How to Retain your Talents this Chinese New Year

After every Chinese New Year, the job market in the region experiences a surge in job movements. Are you busy with more than getting rid of old items in your household? Is your current job one of your “unwanted” things?

It is the time when companies are giving out their performance bonuses or additional Ang Paos (red packets). However, the showcase of appreciation for the employees’ achievement in the past year might come too late.  

With 2 out of 3 Singaporeans dreading to go to work daily according to Qualtrics, what can companies do to decrease the yearly attrition?

“Contrary to what many employers believe, the results have shown that personal relationships at work are valued over offering pay increments to employees that may only provide a temporary increase in job satisfaction,” said Foo Mao Gen, head of Southeast Asia at Qualtrics.

3 KEY DRIVERS FOR STAFF RETENTION

Qualtrics lists these three key drivers for job satisfaction and staff retention in the region:

  • Confidence in the company’s senior leadership team and a
  • Helpful manager in resolving work-related issues  
  • Opportunity for learning and development

We are in the Skills Business. We know that the opportunity to learn and grow plays a pivotal role in today’s candidate-driven market. As Josh Bershin formulates it:

Bersin_Engagement
“Companies are now realizing that employees are thirsty for skills.

In LinkedIn’s most recent study of corporate learning, the #1 reason an employee would consider leaving their company is an inability to learn and grow. And when asked what information they need to become even more engaged and productive at work, the biggest question these employees have is “what skills does my company need the most (72%)” followed immediately by “skills to become a better leader (70%).” And 64% want skills that will “improve their chances of promotion.”

Accordingly, I prepared a list of inspiring reads as food for thought around these three key drivers. I encourage you to take the extra time during Chinese New Year to read through Josh Bersin’s groundbreaking e-book. It is published by our partner CrossKnowledge: Accelerating Business Growth: Corporate Learning as a Business Strategy.

HOW TO PREVENT THE POST CNY RESIGNATIONS

Employee leaving job

CEO at EngageRocket stated that the CNY exodus reflects the transactional nature that many companies have with their employees.

“When companies do not effectively engage employees, it’s easy for them to do the rational thing: leave for someone who’ll pay them more right after extracting the maximum payoff they can get from their current firm,” he said. Read about the three main reasons for the lack of engagement.

TO IMPROVE YOUR TEAM, FIRST WORK ON YOURSELF

Teams are complex systems of individuals with different preferences, skills, experiences, perspectives, and habits. The odds of improving that complex system in a meaningful and sustainable way are higher if every team member — including the leader — learns to master these three foundational capabilities: internal self-awareness, external self-awareness, and personal accountability.

ACCELERATING BUSINESS GROWTH: CORPORATE LEARNING AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY – BY JOSH BERSIN

Corporate Training

Among the highest performing companies in the study, MIT and Deloitte found that 73% of employees in these companies are updating their skills every six months and 44% updating them continuously. In other words, today’s successful companies are those who learn fast, learn well, and learn all the time.

BONUS: THE POWER OF APPRECIATION

In this humorous and thought-provoking talk at TEDxBellevue, Mike talks about “The Power of Appreciation.” As Mike discusses, there is an important distinction between “recognition” and “appreciation.” Leaders, teams, organizations, and individuals who understand this distinction can have much more impact, meaning, and productivity in their lives and with the people around them. He also discusses important research in the field of positive psychology that exemplifies the importance of appreciation.

ABOUT TIMEO-PERFORMANCE

We were founded with a vision to improve the world of work for everyone.  

Timeo-Performance has been helping companies assess, build and develop teams and talents in APAC since 2008. As Recruitment, Training and Business & HR Performance experts, our priority is to help you grow and succeed. By understanding your culture, organization and objectives, we can deliver outstanding results crafted for you. We strive to bring innovative and integrated solutions and best practices with our selected partners: Akteos (intercultural management), CrossKnowledge (digital learning) and more.

THE AUTHOR

Isabelle Larche

Managing Director, Recruitment & Executive Search at Timeo-Performance

Isabelle is a Human Performance expert, with over 10 years of professional recruitment experience, and 15 years of Business Management Consulting experience. Isabelle is the Vice President of the French Chamber of Commerce and Trade Counsellor (Singapore Chapter) to the French Embassy.

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