What are the biggest Employee Recruitment & Retention Challenges In 2023?

2022 was, unsurprisingly, a difficult year for businesses across multiple sectors.

Not only were many businesses still struggling to get to their feet following the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising cost of living saw profits and client interest plummet while expenses skyrocketed. In fact, a record number of businesses closed during this period. 

One of the biggest emergent challenges in the past 12 months was within the world of recruitment and retention. For example, a recent study found that “more than three-quarters (77%) of businesses have had problems finding and keeping employees.” 

As employees are the undisputed backbone of any business, recruitment and retention issues can prove to be problematic. Not only are you missing out on vital skills, but remaining employees must pick up the slack when a position is unfilled. Furthermore, an empty seat in your office can cost a lot of money.

Image Credit: Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash

With that in mind, it's important that you approach the new year with an understanding of the challenges you may face when it comes to sourcing and retaining top talent. This way, you’re able to weather the storm with confidence - and a team of skilled employees behind you. 

Challenge One: Quiet Quitting

Quiet Quitting is the latest employment trend to appear on the radar of employers across the world. This is a trend where employees carry out the bare minimum work each day - doing tasks that are detailed in their job description and nothing more. According to Forbes, “this trend is starting to alarm executives and HR professionals who are concerned about employee engagement in the face of a recession.” 

It's crucial that employers do not underestimate the impact of quiet quitting on their workforce. While it may not seem like a pressing issue, given that employees are still showing up and getting the work done, it often limits productivity and efficiency within the workplace. When employees are no longer willing to go above and beyond, customer satisfaction could also dwindle. 

Of course, it's also important that employers are able to understand the breadth of the issue. Employees are not quite quitting for the sake of it or out of laziness, it's because they feel in some way undervalued or overworked. To put it simply, they are disengaging for a reason, and it's your responsibility to uncover and resolve it. For example, you could ensure that staff is paid more for tasks/duties that were not in their original contract or that you better delegate your workload. 

Lack of engagement

Unfortunately, quiet quitting is not the only form of disengagement that can hurt your business. After all, when employees are not engaged, they are less focused and more likely to make mistakes. As other team members often have to pick up the slack when another employee quietly quits, this could also lead to tension and impact their ability to work effectively as a team.

As such, employers must be aware of the signs of a disengaged workforce so that they can get them back on the right track again. More often than not, promoting heightened workplace engagement often comes down to improving the 

employee experience. For example, you could use sites such as Motiviosity to develop a recognition and rewards plan that shows your team just how much you value their efforts - and encourages them to work harder. 

Rewarding your employees when they succeed will also create a more positive and supportive workplace culture - which is important when you consider the fact that “toxic company culture is the No. 1 reason workers quit their jobs in 2022.” 

Engagement within the workplace can also be improved by reducing the amount of burnout employees experience. While some times may be more stressful than others, employees should not feel stressed or anxious on a daily basis. It not only harms their mental health but their ability to get their work done. Thankfully, you can combat burnout in many ways - through better delegation, teamwork, or even automating certain tasks that are otherwise time-consuming. Many business owners have also found that outsourcing certain tasks can also reduce burnout.

The Great Resignation

The Great Resignation, or the Big Quit, was one of the most pressing challenges of the previous year. It impacted every single industry, as even the White House reported record-high turnover rates. As such, it's important that employers are prepared for a similar scenario moving forward, especially as 46% of workers plan to get a new job in 2023.

Firstly, employers should work to prevent an onslaught of resignations by working to improve employee satisfaction rates. Simply put, they must be given a reason to stick around - whether this is a financial incentive or the opportunity for professional growth and development. 

However, now is also the perfect time to enhance your recruitment strategies so that you’re able to attract top talent moving forward. Remember, 46% of the workforce quitting means 46% of people are also actively looking for work. This means you can fill vacancies with some of the country’s leading talent - so long as you approach recruitment in the right way. 

Whenever an employee leaves, try to host a simple exit interview with them prior to their departure. During this time, encourage them to speak candidly about their experiences with your business or under your management - so you are aware of any mistakes you may have made. This way, you can reduce the chances of the same mistakes being made repeatedly, thus improving your retention rates. 

Final Thoughts

Having prior knowledge of the trends and challenges taking the world of recruitment (and retention) by the storm can help you put your best foot forward. This is because you’ll be able to put preventative measures in place to reduce the chances of you losing valuable members of your team. 

You’ll also be able to use this knowledge to keep your employees happy and engaged, which will not only reduce the amount of staff you lose in the year but also make it easier to welcome new and exciting talent to your team.

(Disclaimer: Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)