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In the latest episode of Outback Talks, we sit down with Tracey Topping, Employee Experience Manager at multinational technology company Left, to discuss the five employee engagement strategies that have contributed to the company\u2019s impressive 97% retention rate.<\/p>\n
Listen to the podcast or continue reading below for a summary of the discussion, including:<\/p>\n
Great businesses understand the value of employee retention strategies<\/a> that keep people on board for a long time. Not only is it good for morale, but it’s also very beneficial for bottom lines.<\/p>\n A study by the Center for American Progress found that losing an employee costs the employer, on average, 21% of that employee\u2019s salary. That\u2019s because when your business loses an employee, along with taking a financial hit, you also lose their talent, the time it took to train them, and momentum on productivity. The longer employees stay at their jobs, the more skills they gain and the closer the company gets to achieving its purpose. Retaining your employees and maintaining their happiness is imperative to the overall success of a business.<\/p>\n With a 97% employee retention rate, multinational media and technology company Left<\/a> knows a thing or two about how to keep a great team. In the latest episodes of Outback Talks: The Employee Engagement Podcast<\/a>, we sit down with Tracey Topping, Left’s Employee Experience Manager, to discuss how and why the company has such a high retention rate, what kind of factors make employees want to stay at a company, and more.<\/p>\n Left is a certified B Corporation. That means that the company is part of a global community of leading organizations using business as a force for good. And for Left, one of the main ways they sustain this momentum is by staying true to their core values (check out our read: A Step-by-Step Guide to Uncovering Your Company\u2019s Core Values<\/a>). \u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “They allow us to convey what we stand for as a company,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong> “So, [by] being open and transparent with regards to the recruitment process, we get people who want to join Left because they, too, are values aligned. And our values are baked into our DNA. They go into every decision. They are our North Star, or guiding light, if you will.” <\/em><\/p>\n Companies need to live their defined core values every day \u2014 otherwise, they\u2019re just words.<\/p>\n “Surveys often state that competitive compensation, competitive benefits, and perks are key drivers to employee staying at a company,\u201d <\/em>Tracey continues.<\/strong> \u201cAnd, of course, these are important, and, yes, you have to be competitive in those areas \u2014 but they alone won\u2019t make employees feel satisfied in their jobs or compel them to stay with a company for a long term. There is a lot of research around workplace happiness and it\u2019s shown that job satisfaction from these tangible things like having pride in your organization, being treated with fairness and respect, being engaged in interesting and meaningful work, and basically building a positive workplace relationship, has a bigger impact.”<\/em><\/p>\n When values are out of alignment, employees work towards different goals with different intentions and with different outcomes. This can be damaging to working relationships, productivity, job satisfaction, and creative potential. Values alignment, in turn, helps the organization achieve its core mission \u2014 <\/em>and encourages employees to stay.<\/p>\n Another thing about core values? They go hand-in-hand with company culture.<\/p>\n “Your organization\u2019s workplace values set the tone for your company\u2019s culture,” <\/em>Tracey explains.<\/strong> “They identify what your organization, as a whole, cares about. Even though you can\u2019t control every factor that contributes to your employee satisfaction at work, it is possible to create a workplace that allows productivity and positivity to flourish. And when this does happen, people understand one another, everyone does the right things for the right reasons, and this common purpose and understanding helps people build great working relationships.”<\/em><\/p>\n Company culture is what drives employee satisfaction \u2014 <\/em>and vice versa. “So many people these days are not just looking for a job, they are actually looking for a role that fits them, who they are,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong><\/p>\n How does Left do it? Well, among elements including in-office pets (two dogs, named Django and Milo) and their own Toastmasters club (a group that focuses on developing public speaking and leadership skills), Left has a community engagement program that greatly contributes to their culture.<\/p>\n “We do everything that we can to support the part of our local community down to buying local<\/em>,” Tracey says.<\/strong> “And as part of that, we have unlimited community hours. One of our core values is Impact Your Community, so you can take the day or a couple of hours, whatever you need to go out there and help in your community.” <\/em><\/p>\n Tracey adds,<\/strong> “Every company has a culture, either by default or by design. When companies don\u2019t pay attention or guide the culture, the wrong values can become ingrained and employees can learn by observation. Things like a culture of secrecy or placing blame or cutting corners. But when you take control and shape the behavior of employees, you need to set core values deliberately, take them seriously, and operationalize them. Having them without acting on them is actually worse than not having them at all.”<\/em><\/p>\n One of the most important ways to cultivate a positive environment for employees is to ensure that the lines of communication are always open. This employee retention strategy helps people feel connected to their organization and fosters a positive work experience.<\/p>\n “Clear and frequent communication of company happenings \u2014 individual, departmental, big company discussions \u2014 they can make all the difference in employee happiness,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong><\/p>\n Left uses a wide variety of ways to share information with one another. Among them are a company huddle every morning, regular one-on-ones with team leads, and sharing successes with one another every week.<\/p>\n “Before we break up for the weekend, everyone shares a win,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong> “It can be a work win or it can be a personal win, and it just gets you to reflect on your week and what\u2019s important. It\u2019s really cool to see what people have achieved that week.” <\/em><\/p>\n They use a couple of Slack-integrated apps, too: Jellyfish<\/a>, on which people can anonymously post questions and respond to them, and Donut<\/a>, that pairs people from different departments to meet for coffee or lunch. Tracey emphasizes that encouraging cross-departmental collaboration, both in terms of work projects and social engagements, is really important in nurturing communication.<\/p>\n And, largely, so is feedback. All employees should feel like their voice matters.<\/p>\n “The ability to understand employee concern is important, but it\u2019s what you do after that\u2019s critical to retention,\u201d <\/em>Tracey stresses.<\/strong> \u201cSo, you should always be transparent by sharing what you\u2019ve learned [and having] a course of action for addressing the issue. And a simple acknowledgement that \u2018we heard you\u2019 can go a long way.”<\/em><\/p>\n How can companies gauge how happy their employees are? There are a few ways. While “stay interviews” \u2014 where somebody from the human resources department sits down with a valued employee to learn more about the things that make them happy and want to continue to stay in their role \u2014 are great, Tracey says ensure you don\u2019t forget about checking in with everyone else. Again, emphasizing the fact that everyone, not just the highest performing employees, is equally important and deserves to have their voice heard.<\/p>\n “I do believe that all employees need the chance to speak up, because, in the end, there is a reason that an employee isn\u2019t shining as brightly as another,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong> “You know, it\u2019s quite daunting, especially if you are new or if you\u2019ve been there for a while and things are changing, to ask for help, and we need to recognize that and open those doors, to provide them to say what they need to say and in a safe environment.” <\/em><\/p>\n In the same way, \u201cexit interviews\u201d can be a valuable means of measuring employee satisfaction. While, ideally, conversations should be had to mitigate the risk of an employee leaving before it gets to the point of them actually doing so, understanding what led someone to resign can provide great insight on what the company might need to change internally.<\/p>\n “It can catalyze leaders’ listening skills, it can reveal what does or does not work inside the organization, and highlight some hidden challenges and opportunities,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong> “It can promote engagement and retention by signaling to your employees that their views actually do matter, and it can turn passionate employees into corporate ambassadors for years to come.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Along with regular one-on-ones between managers and their teams, Left carries out 30, 60, and 90-day check-ins with new employees. The company also does bi-weekly check-ins with a tool called Perked!<\/a> that measures employee engagement.<\/p>\n “It provides us with real time feedback that we can action right away, and it allows us to stay agile in our culture development,” <\/em>Tracey explains.<\/strong> “It\u2019s also totally anonymous, which, like I said earlier, opens the doors a little bit wider for open and honest feedback and dialogue.” <\/em><\/p>\n By 2020, millennials will comprise 50% of the global workforce, according to research by PwC.<\/a> So, when it comes to considering employee retention strategies, this is something that employers need to keep in consideration.<\/p>\n As millennials start to comprise a bigger and bigger chunk of the workforce, it\u2019s important to \u201caddress the millennial question\u201d in order to ensure you\u2019re making your work environment the most appealing one possible to the people who are going to be quickly taking over the workforce.<\/p>\n A recent study by Gallup<\/a> found that that 21% of millennials say they’ve changed jobs within the past year \u2013 three times the number of non-millennials who report the same. Does a company with a high turnover rate, then, necessarily mean that it\u2019s a bad place to work?\u00a0<\/p>\n “Millennials are [often] characterized as entitled job-hoppers,” <\/em>Tracey says.<\/strong> “And that could be true for some. But, in reality, is it that this group is just not engaged at work? The world has changed, so I do think it is the sign of the times to some degree. But I also think that many millennials really don\u2019t want to switch jobs \u2014 their companies are just not giving them compelling reasons to stay. So, when they see what happens to be a better opportunity, they have every incentive to take it. And so, while millennials can come across as wanting more and more, the reality might be that they just want a job that feels worthwhile, and maybe they\u2019ll just keep looking until they find it.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Ultimately, Tracey says, employees need to be happy with what they are doing. And it\u2019s in a business\u2019 best interest to talk to their talent to find out what they want.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is that by focusing on employee retention, organizations will retain the talent and motivate the employees who truly want to be a part of a company and those who have focus on contributing to the organization\u2019s overall success.”<\/em><\/p>\n Are you looking for creative employee retention strategies to increase engagement for your corporate group? Get in touch with our team to learn more about our 60+ team building<\/a>, training<\/a>, and coaching<\/a> solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yasmine Shemesh:<\/em><\/strong> Welcome back to Outback Talks: The Employee Engagement Podcast. This podcast is produced by Outback Team Building & Training, a leading team building, training, and consulting provider for organizations across North America. I\u2019m your host, Yasmine Shemesh, and on today\u2019s show we have a very special guest joining us from a multinational media and technology company Left. Tracey Topping is the Manager of Employee Experience at Left and she sat down with me in our studio here to talk about all things employee retention, including best practices to measure satisfaction and what kind of factors can help someone really love their role and want to stay at the company that they work at.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n YS:<\/em><\/strong> I am sitting here with Tracey, thank you so much for joining me today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tracey Topping:<\/em><\/strong> Thanks for having me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n YS:<\/em><\/strong> Oh, my pleasure! Alright, so, first of all, can you tell me just a little bit about Left, the company that you work for, and what you do there?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n TT:<\/em><\/strong> Yeah, of course. So, Left, we are a B Corp-certified technology company. We strive to use businesses as a force good and technology as a force for change. We\u2019re located out in the burbs, in Maple Ridge \u2013 so for those that don\u2019t know, it\u2019s a suburb in Vancouver. We were officially named one of Canada\u2019s Top 100 Employers recently, which is amazing. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n YS:<\/em><\/strong> That is awesome!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n TT:<\/em><\/strong> Along with the many other awards that we are very fortunate to have been recognized with this year, so, obviously we\u2019re doing something good! We\u2019ve grown to a global team of over 160 people, so we have people not only in Canada, but in Bangladesh, Singapore, and the US. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And just to explain what Left actually does \u2013 so, Left is the parent company to subsidiaries such as <\/em>Left Travel<\/em><\/a>. And Left Travel uses big data, AI, and predictive analysis to help users find the best short-term accommodations for the perfect travel experience. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n1. The Power of Core Values\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n2.\u00a0The Importance of Company Culture\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n3.\u00a0The Benefits of Open Communication\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n4.\u00a0Measuring Employee Satisfaction\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n5. Answering the Millennial Question\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n
\nGet Your Employees Engaged\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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