The Great Resignation has seen employees quit their jobs in staggering numbers, either moving on to higher paying, more fulfilling opportunities to start their own business, or taking some time off for other priorities and projects. This has led to record-low unemployment rates along with difficulty attracting skilled talent and critical knowledge gaps in organisations. In Australia and New Zealand, the unemployment rates currently sit at the historically low levels of 3.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.
Not only do vacating employees reduce corporate knowledge across an organisation, but the understanding of a company’s processes and systems can deteriorate without proper handovers and training. This can leave new hires feeling frustrated, which also increases the risk that a new hire may leave the organisation prematurely. To minimise the risks presented to companies as a result of the great resignation, companies should focus on addressing not only their staff retention strategies but also their systems handover and training processes.
Maintaining corporate knowledge
According to Aberdeen Research, 71 per cent of companies don’t have a formal handover process in place. Further, a company’s software systems can only deliver maximum value if it’s fully understood and utilised. For finance and accounting professionals who rely on software systems to realise efficiencies and drive value, inadequate training is frustrating and lowers job satisfaction. This is especially true for systems such as lease accounting software, which can deliver far-reaching benefits when its full functionality is understood and used.
At a minimum, companies should establish standardised handover and training processes to provide a positive onboarding experience. A thorough onboarding process may include a handover from the employee who is leaving along with time for the new hire to work alongside the departing employee to ensure effective knowledge sharing and on-the-job training.
The software vendor should also play a role in supporting new employees to fully understand and utilise its solutions. This starts at the procurement stage, where a company should ensure that the vendor’s team is available for expert support at all stages of the customer’s journey. For example, when there is staff turnover, your vendor should be a reliable resource for training and support that isn’t solely reliant on internal company knowledge. Further, when a company can deal with experts from within the vendor’s company, they receive tailored support and may discover functionality that the organisation wasn’t aware of or using previously.
Driving staff retention
Effective staff retention is critical in a tight labour market. There has been a lot of information on what can help this process, but an often overlooked area is providing the latest equipment and devices available to make employee’s jobs both easier and more appealing. Leasing assets such as mobile phones, laptops, and printers allows companies to access only the devices they need at the time when it’s needed.
This provides a range of benefits, including:
- equipping employees with the latest technology
- efficient set ups for hybrid and remote working environments
- a reduction in surplus devices sitting unused in storage
- a smaller environmental footprint through effective end-of-lease processes
- decreased capital expenditure.
By providing the latest technology and equipment, companies address the “social” component of ESG through taking proactive steps to ensure their company is a great place to work while giving their people the tools they need to be productive and successful in their roles. Similarly, the contribution that leasing makes to lowering environmental impacts caused by issues such as e-waste allows a company to establish or improve their ESG approach in a measurable way.
Make sure you get the most value from your vendors
While the great resignation is presenting a range of challenges, it also provides an opportunity for companies to improve their approach to attracting and retaining talent. From standardised handover processes to taking steps to give people the latest devices, there are a number of ways that companies can address skills and talent shortages.
Quadrent’s local team of LOIS consultants are CA-qualified and take the time to train and advise companies on best practices for its lease accounting process. Not only is this valuable during a software implementation, but we can also provide support with system training and handover to ensure seasoned and new talent get the most value possible out of your lease accounting systems.
In addition, Quadrent’s leasing experts can help with the transition to leasing and ensuring your company’s equipment is both efficient and effective to ensure a happier, more engaged workforce.
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