Creating a culture of care: retention in today’s competitive market. Thought leaders share their views on the HR profession and its direction for the future
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-09-2017-0062 |
| Published date | 12 February 2018 |
| Date | 12 February 2018 |
| Pages | 47-49 |
| Author | Betsey Banker |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Strategic commentary
Creating a culture of care: retention in today’s
competitive market
Thought leaders share their views on the HR profession and its
direction for the future
Betsey Banker
Job-hopping, while n ot new,
has gained mindshare in the
past few years. LinkedIn’s
2015 Global Job Seeker Trends:
Why and How People Change Jobs
study found that the number of
active job-seekers had grown by 36
per cent over the previous four
years (LinkedIn, 2015), and Gallup
found that half of the US employees
are actively looking for a job (Mann
and McCarville, 2015).
Opportunitiestomakeaswitch
abound, as 11,000 baby boomers
retire each day (Kessler, 2014).
Driven by increased competition for
talent, according to a Bersin by
Deloitte report, it now costs
companies an average of $4,000
(O’ Leonard et al., 2015)overthe
course of 52 days to fill an open
position (Erickson, 2015).
Retention has never been more
crucial, but are businesses doing
enough to create a culture that
drives employee loyalty? Unique
company perks and wellness
offerings are attempting to
strengthen employee loyalty but
with varied success. As a result, a
new umbrella approach to these
initiatives is gaining traction:
building a culture focused on care.
However, how do care and wellness
combine?
Caring for employees inspires
loyalty
While some employers explore the
latest trendy incentives(think pods,
nap pods, ping-pong tables or fully
stocked fridges), new research
indicates that when it comes to
retention, the new competitive
advantage may be as simple as
caring. According to one study,
people who worked in a culture where
they felt free to express affection,
caring and compassion for one
another were more satisfied withtheir
jobs, committed to the organization
and accountable for their
performance (Barsade and O’Neill,
2014).
When employees feel supported by
their organization, they willdevelop a
stronger attachment to it. One of the
simplest ways employers cansupport
and show care for employees is
through office wellness programs.
These types of programs vary
between organizations butall have
the same goal in mind – to keep
employees healthy.
Caring goes beyond kindness
Many wellness programs – traditional
and trendy alike – already fall under
the umbrella of caring. Though they
look different from office to office,
Betsey Banker is Vertical Marketing
Manager at Ergotron, Inc, Saint Paul,
Minnesota, USA.
DOI 10.1108/SHR-09-2017-0062 VOL. 17 NO. 1 2018, pp. 47-49, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jPAGE 47
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