These days, if there’s one thing that nearly every organization can agree on, it’s that the struggle is real for attracting and retaining top-notch talent.
As more baby boomers retire, the skilled labor gap widens. And as more millennials enter the workforce, it’s no longer prudent to assume a hefty paycheck is how you can hook current and future workers. Furthermore, with the unemployment rate for college graduates at just 2.5%, job seekers have the ability to play the field.
Of course, this means senior executives across departments are looking for new recruiting and retention strategies to keep business running and growing. But creating a workplace that can effectively attract and retain top talent isn’t a one-person job. It’s not even a one-department job. It takes teamwork.
But beware of unintentionally benching your EHS pros as you seek a solution. They bring real-world expertise in creating great workplaces to the field and can be key strategic partners as you seek a winning solution.
Are you ready to team up with your EHS department to transform your workplace and tackle the talent shortage? Learn why you should be saying: “Game on!”
EHS Professionals Are Major Players In the Employee Engagement Game
EHS program success is rooted in developing a culture of health and safety in the workplace. Seasoned EHS pros know that engaged employees are safe employees. The reason is simple: If employees aren’t invested in their job, they won’t be invested in the future of the company. In fact, according to Gallup’s 2017 “State of the American Workplace” report, highly engaged workers experience 41% lower absenteeism, 70% fewer safety incidents, and 40% fewer quality defects.
Folks, it all begins — and ends — with effective employee engagement. But don’t reach for the company-wide survey just yet, though. Leaders in employee engagement understand that limiting their base strategy to surveys and metrics alone can hinder well-intentioned engagement efforts. That’s because employee engagement should be a mindset, not a program that starts and stops in a periodic push for greater productivity.
Ultimately, most of the engagement strategies currently employed should be replaced with continuous efforts to improve work conditions, career development, and employee empowerment. EHS departments can leverage many of the same strategies they use to drive EHS culture and sustainability initiatives forward such as defining clear goals, gaining meaningful insights from key stakeholders, leading by example, and recognizing active participation.
The goal of a well-run EHS department isn’t just to create a safe place where employees can come to work, but an equally safe space for voicing opinions, concerns, and ideas — something the workers of today are on the lookout for.
Your Company’s Commitment to EHS Can Be a Powerful Marketing Play
By the time your next potential hire walks in for their first interview, they’ve Googled you, read your online reviews, talked to their friends about you, and gone on your website. That means they have impressions about you: who you are, how you operate, and what you value. And whether they know it or not, they already have expectations of you.
It’s not enough to double down on employee engagement. You need to ensure that the rest of your company has the knowledge and ability to express your common values, passions, and purpose in alignment with your brand identity.
EHS teams play a leading role in creating engaging work environments — from ensuring employee comfort and safety with ergonomics to running employee wellness programs. Their intimate knowledge of your workplace and expertise can provide key insights to help you tell the story about what it’s like to work for the company, elevating your company’s reputation for providing a happy, healthy, and safe environment that anyone would want to work in.
Teams That Work Together, Tackle the Talent Shortage Together
As the old saying goes: There’s no “I” in “team.” If you want to build and retain your workforce, put your EHS team in your starting lineup. If you’re still weighing your options, rather than asking what you stand to gain through EHS collaboration, consider what you may lose.
EHS professionals are dedicated to creating safe and productive workplace cultures. As a result, they’re natural fits for helping you define, craft, and tell a story that can win prospective new hires and keep current employees on your team.
Speaking of keeping workers happy and productive, learn why ergonomics should be a priority in lower-risk environments.
