In recent years, employee engagement, training and development as well as employee branding have become keywords in corporate culture.
But only few understand how to really engage their staff and show them a growth perspective. Most organizations still believe this topic is overrated and leave the so-called "happiness factor" to unconventional organizations such as Apple or Tesla.
After all people are replaceable, - they think- and obviously to a certain degree that is true.
In today’s challenging economic climate, many people are seeking for a job and are readily available and willing to compromise. But replacing an employee that has left your organization, costs you 6 times more than retaining one. In fact, the highest cost companies in the Middle East have, are labor costs and those related to a high attrition rate.
A healthy company will not cross an employee fluctuation rate of 15%, a very well managed organization will achieve values below. Only those with internal issues cross the 20% mark.
Shockingly the average employee fluctuation rate in the GCC amounts to 32% and is forecasted to grow.
If your organization falls within the last bracket, the red light should be on.
Not only are funds for visas, the onboarding process, training, etc. wasted, but your brand will not be represented well. With such a high employee turnover, there won’t be a decent customer journey and your end-consumers will experience disappointing service levels which in return will lead to a loss of sales.
No matter what your industry of business is, people management is the most important aspect. After all, we are all people and we deal with people. Period.
Most C-level executives believe their problems are a complex mix of lack of innovation, economic challenges, high product or food costs, and so on, but not a single one speaks about the elephant in the room: the cost an unhappy labour force brings with them.
Possibly because it is an unpleasant topics, and most do not know how to tackle such a problem.
I truly believe people still have not understood the impact of unhappy employees and for that matter neither understood the direct effect of happy people on their bottom line.
It is time to re-think, not just to finally opt the customer service up and increase your sales, but also to become more caring and genuine.
Happy People, happy selling!