Remote work is here to stay, and all trends are pointing to hybrid working being the future of work- it will no longer be the case that all employees attend the office every day of the week, instead employees will likely have the option to work from home or remotely a number of days every week and attend the office for working, meeting and creative collaboration on specific days.
This hybrid working model has been met with widespread enthusiasm by global employees who have been suffering from burnout and heavy commuting schedules for many years now. It may be the case that global employers are somewhat less enthusiastic given the legislative headaches and procedural complications that are likely to accompany this new model and way of working.
But many companies are choosing to be trendsetters and proactively engage with this new hybrid working concept- some big brand names have already embraced it and declared it as the future of work. It will take a few years to see how this plays out in reality and if it can be deemed a success or not. Regardless, it looks to be coming in and widespread adoption seems to be inevitable.
This new model raises questions around the ability of human resources professionals and managers to retain talent in an increasingly remote working world. In this article, we will look at the implications of remote working and what it might mean when it comes to HR policies and practices on company culture and employee retention-which understandably, remains a major priority of multinational companies around the world.
The employee experience
While employee experience has become something of a HR buzzword over the last few years, many people working in human resources feel that this experience needs to be prioritized now more than ever as the shift towards hybrid working and remote employees takes hold. Previously, any employee experience focus was usually on the experience of the employee after they had begun working.
Now, the employee experience starts at a much earlier stage in the cycle. The interview, job offer, and remote onboarding experience will become crucial in terms of positive feedback towards the global employer. Global employees talk, interact and network with each other often across social media websites so the remote interview, job offer an employee onboarding experience is a topic for discussion.
It has become something of an employee market at present, and employees looking to switch jobs or changed companies are interested to hear about how other candidates have fared when it comes to remote on boarding. HR technology, the people who work in HR and internal processes in existence at an organization all come into play here and there will be a renewed focus on creating a positive employee experience right from the start so that any conversations about the experience show the global employer in a positive light.
What makes up this experience can be a bit of a moving target, but you can be sure that everything from video conferencing technology, convenient uploading of identification documents, digital learning tools to help a candidate get accustomed to new processes at a company will all play a role in their overall experience and perception of a company in those crucial few weeks when they start a new role.
Manager relationships
It is now a reality in the new remote working culture that life goes on and new candidates need to be hired and onboarded remotely. These new candidates often start their jobs remotely and many simply do not have opportunities to engage in face-to-face conversations with their new managers.
Managers then have a responsibility to find ways to interact and engage with these new employees in ways that make them feel welcome, valued and nurtured. This is not the easiest thing to do over video conferencing calls so managers need to get creative, and they will be looking for inspiration on ideas from their colleagues in human resources and they will also be looking to be supported with any HR technology that can help them connect in a meaningful way with a new member of their team.
The relationship between a new manager and a new employee forms a crucial part of the employee experience and talent retention, that is separate from the day-to-day role-it therefore needs to be prioritized and new managers will be required to think outside of the box and look at non-traditional ways to engage with and create rapport with new team members
Payroll efficiency
This one goes without saying, but it really shouldn't. Remote working has been subject to technology fails and often slower delivery of essential business critical services. Global payroll is a business-critical service, and new employees just like any others, have expectations of being paid accurately and on time.
In terms of the overall employee experience, it is of vital importance that there are no issues with being paid and receiving payslips in the early weeks and months of their new job. Global payroll is no longer simply a back office administrative function, it is an essential part of the employee experience and plays a significant yet understated role in the ability of an organization to retain the best talent.
Payroll efficiency and any associated global payroll technology that can improve this level of efficiency should be included in any conversations around talent retention and the employee experience. You cannot have a happy ‘unpaid’ employee and you cannot retain people that you are unable to pay.
Work-life balance
One of the unfortunate features of remote working during a global pandemic has been the blurring of the lines between work and home life. When you work in the same building that you live in, this blurring is inevitable as the home office becomes the new work environment.
There have been many reports of zoom fatigue as well as people being contacted well outside of the normal working hours to give their time and attention to daily work tasks. All of this is creating increased levels of stress, anxiety and burnout- well-being needs to be prioritized in order to retain employees.
There are reports of job insecurities and people looking to overcompensate by working too long and too hard-this comes with inevitable mental health and well-being implications and needs to be managed before it gets out of hand. This is not so easy to do as managers, leadership teams and HR professionals simply do not have full visibility of what is happening in an employee's home as they deliver their duties remotely.
But it is clear that, like a lot of things in the pandemic, that work-life balance has become skewed and unfavorable. It should therefore be a talent retention policy to ensure that a practical level of balance is restored and that employees feel fresh enough to contribute at all times. There are practical steps that managers in HR professionals can take to look into this matter, but it is really about constant communication, check-ins and engaging with employees to get a better understanding of their challenges. Those organizations that put some time and effort into this important subject will likely be rewarded with better talent retention rates.
The competition for top talent has always been fierce but remote working and the possibility of hiring employees who can work from anywhere has only increased this competition in the hiring process. Global employees, more than any time in history, likely feel that they have a lot more options today, especially since location is now no longer a major determining factor in the hiring policy at many multinational companies.
HR departments looking to acquire and retain the top talent have to adjust internal processes and external attitudes to align with employee expectations, particularly now that the new hybrid working model is starting to take hold and becoming a new normal. Employee retention strategies need to focus on flexible work, hybrid workplaces, good learning and development tools and a quality onboarding process to ensure the talent pool and remote workforce are convinced that the company culture is right for them.
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