Human resources (HR) is one of the most critical departments in any company. Leadership in HR plays a particularly important part in facilitating company-wide policy changes. Not only are these professionals tasked with implementing these policies, but it’s up to them to maintain a high intent to stay among their team as they adjust to these changes.
In this article, we will discuss the crucial role leaders play in preventing employee turnover during significant company changes, such as HR policy overhauls. To wrap things up, we will then cover some effective HR leadership strategies for retaining employees in the face of change.
The Role of Leadership in HR for Preventing Turnover
Proper leadership in HR is critical to keeping your team running effectively. Part of this business strategy is maintaining the talent you’ve worked hard to acquire or cultivate.
Sometimes, people struggle in the face of change, so as a leader, it is your role to shepherd your team through the next phase for your company. This has become especially important as many companies are overhauling their HR policies.
For example, some companies are changing the work-from-home policies they implemented during the pandemic and have decided to require their teams to work in person.
Naturally, some people resist this change, and 28% of employees would consider resigning before returning to the office. It’s up to HR to manage and facilitate these changes so their employees don’t leave for another organisation.
6 Ways HR Leaders Can Prevent Employee Turnover
Now that you better understand the role of leadership in HR in maintaining a high intent to stay when policies are reimagined, let’s look at some ways that your HR team can take charge and prevent employee turnover when there are significant company changes.
1. Check In with Your Team
The simplest way to maintain a high intent to stay is to create space for employees to discuss how they feel about policy changes. By giving people the opportunity to air their grievances and make suggestions, you can develop an accurate understanding of how your HR policy changes affect your team.
Strong leaders understand that open communication is most valuable when action is taken based on the information that has been gathered.
2. Include Employee-First Policies
Sometimes, HR can get tricky since the role of leaders in this department is to protect the company while also protecting the workforce. It requires balancing a fine line between the interests of both parties.
However, it’s wise to incorporate employee-first policies if you want to prevent people from seeking other employment opportunities.
The easiest way to put people first with your HR policies is to ensure that your compensation and benefit plans are competitive. Be sure to check in regularly to ensure that your compensation and benefits packages are on par with industry standards and include plenty of PTO, education stipends, retirement plans, and so forth.
Putting your employees first makes them feel appreciated and well-represented by your HR leaders.
3. Promote Work-Life Balance
Policy changes can be highly stressful to some employees, especially if they directly affect their day-to-day operations or personal circumstances. Promoting work-life balance is vital to avoid burnout and further frustration.
While creating a company culture that supports work-life balance is key, it is worth pushing the idea a little more as people work to navigate the changes you’re making.
For example, if you require your team to work in person after they were used to working remotely, consider closing the office for a day so the team can take a mental health day to reset before such a drastic change to their routine.
4. Offer Education Opportunities
Offering education incentives is a great way to retain employees who may be discouraged by HR policy changes. Many companies invest in team members who decide to further their education.
In addition to paying for employees to further their education, you should consider offering employee training tools and courses that target communication skills, time management, and other crucial skills that employees can use at work and beyond.
5. Listen to Those Who Leave
If some people have already expressed that they will be leaving due to HR policy changes, make sure you schedule an exit interview to understand which specific changes triggered their departure.
In your exit interview, you should ask about the person’s favourite and least favourite aspects of the job. Ask why they are leaving, and if it has to do with the policy changes, ask if they can pinpoint a specific part of the changes that pushed them to leave.
Leave some time at the end of the interview to open the floor to any comments, questions, or suggestions.
6. Invest in Leadership Development
The strength of your HR leadership team is critical in navigating change. In addition to pouring into your team, it’s worth investing in leadership training programmes to help your leaders hone everything from their soft skills to technical skills to better equip them for the job.
Influential leaders must demonstrate adaptability, transparency, and empathy while ensuring their team members feel valued and secure during transition periods.
By fostering open communication and aligning organisational changes with employees’ needs and aspirations, leaders not only help retain talent but also their leadership development competencies.
Embracing their pivotal role enables HR leaders to boost employee morale and trust during policy shifts. This cultivates resilience, enhances decision-making skills, and reinforces their capacity to inspire and maintain loyalty within their teams.
Final Thoughts
As a human resources manager, it’s important to understand effective strategies for adequately guiding your team through change. Your ability to step up in these times will determine your employees’ eagerness to stay on board or jump ship for another opportunity.
As policies change, remember that you’re dealing with real people who live real lives outside of work. Changes to the policies that worked well with their lifestyles may cause various feelings to arise, and it’s essential to support them as your organisation settles into a new normal.
Author: Guillaume Deschamps – Content Manager, Wordable.io & PR Manager, uSERP.
Photo credit: StockCake
