Mis à jour le 18 juillet 2023
A good employee wants to leave your company. Here’s how to keep them… or nurture their post-employment experience.
The current average tenure of a job is just over four years. It is therefore essential to positively nurture your employees’ post-employment experience.
There are many reasons for leaving a job: inadequate salary, uncompetitive benefits, lack of recognition, limited advancement prospects or simply a desire for something new. In this period of significant labour shortage, it is more important than ever to take care of the relationship with your employees, including those who may leave you for other opportunities.
Talk to your employee
It is in your best interest to meet with the employee early and open a discussion. Whether or not you are trying to retain the employee, you need to understand their reasons for leaving the organization. You will need to show a degree of openness during the discussion so that the employee will share with you the reasons that led to this decision. This is particularly important if you want to do the right things to encourage them to stay with your organization.
In fact, salary is rarely the only reason given. Of course, if your organization is not competitive in this area, you risk losing other employees. However, there are other factors that contribute to a positive employee experience and strengthen their emotional connection to the organization: schedule flexibility, open management, enjoying the work, etc.
For example, for some, working from home is a key driver that allows them to enjoy their personal lives while being productive and engaged.
Another important consideration is the relationship with their manager. If employees do not feel that they are treated with respect, if they feel that they are in a toxic work environment, they will quickly lose any emotional connection with the employer.
However, you have to be careful and strike a balance between trying to retain employees and meeting all of their requests because of concerns about the labour shortage. This could cause some unfairness to other employees and the problem could grow. Take time to think, talk to your managers.
Keep the door open
You can also keep the door open, telling them that they can contact you if they’re not happy with their new job. Who knows, maybe there will be a position for them in the future?
As for an employee who is being let go, that’s a whole other situation. The best thing you can do in this case is to proceed with respect and meet with the employee to explain the reasons for the dismissal. They say there is no right way to fire an employee, but there are wrong ways… You have to be diplomatic.
Conduct exit interviews
Exit interviews can provide valuable information about employees’ views of your business and help you determine if your employee retention strategies need to be improved. You need to make employees feel that you are not taking their departure lightly. If they leave on a respectful note, they are more likely to speak highly of the organization. They will not hesitate to recommend you to their friends and family.
You can also take advantage of employee departures to ask your managers to meet with their team to take stock of the situation. Of course, in a large organization, where there are more departures because of the greater number of employees, you don’t necessarily have to go through this process every time. However, it is something that should not be neglected.
Pay attention to the exit process
When building a strong employer brand, you need to work on all aspects of the employee relationship, from the recruitment process to the end of employment, including all stages related to hiring (training, respectful management, working conditions, etc.).
The termination process is often neglected. However, it is an integral part of the employee experience. This is a factor that can help you maintain a good brand image and attract talented personnel who will bring added value to your entity.
12 Jul 2022 | Written by :
Clara Demers is your expert in management consulting at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. Contact her...
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Updated on May 3, 2023
Whether it’s to achieve the goals you have in mind or because a growth opportunity arises, you need to think strategically.
Your growth strategy must be consistent with your business objectives. You need a plan to adapt to the current context and equip yourself with the means to anticipate your clients’ changing needs.
Technology has to play a part in this strategic plan and be carefully thought out to achieve your goals. This will ensure that you are ready to seize opportunities as they arise.
It’s not about following a rigid plan, it’s about putting guidelines and mechanisms in place to get there by identifying key priorities for action. You need to ensure that your business and the underlying technology can evolve with market needs. Metrics in your plan will track results on an ad hoc basis and allow you to adjust quickly if necessary.
Automating management and distribution functions
Companies are currently facing a significant labour shortage in all sectors, which can slow down their activities or even hinder their growth. In order to increase your production capacity while avoiding this obstacle, you should automate certain tasks to improve monitoring of the various stages of your activities, from design to distribution.
By centralizing your management and production processes and using artificial intelligence, you can analyze data in real time and adjust your workflow accordingly. You will be able to respond much more efficiently to the demand for your products and services, thereby increasing your production and reaching vaster or more specific clienteles.
By optimizing your processes, you will anticipate results more accurately and make faster and relevant decisions.
Planning activities strategically
To achieve your growth objectives or respond to increased demand, you need to take a step back to see the big picture view and then plan the stages of your journey.
For a successful transformation, the technology implemented to make your life easier must be based on your objectives, which means it must be based on your business strategy. Every situation is different and the approach to a technological and digital transformation must be intelligent and cohesive.
Your plan will focus on solutions that are most beneficial to your business in the short term, but that will be integrated into a larger plan with longer-term steps (three to five years).
This strategic plan must be revisited regularly and include a digital transformation component and will therefore be done gradually. Society and markets move at a breakneck speed, but a company can give itself tools that will make it more flexible and allow it to adjust quickly.
You should also make sure you involve all the teams so everyone understands the strategy and transformation objectives and moves in the same direction.
Changing the corporate culture
A recent survey conducted by our firm with Québec businesses revealed that 29% of them believe that the traditional corporate culture is a main obstacle to digital transformation.
Technological evolution is not a one-time event. Solutions must be developed over time to adapt to ongoing changes in society. In order to stay ahead of the curve, it is in your best interest to foster a culture of innovation within your organization.
In addition to anticipating and responding to marketplace fluctuations, you’ll find it to be a way to better engage your teams, encourage their involvement and nurture talent.
Some technologies make it easier for people to interact and encourage them to collaborate more and share ideas, even remotely. At a time in history when a hybrid work model is becoming the norm in some industries, it makes sense to put in place communication channels that value employees’ contributions to your company’s growth and promote efficient work and increased productivity.
Successful growth can only be achieved with a culture of innovation that propels teams or a plan to make technology and digital transformation part of the business strategy.
We suggest that you take this questionnaire in order to properly assess your needs. You will know which aspect to focus on first and be able to measure your level of preparedness by comparing your progress with that of other organizations in your sector.
Of course, at any time, you can contact our team of experts who can assist you in your analysis and developing your action plan.
27 Jun 2022 | Written by :
Olivier-Don Truong is a management consulting expert at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton.
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Updated on May 3, 2023
Clients are increasingly mobile and their needs are changing; businesses must therefore be flexible. How will you adapt?
Demand is shifting and supply must adapt quickly. This was already evident before the pandemic, but the past two years have further transformed needs beyond home delivery services and telecommuting requirements.
City demographics are changing. Social values influence consumers. Your organization needs to take all of these factors into account to survive.
Getting to know your clients and shaping your business model to attract and retain them requires you to leverage technology, like all your competitors.
Mobility
Technology was deployed to support telecommuting and these tools will remain, allowing for greater mobility of staff, changing the demographics of cities and different regions of the country, and providing flexibility in moving within and across borders. Consumers are on the move, and you need to get to them where they are.
Reach your clients more accurately
To do this, you need to know your clients well. Using artificial intelligence to analyze your data will help you reach your clients more accurately and at the right time.
Keep in mind mobile devices
In addition, it is important to keep in mind that more than 50% of web users use their mobile device rather than a desktop computer to get information or a service, a trend that is increasing every year. This is something you need to take into account, for example, with a more powerful website or by developing initiatives to meet client needs.
In particular, there are many applications set up to respond quickly to client needs that factor in their proximity thanks to geolocation. Examples include Bixi and Communauto, but also suggestions for restaurants, places to visit or services to obtain. Payments are also increasingly made through mobile devices. This has a boomerang effect on demand.
Customizing
Your clients want to feel special. By targeting their needs quickly and precisely, you help them save time because you are offering them the right thing, making them even more satisfied. The more they feel you are listening and know them well, the less they will be tempted to go to your competitor.
Data analysis becomes crucial to anticipate clients’ needs and respond where they are, at the right time. Artificial intelligence allows you to adjust your offer in real time.
The installation, for example, of a customer relationship management (CRM) solution integrated into your ERP system can make it much easier to develop your client approach and better target their needs.
Clients also want to have a say about the offering and have an active role in their experience.
Efficiency
To enhance your client relationship, you may want to optimize your organization’s internal and external logistics management, for example, by installing delivery and return tracking applications.
You could also install a tracking system on internal transportation vehicles that works with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips or sensors.
Security
In this day and age, keeping data private and secure is a must, with a cybersecurity plan and policies that comply with current laws and regulations. You need to guard against cyberattacks and ensure that you close any gaps in your processes.
Don’t forget Bill 25
This is especially important as businesses will soon have to comply with the changes brought about by Bill 25. This law will come into effect in stages, in September 2022, 2023 and 2024. Organizations must therefore prepare for this and adapt their approach to data protection.
This law includes a requirement to obtain consent from clients and users of their platforms for the use of their data, as well as a right to be forgotten that allows clients to request the removal of certain information within a reasonable time. Companies will also have to provide for a privacy impact assessment (PIA) before launching a data collection system.
Environment and sustainable development
Social values are changing and environmental protection is becoming a determining factor in consumer choices.
You could, for example, equip yourself with life cycle assessment (LCA) software, which would allow you to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of a product based on specific databases. Ultimately, this would allow you to significantly reduce your costs.
Research and development can become a key factor in continuing your activities by offering solutions to meet existing laws and regulations, social standards and your clients’ and business partners’ requirements.
We suggest that you take this questionnaire in order to properly assess your needs. You will know which aspect to focus on first and be able to measure your level of preparedness by comparing your progress with that of other organizations in your sector.
Of course, at any time, you can contact our team of experts who can assist you in your analysis and developing your action plan.
27 Jun 2022 | Written by :
Olivier-Don Truong is a management consulting expert at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton.
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Updated on April 27, 2023
If implemented properly, digital and technology solutions can improve your business performance, even in the short term.
Of course, performance is a complex issue and it may be useful to review your business strategy and support your decisions with the right data, by analysing your break-even point. However, one of the lasting solutions is automation.
Automating administrative processes and repetitive tasks and better exploiting data can reduce operating costs over the long term and improve responsiveness, productivity and performance.
Step by step
SMEs, like the larger organizations, have as much to gain from this digital shift. The transformation must be gradual and well thought out from the very start in order to achieve the most significant short-and long-term improvements .
Proper planning and reflection are the key to digital initiatives. It is recommended that organizations work in phases and start by determining the most important ones for their ongoing operations and competitiveness.
The results of a digital initiative must be measurable in the short term but also be integrated into a long-term vision to ensure that the organization’s real needs and objectives are being met.
Automating repetitive tasks and optimizing processes
Automating administrative processes (or Robotic Process Automation (RPA)) and some repetitive tasks must be phased in based on your organization’s situation. Over the short-and long-term, automation will:
- Increase processing capacity and throughput;
- Avoid bottlenecks and manual errors, which, although sometimes minor, can have a domino effect with costly results;
- Free up employees for more added-value and creative tasks.
Improve the interconnectivity
A process automation platform helps improve the interconnectivity of your various applications. Integrating technology into processes increases your monitoring capabilities by giving you the ability to leverage your data.
Identify the most successful scenarios
An automated solution that incorporates machine learning can help you quickly detect processing anomalies, extract items from an invoice even in multiple document structures, and identify the most successful sales forecasting scenarios.
Manage complex workflows
With the right digital transformation, you can better coordinate between your different departments and manage information and sometimes very complex workflows.
Lower costs, improved productivity
This will increase production and decision-making speed based on accurate data. The risk of errors is greatly reduced. You lose less time during operations, resulting in lower costs and greatly improved productivity.
Optimize your financial performance
When your applications interact with each other, your operational and financial data are interconnected and provide more accurate and timely insight, allowing you to optimize your resources.
With cross-organizational data, performance can be analyzed by product, by client or even by order, allowing you to adjust your business strategy and resources to focus on areas with the greatest benefit.
Making cash management easier
The pandemic has weakened the finances of some companies, and many have become aware of the importance of their organizational structure and the technology used to maintain sufficient liquidity and optimize their management. Several platforms are available to meet these needs. An adapted management platform has many advantages. It can:
- Reduce the risk and complexity of integrating and validating your cash position;
- Provide up-to-date financial and operational information;
- Facilitate support for different payment standards;
- Promote connectivity between your organization and all of your partners;
- Shorten payment and collection cycles;
- Make it easier to generate reports and cash flow analyses;
- Help forecast and analyze cash flow more accurately;
- Test multiple scenarios for decision-making.
Something for every industry
Companies in all sectors can benefit from technology and digital transformation at their scale to meet their business objectives. Examples include:
Manufacturing
Optimize production by defining the best sequencing according to the capacity of the organization’s human and material resources.
Construction
Maximize asset and project management at each step, from project development to delivery.
Agriculture
Use drones to forecast and increase yields and reduce production costs.
Tourism
Create efficient and attractive online service platforms and immersive experiences by using artificial intelligence and the Internet of things (IoT).
We suggest that you take this questionnaire in order to properly assess your needs. You will know which aspect to focus on first and be able to measure your level of preparedness by comparing your progress with that of other organizations in your sector.
Of course, at any time, you can contact our team of experts who can assist you in your analysis and developing your action plan.