You have possibly stood on your head, somersaulted, cartwheeled, improvised, innovated and jumped through hoops of fire to source and attract the very exact top talent you want to your organization and then spent a fortune on orientation, induction and training activities. Now the question is how do you ensure these coveted gems remain on your headcount and do not become coveted by other organizations any time soon.
A recent poll by Bayt.com, Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa, shows that 77% of professionals consider themselves very loyal to their company and 72% actually like the company they work in. But only 58% are actually satisfied with their job. Below are a few reminders from the Bayt.com HR experts on what it takes to retain your stars and keep them engaged and satisfied.
Communicating frequently, openly and honestly is one of our key values at Bayt.com and every effort is made to keep communication channels across the firm healthy, robust, creative and unhampered. Companies can encourage open communications in a myriad ways ranging from open plan office spaces to open door policies, structured internal communications and regular meetings at all staff levels to communicate vision and mission and articulate progress. According to a recent poll by Bayt.com, Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa, 36% of professionals feel communication channels in their own organisation are open “but not enough”, and 30% indicate they are not open.
Professionals in corporations with the highest employee satisfaction and retention levels often cite they feel they are part of an important greater mission and are proud that what they do impacts the greater community positively. CSR can play a key role in making your employees feel part of a larger picture and find more meaning, pleasure, pride and satisfaction in their work and employer’s brand. According to Bayt.com’s Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa poll, 78% of professionals find their job “very meaningful” and 62% are very proud of their employer’s brand.
Unfair or uncompetitive compensation levels are often cited as the main reason professionals are in the market for another job. The proliferation of data on MENA salaries gleaned from leading jobsites and specialized salaries platforms such Salaries by Bayt.com have made salaries very transparent and empowered jobseekers in all roles and industries to compare their salaries with their peers. Remember you can be creative with compensation and complement basic salaries with performance bonuses and extra perks and benefits that can include anything from gym memberships to free parking to special allowances for housing, schooling, travel, training and commuting, to flexible provisions for work-hours including extra time off for extended weekends, compressed work weeks, flexi-time, part-time and telecommuting. 32% of professionals polled in Bayt.com’s Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa poll cite what they would most like to change about their current job is salary.
Professionals crave and expect reward and recognition. The best managers recognize and reward their top performers publicly and often. Performance appraisals should not be an annual event associated with much fear and trepidation; make constructive appraising and feedback part of the daily fabric and culture of your organisation.
20% of professionals polled in Bayt.com’s Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa poll cite what they would most like to change about heir job is their training and development path. Today’s professionals have for the most part espoused the life-long learning path and seek companies who will generously and proactively invest in their training and development.
Visibility, consistency, fairness and transparency are essential when it comes to career planning and employers are well advised to establish formal frameworks for this whereby every employee is aware of the path they are on and versed in the skills they need and milestones that must be reached to progress to the next rungs up the career ladder. 39% of professionals polled by Bayt.com in the Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa poll cite there are no opportunities for advancement and promotion in their company and 14% cite they feel they are not growing and learning on the job.
Another reason cited by many ambitious professionals for leaving jobs is they find their job unchallenging. The good news is that as per Bayt.com’s Work Satisfaction in the Middle East and North Africa poll, 58% of professionals are very challenged in their job and 26% are somewhat challenged with only 17% claiming they are unchallenged. Don’t be afraid to raise the bar and take risks to encourage growth, innovation and creativity and to keep top talent at all times poised, enabled and empowered to learn and accomplish more.
