Sustainable employability is high on the agenda of many organisations. According to the Dutch Social and Economic Council (SER), it is about people staying at work healthy, happy and competent until they retire. SER And it is badly needed. People are working longer, technology is changing work fast and the workload is high. That calls for adaptability, from employer and employee alike. But how do you make employees sustainably employable?
People who stay employable for the long term are often engaged too. Keeping employees on board and engaged takes more than a good salary and enough days off. People want to feel appreciated, to contribute something and to keep learning. As an employer, you can make that possible.
5 tips for sustainably employable staff
Tip 1. Talk to your people
Investing in sustainable employability only really works if your employees support it themselves. You achieve that by listening to your employees and responding to their wishes and needs. Ask questions like these: what do you need? What drives you? How can we become an even better employer as an organisation? Those answers tell you what your next step could be.
Tip 2. Invest in your employees' lifestyle
Engaged employees feel mentally and physically healthier and perform better. UBES manual So it pays to invest in the vitality of your people. Think of workshops, information sessions or programmes on healthy eating, enough exercise, sleep or dealing with stress. You will find more ideas in tips for more vitality at work.
Tip 3. Set a good example
Sustainable employability is a shared responsibility of employer and employee, and managers play a key role in it. According to Gallup, managers account for 70% of the variance in engagement between teams. Gallup So by setting a good example yourself as a manager, you have a direct influence on how sustainably employable your people are.
Tip 4. Start with job rotation
With job rotation, employees temporarily experience a different role or department. That way they get to know the organisation from different angles. It can lead to more involvement, better cooperation, new skills and more challenge. Rotation can be short or long. Short is the easiest way to start: for example, let employees spend one day a week in another department.
Examples of job rotation:
- Let sales staff work alongside production.
- Put an office employee on reception for a day.
- Let someone who never has customer contact take on a customer-facing role.
- Let managers from different departments swap places.
Tip 5. Invest in engagement
Engagement cannot be taken for granted in the Netherlands. According to Gallup, only 14% of Dutch employees are engaged at work. Gallup, the Netherlands How do you get engaged employees? A few suggestions:
- Give every employee a goal. For example, a training course or a next step in their career.
- Make use of qualities and talent. Make sure the right people are in the right place.
- Celebrate successes, even small ones. It doesn't have to be a big party, but say so when something goes well. According to Gallup, employees who feel recognised are four times as likely to be engaged. Gallup
- Be engaged yourself. Engaged employers have engaged employees.
Being a good employer
Sustainable employability comes down to being a good employer. How you put that into practice depends on where you want to focus as an organisation. But one thing is certain: you want an organisation where engaged, healthy people work who are happy to commit to you for a long time. Want to know where you stand right now? You can measure it with the Employee Engagement Survey.
About this article: written by Lisa Huiskamp and updated by the editors of Alles over bevlogenheid.
