KVA
15th March 2022
Hannah Ridgley, Director of Culture & Kindness

The great migration to companies that care

It's a well-known fact in our industry, and beyond, that recruitment is tough at the moment – business is booming, there are team vacancies across all departments of almost every agency and companies outside healthcare marketing too. So, where are all the candidates? And good quality candidates? We're not talking about experience per se, skills can be taught – and we’re a strong believer that mindset, attitude, enthusiasm and proactivity are the key skills we need to be looking for in our new recruits.

When you think of multibillion dollar companies such as Amazon and Google, you think of a fast-paced environment, topped off with amazing offices, slides, ball pits and an array of team perks. So why does Amazon lose over a third of its employees each year?

Some think that it’s due to the pandemic and 45% of employees working from home, as changing jobs remotely is a whole lot easier and less daunting.  Many people believe that the only way to move up their desired career path is by moving companies every year or so, and with only 11% of companies offering career progression programs, this is not exactly surprising.

There are also shockingly low numbers of companies who are actually asking their employees to feedback on their employers and their offerings, salaries, benefits, ways of working etc – only 13% of those companies surveyed do this. So how do these companies know how they are doing, how much employees want change and how to go about it?

It’s really not rocket science, at KVA we send out quarterly culture surveys, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, a simple anonymous Google Form will do. But the insights you gain – wow!

A quick 5 minutes out of each employee’s day, every 3 months, allows you to gain accurate, honest feedback from each and every person on your team. Making it anonymous is even better – companies shouldn’t be scared of this feedback. So many companies put employee well-being and building a positive, supportive culture to the bottom of their priority list, deemed as ‘not urgent’ – but is there anything more important than retaining your team – your biggest asset? I think not.

As many of you will know, at KVA we pride ourselves on our inclusive, nurturing, fully flexible – working from anywhere, any time (Newcastle, Wales, Japan, you name it) – environment.

We’re proud to see that we’re inspiring other companies to follow suit, and with US companies spending up to 32% of their payroll on employee benefits around flexibility, healthcare and education – we’re sure that the rest of the world will follow.

So, the next time one your employees hands in their notice – just think, have you supported them in the best way possible, in their work and home life? Have you adapted their role to their strengths and given them a clear progression plan? Have you rewarded them accordingly, both with their salary, bonuses but also positive and constructive feedback? If you haven’t, then maybe think again...