Keeping your workforce engaged post pandemic

It has been a tough year for workers and businesses alike, but that doesn’t mean that as a business owner you can’t reward your staff or if you are an employee that you can’t be rewarded for your efforts.

For many businesses it has been challenging financially, so asking for a pay rise may not be possible. However, there are other ways to recognise and reward staff, which will help keep them engaged.

What our research tells us

In our latest workplace survey, we uncovered that due to Covid-19, 65% of workers now have a flexible working arrangement. This varies from workplace to workplace but can include working remotely from home or alternative office, shorter or longer days throughout a shorter or longer week. 

32% of those surveyed had hours cut throughout the year, primarily due to the impact of Covid-19 on their workplace. Covid-19 also had employees thinking about job security with 77% of respondents indicating that job security has become more important now that Covid-19 has impacted the world of work.

However, of those workers we surveyed, 62% of them are actively looking for a new job and 58% of those surveyed are open to applying for remote jobs with location now no longer a main factor in job success.

To keep employees motivated throughout the year, businesses used a variety of tactics.  Of those surveyed, 44% of businesses used an employee wellness survey to regularly track engagement and motivation, and 50% provided employees access to professional mental wellness benefits, e.g. counselling services.

Don’t skimp on remote employee wellbeing or career development, or you’ll lose them

Making sure workers are mentally and socially resilient and supported has become business critical.  Employees are re-evaluating what they want from their work and employee attrition is rising. It’s also far more efficient and cost-effective to invest time and money in wellbeing initiatives than lose a talented worker and to have to replace them with someone new.

In addition, employee ‘churn’ can result from a perceived lack of career progression in these remote working times. Managers must be able to reassure workers of opportunities for progression to keep down the number of employees who leave, and they can do this with support from HR. Providing a roadmap showing how talented employees’ can develop their careers will make them less likely to head for the door.

The future of work

The pandemic has fundamentally changed the where and how we work and it’s unlikely there will be a full-time return to work in offices. Already, some companies are mandating permanent remote working for some or all their employees. This trend will likely continue. At the same time, new models of how performance is assessed and rewarded based on results, rather than hours worked, will continue to emerge for office workers.

For more insights, download our latest salary guide today.