Time starved but have the imminent need to hire and train new staff?

First it was the Great Resignation followed by the Great Reshuffle, and now it’s the Quiet Quitting trend that has pundits pontificating about what’s next in the workplace.

Employers are grappling with workers doing the bare minimum, mentally checking out, no longer socializing with co-workers outside business hours, or as one Reddit poster coined it: “acting your wage.” At issue with the Quiet Quitting phenomenon is worker burnout and the perception that employers broke a social contract by failing to take care of employees’ financial and emotional well-being during the pandemic.

Workers around the world are experiencing persistent levels of burnout today, according to the McKinsey Health Institute’s survey of 14,500 workers. Among U.S. respondents polled this past spring, 28% experienced burnout sometimes, often, or always.

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report found that U.S. and Canadian workers experience negative feelings at work frequently, with fully half (50%) enduring stress daily. Respondents also cited worry, sadness, and anger as daily emotions at work (41%, 22%, and 18%, respectively.) Across all geographies, women reported higher levels of stress than men.

But the outlook is not all grim. Gallup says businesses that prioritize workers’ well-being are more likely to attract and retain top talent and experience high productivity and performance.

ECPs are already hip to this correlation, but they’re strapped for time. A full 60% of respondents polled in EB’s Readership Survey 2022 acknowledge that staff hiring/retention needs more attention today; 40% cited training as an area in need of improvement.

The hat trick of successful hiring, training, and retention is within reach. Tactics that worked 10 years ago are no longer effective because workers’ attitudes are changing. ECPs willing to dive into the employee psyche will discover what tweaks can be made to improve this oft-neglected part of the business.

Finding the Keepers

Keepers are those employees who look forward to coming to work. They care. They take pride in the service they provide. They are hard to find and a “Help Wanted” sign in the window is insufficient.

Automated recruitment tools cast a far wider net to find, engage, screen, and hire qualified employees, and this technology is not strictly the domain of corporations with deep pockets. ECPs can also benefit without a heavy financial burden or time commitment. Some solutions are free, offer a free trial for a limited period, or charge reasonable monthly fees.

Among the tools geared for smaller businesses are LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed Hiring Platform, Gem, Zoho Recruit, Freshteam, and Breezy HR.

One entrepreneur using automated recruiting software says it provided great scale during his startup phase when he needed to attract and acquire talent fast. Will Baumann, CEO and co-founder of Fourthwall, used Gem in tandem with LinkedIn to identify job candidates, filter by qualification, and obtain email addresses for outreach. With the help of an assistant, he was able to send 500 emails weekly, each with some degree of personalization rather than a cold “Dear Job Seeker” greeting.

“I spent minimum 50% of my time just searching out talent every single week, being on interview calls trying to hunt down the folks who are the best, weeding out the ones who weren’t good enough, [while] making sure they left with an incredible interview experience so that they were able to maybe tell a friend, ‘This company is the place to go,’” says Baumann.

ECPs can’t be expected to spend this much time, but recruitment must be given priority.

“The main thing I want to emphasize,” Baumann says, “is that even if you don’t have the resources or a hiring department, your job is leadership, to find and retain that talent.”

Engage + Motivate

Training is vital, but time-starved ECPs often lack a structured plan that gives new hires the best chance for success. Employees reject the baptism-by-fire approach of years ago; they want guidance to form solid work habits that keep them engaged with their personal and professional objectives.

When employees are actively engaged in their roles—only 33% of U.S. and Canadian workers are today, says Gallup—customers are better served and more likely to return and refer friends.

Training and development keeps staff engaged and motivated to learn and collaborate effectively as a team. Simple measures, starting with onboarding, go a long way:

• Onboarding: Map a clear plan so new hires fully understand the scope of their roles; the policies, rules, dress code, and mission of the business; and how they are expected to contribute.
• Feedback Loop: Ensure that workers know their input is wanted, not only at the outset but on a continuing basis. Acknowledge feedback and demonstrate how it’s put into action.
• Cross-Train: Once reserved for grooming executive leadership, cross-training also works for the rank and file. Training workers to perform a number of tasks builds new skills, exposes them to more opportunities, and creates desirable redundancies in the event of unexpected staff departures. Clarity of purpose is vital to strengthen the entire team—to ensure that added tasks are not misinterpreted as punishment and that no one’s role is diminished.

Retention: Listen Up + Get Flex

High worker turnover strains morale and the P&L, too. While the cost to replace an hourly worker starts at around $1,500, the cost to replace salaried employees ranges from 50% to 200% of annual compensation when soft factors such as lost productivity are considered.

Retention, when prioritized as a business imperative, strengthens the entire organization. Companies that neglect it or just accept high turnover as retail’s curse soon learn that departing employees sow discontent among the rest of the team and often coax co-workers to leave along with them. ECPs already have the power and tools to improve retention—so long as it’s made a priority.

Optimism is key. “Frame everything in a positive way,” says Brian Scudamore, founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? during a June “Elevate” podcast hosted by Robert Glazer, founder, Acceleration Partners. “You say ‘Great Resignation’ but I say, ‘Let’s call it the ‘Great Progression.’ People are going to leave. They are not growing. They are not having fun. Try and understand what is missing that will allow people to progress.”

Scudamore, author of “WTF?! Willing To Fail,” says he gives employees permission to talk about work conditions openly.

“Of course, you can leave. Anyone can leave any time,” he says. “But what if we can progress together? We tapped into our people to ask, ‘How do we progress versus just resign?’ It’s been powerful. We have not lost as many people, as a percentage, compared to a lot of companies. We are bringing on lots of great people resigning from other companies because those companies are not listening to this new way of being.”

Listening can uncover pain points that can be eased to improve retention. For the time-strapped employee, a 9-to-5 schedule might not work. Consider flextime or job sharing, with part-time employees sharing one full-time position.

For cash-strapped workers, the standard biweekly pay cycle can force a choice between paying for gas or working a shift, according to The Harris Poll. The majority (75%) of hourly workers have struggled to cover basic living expenses this year and 22% have taken out payday loans.

Earned wage access (EWA), also called “on-demand pay,” helps workers make ends meet and offers flexibility that can enhance recruitment and retention. This payroll method, trialed by Walmart, Target, and McDonald’s, enables employees to withdraw pay for accrued hours as soon as 24 hours after completing a shift. Advocates say EWA offers workers financial flexibility and helps avoid overdraft fees and payday loans.

ECPs already possess, or can easily access, tools and tactics to reap the rewards of an engaged, collaborative, and productive team.

With a little self-assessment and willingness to address gaps, the path becomes clearer: Hire without haste and find workers who are the best fit for your culture. Then, engage them with training that builds confidence—and keep them happy by offering the benefits and flexible work conditions that matter most today.

Finding, attracting, and keeping staff on board presents a boatload of new challenges in the current climate. What’s not changed: ECPs remain time starved. It’s about being tuned in to the forces at work and thinking a little differently.