A RingRang Survival Guide: Surviving the “Great Resignation”

It’s no secret that finding and maintaining talent today is more difficult than ever before. With a Microsoft study showing that 40% of the workforce is considering leaving their current employer within the year, it’s now more important than ever for businesses to focus on what actions they can take to keep their workforce happy and engaged. 

 

With that in mind, we have compiled our first-ever survival guide: Surviving the “Great Resignation”. We have done our research and gathered best practices that you should follow in order to make it through Great Resignation, and come out the other side as a stronger business. 

 

Develop and Maintain a Corporate Culture

If your company does not have a corporate culture, it’s extremely difficult for your employees to feel as though they are truly a part of your company. This not only increases their uncertainty when it comes to their future at your company, but it also prevents them from creating genuine connections that help your business thrive. Furthermore, your corporate culture is the single most important factor your employees use to determine if they like or dislike their job, so this is definitely something that needs to be addressed as a business owner.

 

How can you address this? I’m glad you asked. There are many things that you can do as an employer, but I’m going to only name a few, such as:

  1. Encourage your employees to reach out for help and take initiative as their employer to make sure they are well supported. Employee burnout is a real issue, and with extremely slow hiring cycles due to labour shortages, the burden falls heavily on existing employees. It’s up to employers to break the cycle and set expectations from the start. You can do this by setting hard times for employees to work and encouraging them to step away from all work-related matters after a certain time. Whatever you choose to do, your intention needs to be genuine – corporate policy is one thing; culture and action is another.
  2. Recognize your employees for their contributions. Although you might not be able to physically see them, the recognition they receive will help them feel like a valued member of the team and encourage them to stay. 
  3. Finally, and the most important one in my opinion, trust your employees. Given the lack of transparency during work hours, it’s important that you trust that your employees are doing their work to the best of their abilities. If you micro-manage them, they will feel like you can’t trust them or their judgment.

 

If you follow these steps and feel like there are no significant changes, the best thing to do is ask your employees instead of guessing what they would like. This way, you can collect feedback and gain a genuine understanding of their thought process, which can then help you develop new ways to connect with them! Free tools you can use to facilitate this:

  • Google Forms
  • Survey Monkey
  • Microsoft Teams/Yammer
  • Slack
  • Kahoots

Ensure Wages are Competitive

Compensation is a huge factor driving the large labour shortage. Unfortunately, employers who were underpaying their employees saw the largest departures of talent. Training a new employee is much costlier than retaining an existing employee, and if employees do not feel properly compensated, they will find a place where they are. 

 

Salary is the obvious form of compensation, but in reality, it is just one part of the picture. Employees appreciate an employer with a strong benefits package, both health and personal, as it gives them confidence that their employer is there to make sure that the overall wellbeing of their employees is a priority for them too. 

 

Finally, WFH (working from home), is a big bonus. Employers were terrified pre-pandemic, to let their employees WFH because they couldn’t monitor their employees’ work. This; however, has proved to be a large nonworking with WFH not only boosting productivity, but also adding the benefit of allowing people to adjust their schedules based on their individual circumstances. Whether you have appointments, children, or activities, WFH allows you to not only be productive but allows a flexible schedule. And don’t even get me started on the commute…

 

Outsource Back Office Positions

As mentioned, with the increasing amount of employee turnovers, it’s hard enough to keep revenue-generating positions staffed. This is a great opportunity for employers to revisit their business model and truly embrace the change. The world as we knew it will never be the same, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With increasing advancements in technology and culture, change is inevitable and it is up to us to ensure that the changes positively impact our business and our employees.

 

Back office tasks are often jobs that do not need to be in-house and employers can take great advantage of outsourcing. Outsourcing often gets a bad reputation because it is closely associated with hiring employees internationally for a fraction of the cost, but this is not always the case. There are advantages to both hiring locally and internationally, but sometimes, hiring locally is what you feel is best for your business. This is where a company like RingRang can change your business! 

 

RingRang is proud to say that we hire locally and internationally. Many companies want to hire a receptionist but cannot always afford them, but we make this a very affordable option all without sacrificing the quality of employees. RingRang acts as an extension of your business and makes sure that all your calls are answered with a smile. If that wasn’t enough to convince you, you can try us out for free and we would be happy to help!

5 Ways To Streamline Your Business Operations

1 – Use HubSpot (or another CRM)

  • Why use a CRM: A CRM system is one of the best ways to increase your sales. It allows you to track of your clients and potential clients, and provides useful information in order to close your sales, make necessary follow-ups, or resell to existing clients. In other words, it’s magic!
  • Why use HubSpot: Using an all-in-one service is the best way to keep your head in check. There’s tons of services that offer little bits of each, but at the end of the day, you don’t have time to learn all that.

 

RingRang Tip: Be sure to keep your CRM up-to-date – that way you actually have recent and useful information to make your business decisions.

 

2 – Use Central Cloud Storage

  • Why use central cloud storage: Using a central place where all your files go not only makes it easy for you not to lose important documents, but more importantly, makes it easier for you to share with your staff.
  • Best way to use cloud storage: Put all of your templates or instructions for common everyday tasks in an online folder. That way, when your employees have a question, they have a spot they know they can probably find the answer instead of having to bother you.

RingRang Tip: Take advantage of Google Drive. It’s super easy to use, makes it super easy to share with other people, it’s secure, and best of all, it’s free!

 

3 – Outsource when you can 

  • Why outsource: Every business owner wants to do everything. It’s in our blood to want to be in control. But you need to remind yourself, your time can be spent doing better things that create more value for your business.
  • What should I outsource: Figure out what your core competencies are for your business. In other words, what are you really good at, and how do you create value for your clients? Everything else should be outsourced. For example, if you’re a lawyer, spending time performing repetitive data entry for administration purposes probably isn’t the best use of your time, when you could be billing another client.

RingRang Tip: Finding people to outsource to is not difficult! Check out Kijiji, Fiverr, or even post a part-time job for a high-school or university student! 

4 – Have fewer meetings

  • Why have fewer meetings: According to the Harvard Business Review, 71% of
    managers says meetings are unproductive and 65% say that meetings keep them
    from completing work. So, think twice before booking that meeting – do you really
    need it, or can it be a quick email?

  • But be careful – email overload is an issue too: This seems to contradict the above,
    but email overload is a big issue too. Just because you can now change your
    meetings into an email, doesn’t mean you should spam emails instead.

    • Be mindful in your use of the reply all feature, and only use an email when it’s truly the
      best communication option.

    • If you need to keep several people in the loop, or having many things going at once,
      consider using a messaging platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams. These tools allow
      your team members to keep all their messages in one central location, so they don’t get

5 – Use Virtual Receptionists!

  • Why use a virtual receptionist: If you’re struggling to keep up with your phone, or find too much of your day is going towards dealing with client questions, a virtual receptionist is perfect. They take care of all of your client interactions, so you can focus your time on growing your business.
  • How does it work: You forward your calls directly to a virtual receptionist, and they will answer calls on your behalf. Your clients will have no idea they’re speaking to someone outside of your business. After everything call, the agent can schedule any appointments or send you any follow-up emails, if needed.

RingRang Tip: Use RingRang!