It’s often researched and articulated why people leave organisations, but we don’t talk enough about why people stay. With 2021 being called the year of the great resignation and countries seeing a tidal wave of people rethinking their employment experience, the focus is now moving to employee retention.

Unfortunately, when people leave organisations in high numbers, all attention and efforts get consumed in backfilling the leavers, but it would be a mistake to forget about those who stay. Having a retention strategy is very important for businesses right now. Among the reasons why people stay are great managers, employers who value inclusivity, authenticity and empathy and who provide career paths and opportunities for personal and professional growth. Work-life balance enablement and workforce development must be at the heart of your retention strategy.

The nature of work is also changing with managers now managing remote, global and diverse teams. How we collaborate and innovate is changing. Work is no longer a place you go, it’s an outcome, therefore how we measure productivity must change.

With people as young as 17 joining the workforce through much-needed apprenticeships and the age of retirement pushing out, many organisations are multigenerational, with each generation having different needs and expectations of an employer. Have you trained your people managers to effectively manage in this complex environment?

Employers who do not provide employee development plans or obvious career paths are nervous right now. But it’s never too late to start. Make 2021 the year to build your first talent retention strategy. Sit down with each of your employees and ask them what they need to be more productive, happier, and work-enabled. You will be surprised by the answers you receive and implementing some of them may be as simple as just saying ‘Yes’.