Employee retention is the ability of a company to keep its employees over a longer period of time. Easy to say, but the chaos at German airports last summer due to a lack of ground staff alone showed us how challenging it is to retain employees and motivate them over the long term.

This requires a targeted strategy that is aligned with both employee needs and corporate goals. Effective retention strategies include creating a positive work environment, offering competitive compensation and benefits packages, recognizing and rewarding good performance, and fostering open communication between employees and management – but there are many reasons why employees still leave their jobs, from poor management to lack of development opportunities.

The current Gallup Engagement Index¹ reveals the state of emotional commitment among employees: for every 100 employees in an average company, only 13 people have a high level of emotional commitment. In contrast, 69 people have only a low level of emotional commitment and 18 people have no emotional commitment at all.

This means that the emotional attachment of Germany’s employees to their employer is at its lowest level since 2012.

43% with low attachment and 80% with no attachment plan to change within the next year.

By contrast, if we look at the group who feel strongly committed to their company, 86% still intend to be employed by their current employer in a year’s time, and 68% of those surveyed intend to stay for the next three years.

Thus, as retention increases, the willingness to switch seems to decrease.

If we now take a look at the vacancy time of 145 days for a new position – according to the German Federal Employment Agency² it has increased by 23 days in 2022 compared to the previous year – the dramatic nature of retaining employees becomes even clearer.

Onboarding – in addition to the application process – shapes the first contact between new employees and their manager, team and employer, and thus has a significant impact on further interaction in everyday working life.

Effective onboarding processes are therefore associated with higher job satisfaction, greater employee engagement and lower turnover rates.

It is therefore important for companies to invest time and resources in developing and implementing effective onboarding processes to prepare new employees for their jobs and foster a positive work culture.

It may not be a secret that HR departments are increasingly concerned with issues such as employer branding and onboarding processes – but what about executives?

What is their part in a “good” onboarding and what effect does this have on the employees?

If managers understand the topic of onboarding not as “…that’s our HR’s responsibility”, but instead become aware of their opportunities to influence the development of their employees effectively right from the start, the likelihood of retaining new employees in the longer term increases.

If managers see onboarding as an opportunity, then they can, for example,…..

• Identify problems and sources of interference at an early stage.
• Take action to eliminate them.
• Facilitate good collaboration.
• View probationary period as an opportunity for both sides to identify a lack of fit and draw consequences.

If you look at the trends in employee retention or increasing employer attractiveness, you can’t avoid the megatrend “workation” – the word is a combination of work and vacation and refers to a temporary stay abroad in which phases of professional activity alternate with recovery phases.

According to a recent study by PwC⁴ , younger professionals under the age of 40 in particular often want to work regardless of location – even across borders. In other words, they want greater flexibility that goes well beyond the home office.

Companies will certainly have to deal with the new issues that arise, such as clarification of tax and employment law, but workations are increasingly becoming an effective HR management tool for attracting and retaining employees.