It will come as no surprise that the SAP market is still going strong after 50 years! But post pandemic has seen an increase in people changing their careers.
We’ve all heard of The Great Resignation; this trend has particularly affected the technology industry.“There were 2.5 million open cybersecurity jobs worldwide at the beginning of March 2022, according to Microsoft. And more people may choose to quit soon, with only 29% of IT workers being interested in staying in their current roles, according to Gartner.” So why are people choosing to leave their roles within technology or any other industry for that matter?
One word: Covid.
Since 2020, we have all had to adapt. Adapt our home lives, adapt the way we go about “normal life” and most of all – adapt to a unique way of working.
With the increased demand for remote working, what can you do as an employer to keep your team? Below are tips that could help with your retention issue:
Flexibility – Be flexible. Your employees have lives outside of work – whether those children, elderly parents, or other commitments. Help alleviate some stress by offering some flexibility in scheduling or an opportunity to work from home 1 or 2 days a week. In 2021, over 4 million workers in the UK had employment contracts that allow for flexing working. Have you considered trialing a 4 day working week? Many countries around the world have implemented this and seen impressive results, including employee productivity. The UK will trial this in June 2022 for 6 months, with companies volunteering to take part to see if it would benefit them as a business.
Benefits Package – Offer a competitive benefits package. Your package and another company’s package could be the difference between a team member staying or leaving. When searching for a new role, people tend to look for a variety of benefits – these include Health Care, Flexible Hours and believe it or not, Pet Insurance! Take a look at https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/the-most-important-benefits-to-employees for more benefits job seekers are looking for.
Promote from within – This may seem like a weird one but believe me it will help. If your employees see that you promote people within the company to higher levels, it will show them there is room to grow and progress within the company. Employees tend to feel more loyalty towards companies who seek to fill vacancies than those who have been putting in the time and know the daily operations best.
Listen to your employees’ concerns – I would like to think this would be a given, but unfortunately there are people out there who feel the company they work for does not listen to their concerns. Do regular surveys, so you have an idea of what makes your employees happy. If a survey is anonymous, your team won’t be shy in offering their opinions. Just don’t penalise your team if you don’t like the response you get – it is there to help you learn as an employer.
Perks – This could be something as simple as a free morning coffee (I’m not talking about instant either!) push the boat out and order in a Starbucks! (Other coffee outlets are available) Monthly competitions or offer small discounts for local shops. This may not seem a lot to you, but to your team – a little could go a long way.
BONUS TIP!
Promote employee happiness within your organisation – The average person spends 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime – that’s a third of their life. It’s important that they are happy in their place of employment. You as an employer, can help in many ways to ensure this happens within your company.
Team building is a sure-fire way to get everyone involved and certainly boosts morale. The activity directly correlates with creating a sense of belonging in your team’s individual members and it can drastically improve an employee’s performance. Try involving some incentives or rewards too, this will encourage your team to try harder in future team building.
Pay raises and bonuses have been one of the most efficient morale and satisfaction boosts of all time! Make sure you pay your SAP professionals fairly and what you are paying them at least matches your competitors. Do a bit of research into what they are paying their SAP employees by looking on their websites or job boards. You can also get an idea of different salaries by looking at the Emolument website, but if you want to save time, feel free to contact any of us at Focus On SAP and we will be happy to share with you the current market trends. Of course, money isn’t everything within a job, but it helps!
Reward your employees with small prizes for achievements. Once again this doesn’t need to be big, but the thought will go a long way and make them feel appreciated.
And finally, train your managers within your company to encourage employee happiness. Your employee’s satisfaction directly correlates with a manager’s leadership skills.
Put at least a couple of these factors in place, you won’t find yourself as part of the statistics! If you create a great workplace with a culture based around your team, then you shouldn’t find yourself with a high number of employees leaving to work for your competitors.
If you require assistance with your recruitment needs, please contact one of our team today at Focus On SAP!
