How to Avoid Losing Staff in the New Year

Ordinarily, around 15% of people will make finding a new job one of their New Year's resolutions and January typically sees more traffic on recruitment websites and job boards than any other month.

Plus it's often bleak outside, dark early and there's a social lull after December's festivities, leaving people more time to get their CVs updated and mull over all that's wrong with their current role.

But in 2023 this number is likely to be far greater.

As businesses continue to adapt, some poorly, to new working conditions post-pandemic, many long-standing employees are now reaching out to recruitment agencies to find an environment that suits them better, for a salary that can cover their climbing bills.

So how do you stop your staff from getting in touch with us?

Communicate your vision for 2023

The better staff can understand the vision for next year and how you intend to achieve it, the easier it is for them to get excited by their future with the business. Even if it looks like a tough year ahead, share your plan - the team will have sensed if things aren't going well and by addressing the issue you'll show you have the leadership and the plan to take them out the other side.

Make it relevant at a personal level

Even in small companies, employees can feel a disconnect with the business if nobody explains what the organisation's plans mean for them. While the big picture remains important, helping relate it to their individual roles hugely improves staff loyalty. It may be an office refurb to improve the environment, training, opportunities for promotion or simply the reassurance that their role will still exist - whatever it is, communication makes people feel "part" of the organisation.

Take a 'pulse check' of the company through informal 1:1s

Some businesses wind down over Christmas. If yours does then use this breathing space to organise informal catch-ups to understand how engaged individual staff are and what you can do to improve that. For others, Christmas is the busiest time of year so schedule something for the calm after the storm so employees can see that you are looking to engage with them.

Send staff away on a high

As staff go away over Christmas to a supposed time of cheer (and we hope it is), make sure they leave feeling appreciated. Thank them for their work and the impact they have made over the last year and help them look forward to what 2023 could hold for you working together.

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Clare Wight is the founder and Managing Director of Clarity Appointments, an independent recruitment specialist. She served as a Regional Director for The Employment Agents Movement, supporting other independent recruiters.

She remains an active member of Recconnect (formerly Members Only), a recruitment leadership network promoting high ethical standards, collaboration, diversity, equity and inclusion.

She believes business owners are more fulfilled and higher-performing when they provide emotional and professional business support to other business owners, even those they deem to be competitors. She does this actively, whilst challenging and updating her skills and knowledge of the recruitment sector, enabling her to offer the best advice to firms looking to make their next hire.