How employers are attracting and retaining employees

Long story short: Why should your employees stay?

November 12, 2021 10:49 AM

As the end of the year approaches, employers are working hard to ensure that the workforce they have now is one they'll get to keep.

With more than 40% of employees currently searching for new roles, employers are offering higher salaries and raises, more flexible work schedules, and in-demand benefits like student loan assistance and early wage access.

Without these benefits, employees feel underappreciated and under-compensated, especially when compared to their CEOs. Data from Lensa found that Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Chipotle have the largest wage gaps between top brass and employees. With so many options for work now open, employees need a compelling reason to stay. What will yours be?

See how these top employers are answering that question and more from our top stories this week:

Employers are focused on the great resignation, but what about the employees who stick around?

The great resignation has put employees in the driver’s seat when it comes to the battle for talent. Organizations are willing to offer unique benefits to attract new workers, but existing employees who remain with their employer want to know what they’re getting in return for their loyalty.

Fifty-eight percent of the organizations surveyed by SHRM say that beyond normal yearly wage increases, they are offering higher starting salaries than last year. Forty-two percent of HR professionals who said their organization has seen higher turnover in the past six months also said their organization has added new remote work options to reduce turnover; 32% have increased employee referral bonuses; and 28% have introduced new or additional merit increases.

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Employers are focused on the great resignation, but what about the employees who stick around?

Macy’s invests in education benefit, ups worker minimum wage

Retail giant Macy’s has partnered with Guild Education, an education benefits provider, to help its U.S. workers pay for tuition, books and fees for a variety of academic programs including high school completion, college prep, English classes, associate and bachelor’s degrees and professional certificates.

Macy’s education benefit will become available in February of 2022, and will be accessible via a web portal where employees can browse the different programs available and receive personalized coaching and support throughout their education journey. Macy’s has also announced it will raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour for all new and existing employees. The retailer has already done so in some U.S. markets and expects a national rollout by May of 2022.

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Macy’s invests in education benefit, ups worker minimum wage

Hourly workers want expanded benefits post-pandemic — or they’ll walk

A third of hourly employees said they would switch jobs in order to receive more comprehensive benefits, according to data by financial services company Netspend. Fifty-eight percent of hospitality workers — an employee demographic with a high percentage of hourly workers — say that they are planning to quit their jobs before the end of 2021, according to Joblist’s most recent quarterly U.S. Job Market Report.

Losing those employees is costly: employers spend $4k to replace and rehire, so it’s critical business leaders respond to the demands and needs of their workforce with new resources, tools and a unique understanding of what flexibility means for this population.

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Hourly workers want expanded benefits post-pandemic — or they’ll walk

10 companies with the biggest wage gaps between CEOs and employees

A disproportionate pay scale between a CEO and their average employee can be counterproductive and can unmotivate workers who might feel disgruntled or unfairly compensated. In an effort to put wage ranges into perspective, a recent survey by career insight company Lensa has taken a deep dive into the salaries paid to the CEOs of 100 of the biggest companies in the U.S., as they compare to the average wage of an employee (including salaried, part-time and hourly workers).

Coca-Cola had the biggest CEO wage gap, the survey found. The beverage company’s chief executive James Quincey earns an annual salary of $1.6 million a year, while the average employee is paid $11,342 a year — creating a supersized gap of 14.007%.

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10 companies with the biggest wage gaps between CEOs and employees