A wave of resignations has registered worldwide, with enough numbers for news outlets to term this phenomenon ‘The Great Resignation’. It’s no different in Asia, where many ASEAN companies in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines face a shortage of skilled workforce as more quit and change jobs during the pandemic.
The pandemic was a stress test for businesses. Companies had to pivot – businesses had to digitalise (see how F&B and retail did) and go online, and they had to make remote work successful, all while moving ahead despite the logistics challenge. It has been a delicate struggle to support employees while maintaining growth for the business to continue.
Challenges should make teams stronger and more invested in the business if they know there is a future together.
However, if your company does not prioritise maintaining employee motivation, the talent resignation tsunami of the Great Resignation will knock your business down.
The cost to hire new employees to replace an experienced worker is about 33% of a worker’s annual salary. It’s important to hire right and treat workers well – after all, it’s people that make a company thrive.
Let’s look at how your business can employ and keep outstanding employees.
Day 60 is as important as Day One.
When you’re trying to bring a new employee on board, you need to ensure the recruitment and application process goes smoothly. Communicate the interview’s next steps and requirements. After the hiring process is over, you still need to ensure their onboarding process is just as seamless.
The onboarding process gives your new employee a first look at the business. It’s a great first impression if your new hire feels everything is organised with a proper system to keep things working. To communicate this process, try using an onboarding checklist that will cover the next two months, or the first 60 days.
An onboarding checklist helps you guide new hires through their first days and months at a company. The list guides employees through each critical stage of the onboarding process. It provides a starting point for their deliverables according to their roles. Some items your checklist can include:
- Warmly welcome new employees to the team.
- Include the starting date, time, and location.
- Provide the phone number and email of their contact person.
- Provide a list of the documents they should bring.
- Include a scheduled breakdown of their first day.
- Explain the dress code
The onboarding experience will be the new employee’s induction into the company. You want to help them get fully productive quickly, and the checklist optimises that experience. It provides clarity and guidelines for new employees to adjust to the workplace, providing a better experience overall.
Reflect on your benefits: are they enough?
We’ve all heard of how tech companies are wooing their employees to come back to the physical offices with free-flow champagne, cake and concerts. But your business doesn’t have to go to such great lengths to hire and keep employees.
A benefit program that is flexible enough to accommodate different employees’ needs will improve employee satisfaction.
One of these perks should include giving employees flexibility with their schedules. With the pandemic, many in Asia have recognised the perks of working remotely. If you can acknowledge that flexibility, then include employee benefits such as paying for co-working spaces so employees can choose to work outside of the office.
If you operate a retail business where employees work in shifts, a flexible working arrangement may not seem that important a perk. Instead, review your commission scheme to be more attractive.
Are you rewarding your best salespeople enough?
Recognising your employees did a job well is essential for continued employee engagement. If you want to reward them, invest in an employee management system that will track sales and make it transparent how the commission scheme works. Having a tiered benefit scheme motivates employees as they know how many sales they need to achieve the benefits.
Don’t forget to make professional development a priority.
If you want to hire and keep the best, you must show that you are willing to invest in their future. So make professional development and growth a top priority. It will lead to top talent sticking around.
Besides contributing to a positive culture, when you develop your employees through professional learning, you also provide a pool of potential new leaders within your company. Employee engagement and retention will increase as they know that they can continue to get better at what they do. Your business benefits as you strategically and cost-effectively create, manage, and deliver personalised training to employees.
Conclusion
With all the above ways to improve employee motivation, one underlying change you need to undertake is to upgrade your IT equipment. When employees have to deal with outdated equipment, it leads to frustration and sends the message that your business is not interested in staying updated.
For instance, an easy clock in/out system at the smart point of sale(POS) system that will help them track hours will relieve employees and managers of any miscommunication about working hours.
Qashier provides an easy-to-use system for employee commissions and time tracking. When hardware is efficient, your employees will feel less frustration and can concentrate on doing what they do best.
Other multiple digital solutions for businesses include QR code table ordering, table management (F&B), employee management, customer relationship management (loyalty programs), inventory management, data analytics, and cashless payments in an all-in-one device.
Qashier promises a seamless setup within 10 minutes, without any need for technical expertise. It boasts a user-friendly interface that is simple for anyone to learn and use. You’ll find 7-days-a-week responsive technical support from the local team if you require assistance.
Qashier is also affordable, with prices starting from as low as SGD1/day (in Singapore with a PSG grant), and this includes hardware, software, setup, training and local support.
Speak to us to see if Qashier’s Smart POS can meet your business needs. Schedule a meeting with us here, call us at (+65) 3165 0155, WhatsApp (+65) 8882 8912, or email [email protected].