Engagement or commitment, retention

In addition, the shortage of skilled labour is not only a problem in Hungary, but worldwide. Before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the news outside the covid was record levels of layoffs, especially in the United States, and where the number of layoffs did not even reach the many millions, there was also a strong supply market, i.e. far more vacancies than there were applicants. This is why a number of experts and specialist publications, including HR Portal, regularly address the issue of staff retention.

What are the factors affecting retention that are important to look out for?

While the data is American, don't doubt that similar shortcomings are keeping workers disengaged here.

• 57% of workers are open to new job opportunities, most often deciding to change because 28% feel they don't have the opportunity to grow in their current job.


• Only 30% of workers are doing the job they are really good at.


• Of those who quit, 54% felt unappreciated at work.


• In 2021, 74% of workers reported feeling burnt out. (We've said more than once that the pace of work was not held back by the Covid epidemic, and in many cases workers had to respond to more uncertain situations, unexpected situations, and more workloads due to colleagues' illnesses and possible layoffs. Meanwhile, many people have experienced more stress and loss in their personal lives than ever before.)


• For more than half of the workers, immediate managers could have acted to remedy the situation. Which they probably did not, as the employee resigned. And yet finding, hiring and onboarding a new employee costs 0.5 to twice the annual salary of the employee who resigned. In addition, the departing employee takes a lot of irreplaceable skills with him when he leaves, especially if he has been with the company for a long time. While the new employee needs time to settle into the position and reach the desired level of efficiency.


• And only 14% of employees feel their pay is fair.

Employee departures (especially when more than one employee decides to leave at the same time) degrade workplace morale, which has a negative impact on engagement, employee cooperation and ultimately business results.

Community, development opportunities

Employees can be dismissed if they are given too many tasks that are not otherwise part of their job, or if they are given too many responsibilities without being rewarded for them. If work relationships are damaged, workplace morale deteriorates, this can also increase the incentive to quit, or if there are many examples of people leaving, this can inspire others to leave, which can even create a wave of resignations.

Those who lack flexibility in the workplace, or who lack commitment and a sense of real belonging to their workplace, may become particularly dissatisfied and open to new opportunities at over 70%. An organisational culture that creates a real sense of community among employees can be a major competitive advantage.

Those employees who are truly committed and want to perform are those who are given the opportunity to grow and develop within the company. So it's particularly powerful when an organisation builds these internal career paths, gives the development that colleagues want, because it not only increases their value in the labour market, it also builds their intrinsic motivation, which is one of the key drivers. It would be worthwhile for line managers to discuss development opportunities and career plans with their subordinates every 3-6 months.

This requires regular engagement surveys so that management and HR have a clear picture of how their employees are feeling. And if the feedback from the surveys is followed up with action, then colleagues can genuinely feel that their opinions are cared about and that they are involved in shaping their destiny at the company.

Caption: Pixabay