How to improve employee engagement and retention

As more employees look for opportunities to pivot, grow, and stretch within their current organisations, the development of talent and internal mobility are key for organisations to improve engagement and retention.

According to Cornerstone People Research Lab and Lighthouse Research & Advisory’s new report, titled, Ready, Set, Grow: The Building Blocks for High-Impact Talent Mobility, 73% of employees today are interested to learn about career opportunities within their organisations. Those who lack visibility to internal career opportunities are nearly three times more likely to say they would not be interested in other job roles within the organisation.

Career mobility also creates a direct correlation to improved employee retention, as employees who have no visibility into internal career opportunities are 61% more likely to quit their jobs. Over half of the employees believe that having the opportunity to explore other career opportunities internally would increase their likelihood of staying in the job.

Lastly, employees indicated that visibility is a crucial component of employee satisfaction with 47% saying they would be more satisfied with their work if they were given greater opportunities to explore careers within the organisation.

Himanshu Palsule, CEO of Cornerstone, said, “People want to grow. They want the freedom and skills to take on new challenges in the workplace. Employers who aren’t providing their people with access and visibility are missing a key opportunity to build deeper connections and maintain relationships with their high performers.”

READ: Engage, retain, and attract employees – by design

The study also highlighted several connections between an employee’s sense of belonging, their development, and their employee-manager relationship. For instance, employees who feel a strong sense of belonging are more interested in all aspects of learning, whether it be for their current or future jobs or personal interest that may not affect their job. In contrast, employees with a low sense of belonging are twice as likely to say they would not consider other roles in the organisation.