THE NATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTORY

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Retaining talent is hard, but can training help?

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New Leaf Technologies unpacks retention in retail and how staff development programmes can shift the dynamic

JOHANNESBURG, 23 May 2023 – Retail employees choose to quit their jobs for a number of reasons.

While inadequate compensation for services will always be a big one, many others relate to a lack of personal growth.

Being stuck in a rut, the position consuming too much family time, poor management, or a lack of recognition can all lead to a resignation letter being fired off and an exit interview that is more than a little uncomfortable for the human resources practitioner.

It is a quantifiable fact that employees who do not feel valued or that the work no longer aligns with their own best interests will look for the first exit.

In fact, in North America the phenomenon has even been given a name: the “Big Quit”. A staggering 52% of 2 000 employees surveyed in the US and Canada in 2022 indicated they were on the hunt for new jobs.

With Covid-19 forcing people to work at home, they got a taste of what it was like to spend more time with their families – and that taste subsequently has become an enormous appetite.

Retailers cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand in terms of what has happened, says Paul Hanly, founder of South African online learning solutions provider New Leaf Technologies.

“They need to up their game to create a positive work environment that offers flexible work options, wellness programmes and a supportive culture. People will no longer accept being a number on a payslip; they want their stress levels to be reduced and more quality time with their loved ones. Companies offering this will always be at an advantage.”

A lack of training programmes to upskill staff can also see them packing their bags for good.

“To retain staff, you need to offer them opportunities for career growth and development,” Hanly says.

The importance of Outplacement in a world of Redundancies

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Losing a job is difficult, which is why outplacement services provide guidance, training and job-search strategies for those being retrenched, writes Madge Gibson, head of The Change Initiative.

As economies worldwide struggle with slow growth, businesses will continue to reassess and restructure to stay afloat. It’s safe to say that the process of terminations, layoffs, redundancies, retrenchments and career transitions will continue to be part of our commercial and personal landscapes for some time to come.

What does that mean for Human Resources? With HR sitting securely on the frontline when it comes to terminations and the like, they’re in for a tough time. Employee separations are never fun, fraught as they are with endless meetings, paperwork, consultations and stress. Having dealt with hundreds of HR executives over the years I have yet to meet one that hasn’t described the process as physically and emotionally exhausting.

However, a good outplacement provider can reduce the involvement of and strain on HR, enabling them to get back to business as usual faster.

Three ways to boost employee engagement & productivity

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JOHANNESBURG, May 05, 2023 - With employee engagement at record lows and stress levels at all-time highs, organisations are in a race against time to motivate, support and re-engage their workforce.

Recent studies suggest that the vast majority of employees are not engaged in their work. In response, organisations are exploring new tools and strategies to improve workplace engagement.

Steve Mallaby, CEO at Adumo Payouts, says: "Disengaged employees cost their employers as much as 34% of their annual salary through absenteeism, reduced productivity, and lower profitability. As a result, there is renewed interest in driving greater employee engagement to encourage productivity, with incentives and rewards programmes playing an important role in building greater opportunity cost and renewed engagement."

One study found that more than two-thirds of employees said that being recognised by a boss or manager makes them more engaged with their work.

"Recognition can be a powerful tool for improving employee engagement and productivity," says Mallaby. "Companies with effective employee recognition programs have significantly lower staff turnover rates. The key is to provide frequent and meaningful recognition, and to link rewards to clear goals or objectives.”

Mallaby works with South African organisations to provide an instant pay-out mechanism for employee incentives and rewards programmes that improve job satisfaction, boost motivation, and drive higher productivity through positive reinforcement.

He provides three ways South African organisations can improve employee engagement in the workplace:

Improving staff training in the retail environment requires specific focus and attention to detail

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Some tips and tricks to consider
3 May 2023 – The retail industry is not for the faint-hearted.

Keeping customers happy every minute of the working day is hard but must be done if a business is to succeed.

Gone are the days when employees can get away with letting others pick up the slack; today anyone who fails to know every detail of the products on offer will quickly be found out and, worse still, see their company torn apart in a social media feeding frenzy.

Just as thorough knowledge of goods and services is required, so too is attention to detail when it comes to staff training, particularly in respect of specific product training such as might be seen in the health and wellness sector.

Philip Hanly, director at South African online learning provider New Leaf Technologies, believes the greatest skills training needs in the retail industry include customer service, sales, product knowledge and digital literacy.

“With the rise of e-commerce and online shopping, employees need to be equipped with the necessary skills to operate digital tools and platforms, communicate effectively with customers online, and handle customer inquiries and complaints. Employers can rest easy knowing that their employees have these skills.”

When does a Job Applicant become an Employee?

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You can be an employee before you start work!

BY lvan lsraelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or via e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Go to: www.labourlawadvice.co.za. This article first appeared in The Star.

South Africa’s labour law statutes do not deal with the situation where a job applicant has been offered the job but, before starting work, is told that he/she has no longer got the job. This is a serious gap in the legislation for a job applicant may who have resigned from his/her old job on receiving the offer of the new job. On hearing that the new job is no more he/she will have lost both the old and new jobs and be without a livelihood.

Neither the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) nor the EEA nor the Labour Relations Act (LRA) shed any light on the recourse of a person who finds him/herself in this unenviable situation. Historically, the view has been that one is not an employee until he/she starts working and can therefore not use the labour dispute resolution system to take the employer to task.