectual capacity as employees, but it’s the head, the heart and the hand that you connect them with like their strengths and their capabilities and then you connect their heart to your purpose, to your brand, to the experience you’re giving them.”