Improving Staff Retention In Unusual Work Environments

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Finding and retaining the best talent for your business is the key to success. No company can hope to survive long-term if they constantly struggle to keep staff on board. 

Staff retention is a simple statistic that helps a business retain knowledge and expertise and reduce costs. Indeed, when staff resigns, a business must invest in recruitment and training. The process is not only costly, but it is also time-demanding and can significantly affect growth and overall survival. Perks such as healthcare benefits, ongoing training, and recognition can play a crucial role in keeping employees engaged in a typical office environment. 

However, the typical staff retention strategy may not be effective in unusual work environments. Therefore, it becomes essential to consider new ideas to address employees' needs.

Provide tools for remote and on-the-go needs

Whether employees are on a business trip or prefer to work remotely, they need tools fit for the job. Contrary to common beliefs, remote equipment doesn't only include a laptop and a collaborative digital solution. On-the-go equipment can also help employees face unique and unexpected situations such as:

• A doctor attending a conference could use a Philips lumify ultrasound device to help diagnose a fellow traveler

• An IT developer traveling abroad could rapidly fix a damaging bug if they could access the database remotely

Ultimately, employees bring years of experience and knowledge. Being unable to use their knowledge outside the workplace is frustrating and can make them feel trapped. 

Offer unlimited holiday allowance

How much holiday should a business offer? The answer is: It depends on the situation and the employees' needs. Unlimited paid vacations can be a source of stress for companies, as it is a difficult strategy to implement successfully. However, some businesses have been able to introduce irregular days off policies successfully, such as Netflix, LinkedIn, and GitHub. What difference does it make?

• Employees who travel to visit relatives are not more torn between booking holidays for the family or for themselves

• Employees with children can make sure they are available when kids are off school

• Employees can recharge their batteries when they need to

• Employees don't have to worry about sacrificing their paid vacations for non-holiday reasons (such as plumbing repair, doctor appointments, etc.) 

• Employees exposed to high-stress environments need more rest

Don't isolate specific individual needs

Every employee is different. Businesses often try to appeal to families by ensuring parents can work from home when the kids are sick or too young for school. However, these generous and understanding policies don't necessarily apply to single employees or those who have no family. As a result, employees who do not wish to have children may feel somewhat punished for their choices. 

Similarly, employees with a long-term illness may receive more advantages than other employees in terms of work flexibility. Yet, it seems unfair to favor one specific population in the workplace. So, if businesses are willing to introduce benefits to retain category of employees, those benefits should apply to the entire workforce regardless of:

• Gender

• Age

• Health

• Location

• Family status

• Etc. 

Employee retention is the ability to recognize the needs of the team and address those effectively. Consequently, it makes sense for businesses to research and identify what employees in a unique work environment crave, whether it is the ability to use their expertise anywhere or to have the same advantages as specific groups.