Employee welfare needs to be top of mind for local employers as ‘The Great Resignation’ is here in New Zealand.

Recent research* shows that two in five New Zealand employees (43 percent) plan to actively search for a new job this year. Fifteen percent plan to quit without having another job lined up. 

The research also found that 31 percent of people plan to quit their jobs as soon as they secure a new job. 

To contend with this trend of people looking elsewhere for employment there are four question employers need to consider: 

• Do you understand what employees are seeking from their employers? Have you asked this question? Is it higher pay, fewer hours, four-day weeks, or different benefits? It’s time we as employers stop assuming and actually ask our team what they’re after.

• Are you prepared to be a leader for employers in this space? The first businesses to put employee welfare on a par with profits, will benefit from the early adoption of this policy to become an employer of choice.

• How do you keep great employees, nurture new graduates, and improve your hiring practices? Developing structured processes for business as usual activities and combining professional development for employees will help you to keep employees. 
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• Are you taking your team with you? Give your employees a strategic understanding of your business so they understand their role. That way, you can ensure consistent business messages, the services and/or products you provide and, employees can quickly understand if they’re really the staff for you or, whether they should be working elsewhere! By running regular structured meetings, employers will also get a valuable heads up around staff attrition that will enable them to plan ahead.

Clear open communication can put small issues to rest before they become big issues, so that’s another way to ensure you keep your talent working with your business. 

*ELMO Employee Sentiment Index – New Zealand (Period: Oct -Dec 21) is a nationwide poll commissioned by ELMO software and carried out by independent research firm Lonergan Research. This is a quarterly index asks more than 500 New Zealand workers about their attitudes, actions and concerns in the workplace in the past three months, in addition to their plans for the future.