How to retain remote employees: Insights from Thomas’ Research

In the current labour market, more than ever, retaining top talent is business-critical. Our assessments help you to build self-awareness in your organisation so that you can retain the top talent your business needs to succeed.

Remote work comes with a number of new challenges. From navigating workplace culture to collaboration and engagement, HR leaders had to rethink their traditional approach and rebuild for a remote-first world.

Here are five things you need to do:

• Recruit the right people

Poor job fit leads to employee churn, so naturally, making sure you hire the right candidate in the first place is key. Whilst capability, skillset and experience are all important, personality and values are more closely tied to job satisfaction than salary (Gallup). With half of the new hires not working out, according to our research, psychometric assessments can help Hiring Managers predict how well a candidate will perform in the role, avoiding costly churn later.

• Streamline remote onboarding

Nearly a third of new hires leave within the first six months of a new role (HR Daily), so it’s essential to nip any potential problems in the bud by updating your employee onboarding. A Glassdoor survey found that organisations that enhance their onboarding process improve retention by 82% and productivity by 70%, so putting in the work upfront pays dividends.

• Cultivate meaningful connections between co-workers

Research shows that even a 40-second meaningful interaction that shows positive caring for the other person can protect against loneliness and boost connection within teams. Not only will regular social interactions improve retention, but collaboration and productivity will also be enhanced. Informal online social events and initiatives will give employees an opportunity to resolve issues and connect with both their colleagues and the company at a deeper level.

• Proactively manage engagement through the employee-manager relationship

Engagement levels can vary in a remote working environment, depending on individuals’ personalities. For example, more conscientious employees are more likely to have higher job performance, but they could also be at higher risk of burnout because of the extra tasks they have taken on. Cultivate the employee-manager relationship through regular check-ins to make sure that issues are resolved swiftly, and engagement remains high.

• Develop your team

Working from home, especially when faced with challenges beyond your control, such as the effects of COVID, can erode employee resilience and sense of efficacy. Make sure that your team retain a sense of mastery by giving them the right level of responsibility and opportunities to add to their skill set. Career development is crucial for retaining employees in the long term, so revisit career development pathways regularly in one-on-one line manager meetings to minimise employee churn.

In each of these steps, managers and decision-makers can take the support of assessments to better understand their employees.

The role of assessments

Psychometric assessments provide an objective source of rich information about the capabilities and skill gaps within your workforce. They can help to inform hiring, succession and development decisions and provide a means of mapping the talent within your organisation. Start developing your talent pipeline today.

From personality, aptitude, emotional intelligence, behaviour and engagement, each assessment can provide insights into a candidate's potential for success, the key risks for derailment and the traits that can help you provide targeted support to deliver at work.

Behavioural assessments can also provide deep insights into a person’s behavioural preferences, strengths, limitations and communication styles. It not only helps increase self-awareness, but it also provides a vocabulary for discussing nuanced behavioural dynamics.

Start today and give your managers the insights they need to retain their outperformers in the post-pandemic era.

This article is part of a content partnership with Thomas International. You can learn more about psychometric assessments and to see how Thomas can help your organisation hire better, contact an expert here: Contact us | Thomas. co