Change management and communication for staff retention: Looking to 2023

By Rachel Houghton, managing director of Business Moves Group

2022 was a year of continuing struggle in the world of recruitment and talent attraction for many businesses across the UK, with 87% of companies struggling to fill job openings, and 63% failing to hire because of skill shortages. So, how have businesses improved their recruitment drives, and has there been a decrease in such activity?

I predicted at the time that change management programmes were the solution for businesses, as it would go beyond the physical space a business offers, but also promotes their culture, diversity, and values to prospective new hires.

Talent retention

What we saw during the year was a slight move away from talent attraction – although recruitment was still a priority for many – and more towards talent retention. 2022 saw the ‘great resignation’ and the subsequent hiring crisis in the UK, which then led to the new trend of job hopping. The Lever Great Resignation report found that 65% of Gen Z-ers were planning on leaving their jobs by the end of the year. Whilst it might not seem that Gen Z are making a big enough impact to talk about, they’re estimated to make up more than a quarter of the workforce by 2025, demonstrating their potential to make employee retention rates suffer.

This year, I think we will see businesses placing greater importance on nurturing the talent they already have instead of looking elsewhere for it. Employees need to feel supported and that they are given opportunities to grow within their role or the potential to be promoted, so they are inclined stay at their job.

How to keep your team?

Prioritising internal promotions and continued training budgets are a sure cut way to help employees feel valued and are being given the right opportunities for growth, and therefore won’t feel inclined to look elsewhere. To replace a salaried employee, it can cost, on average, between 6-9 months’ salary, as well as the downtime between an employee leaving and a new employee getting up to speed. Keeping your current employees happy and nurtured is much more affordable and will inevitably aid the business and personal growth of all those involved.

Additionally, ESG and procurement will continue to go hand in hand in 2023. Again, Gen-Z are setting a new norm when it comes to choosing who you work for. 1 in 3 said they would turn down a job opportunity if they didn’t agree with a business’s ESG standards. If you want to continue to attract fresh, new talent, then investing in your ESG program may be what sets you apart from other potential companies for some candidates. Increased investment in such programmes will likely become another one of 2023’s workplace trends.

To find out how Business Moves Group can help your business undertake workplace change for the better, get in touch.