Nearly 10 million Americans left their jobs through the pandemic. The impact has been felt in Canada, too, to a lesser extent. Resignations were highest in the tech and healthcare sectors, so, why do I refer to this when we’re all working so hard to solve this puzzle of recruiting great people to work in our businesses? It’s the lessons learned from those organizations that are doing it well that we can benefit from.

There are many reasons why people stay in their job or career. Being valued tops many of the lists I have come across. At its foundation, it means a fair and livable compensation package. You can keep and attract quality people by offering a rewarding compensation package. This shows a company values people right from the start.

Creating competitive or industry-leading compensation packages is a great way to ensure your people feel satisfied and valued. These tangible and foundational elements can include: fair and livable base pay; holiday and vacation pay; raises, bonuses and incentives; time-off programs; health and wellness benefits; retirement contribution matches; performance pay; volunteer days; and transportation reimbursement.

Prioritizing a work-life balance demonstrates that you value your people. There is often a connection between work-life balance and both employee performance and job satisfaction, so prioritizing this element of the workplace can create meaningful results. Maintaining a healthy and balanced work environment can reduce stress, prevent burnout, save money and promote a considerate company culture.

Here are some ways to prioritize a work-life balance for employees: offer wellness days; promote health and wellness; establish flexible work hours (where possible); allow remote work opportunities (for office staff, as I do recognize this isn’t an option with our people in the field); provide generous paid time-off programs; and have respectful off-hour communication expectations.
Celebrating accomplishments can keep teams and people engaged, so consider acknowledging both large and small work achievements, like: reaching quarterly sales goals; onboarding new team members; securing new clients or renewing contracts; and successfully implementing new processes and/or systems. You can publicly acknowledge these achievements, highlight them in company-wide communications, share a handwritten thank-you note to employees as a personal and thoughtful gesture, and even post on your social media.

Recognition programs are another way to highlight the exemplary work done by teams or individuals. Consider asking your people what type of recognition they desire most by conducting a company-wide poll.

Investing in your people shows you value them, such as offering professional development opportunities in-house or paying for courses, conferences or tuition reimbursement. Consider sending your teams to Landscape Ontario’s professional development series or enrolling them in the Congress Conference seminars. Cross-training between teams or functions also is a pretty effective and cost efficient way to have people learn and discover new skills.

Formal or casual mentorship programs also offer employees engaging opportunities to give or gain support and guidance.

There are many more ways to make people and teams feel valued. When you put each of these tactics into practice, you’ll benefit from increased productivity and company growth.

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