The Higher Ed Employee Retention Crisis — and What to Do About It
The challenge of retaining talent isn’t a new one, but the pandemic spurred an unprecedented number of resignations for all employment sectors, including higher education. During the 2022-23 academic year, voluntary turnover for higher ed staff was the highest it’s been since CUPA-HR started tracking it in 2017-18, and — once again — HR is on the front lines of the effort to turn things around.
CUPA-HR’s 2023 Higher Education Employee Retention Survey (ERS) provides a wealth of data on why employees are leaving and insights into how to slow the trend. The report’s conclusions can help your institution prioritize retention efforts and make critical decisions about how to deploy resources.
Not sure where to start or what options to explore next? In this article, organized by priorities outlined in the ERS, you’ll find resources to inform your planning, as well as examples of strategies, programs and policies developed by other higher ed institutions.
Get Back to Job-Satisfaction Basics
The survey found that job-satisfaction factors such as recognition for your contributions, feeling valued, the ability to bring up problems and issues, being asked for your opinion on work projects, having a good relationship with your supervisor, and having opportunities for advancement are significant indicators when it comes to retention. Here are a few practical ideas for boosting these job-satisfaction basics:
Do your own satisfaction survey. When was the last time your institution surveyed employees on elements of engagement and satisfaction? Can you mine more data from a recent survey, or is it time for a new one? Before you develop a survey, be sure to review the suggestions in “Employee Engagement/Satisfaction/Climate Assessment: Producing Actionable Results.”
Consider conducting stay interviews. Stay interviews are proactive, structured, informal conversations between managers and their direct reports. They focus on engagement rather than performance. Learn more about stay interviews and explore the examples other institutions have shared in the Stay Interviews Toolkit.
Re-evaluate your performance-management philosophy. If you asked your employees and their supervisors how they feel about annual performance reviews, what would they say? A few years ago, the University of Florida did just that, and the responses prompted a complete overhaul of their approach to performance management. The result was UF Engaged, a conversation-centered approach designed to support performance, development and relationships between supervisors and employees. Another institution, Anne Arundel Community College, replaced its outdated performance evaluation process with a coaching conversation model based on AACC’s values.
What is your institution doing to build a culture that encourages new ideas, recognizes outstanding work in a meaningful way, emphasizes the importance of supervisor-employee relationships, and makes career development a priority?
Recalibrate your recognition programs. To recalibrate means more than polishing up existing programs. It means adjusting fundamentally the way you measure and recognize employee contributions. In this issue of Higher Ed HR Magazine, Sharri Margraves at Michigan State University explores her findings and recommendations from a recent survey of recognition programs at higher ed institutions in “Recalibrating Employee Recognition in Higher Education.”
Develop pathways for career development. More than a third of ERS respondents said the desire for a promotion or more responsibility was a significant reason they were seeking new opportunities. How are your learning and development programs doing in terms of reach, participation and effectiveness? Over the past three years, many institutions have found innovative ways to renew and strengthen the opportunities they offer. Texas Christian University developed a professional internship program to immerse employees in areas of interest. The University System of Maryland tapped into its network of institutions to create a multi-institution program for professional development that leverages limited resources and reaches more employees. Utah Valley University developed the Leadership Competency Experience, based on six leadership competencies and the university’s core values, to guide hiring and training for supervisors. William Paterson University got creative with a Summer Learning and Development Program open to all employees.
What is your institution doing to build a culture that encourages new ideas, recognizes outstanding work in a meaningful way, emphasizes the importance of supervisor-employee relationships, and makes career development a priority?
Address the Workload Issue
Half of ERS respondents reported they are working more than full-time hours, likely because they are still absorbing the responsibilities of staff who have left and responding to increased job expectations and demands. Of the 13 areas analyzed, human resources had the highest percentage of employees working additional hours (60%), followed by student affairs (56%) and financial aid (54%).
If individuals or teams at your institution are experiencing chronic workload issues, a formal work-prioritization assessment may be a useful starting point for addressing the problem. CUPA-HR’s Work Prioritization Assessment Template* in the Flexible Work Toolkit helps map out key job duties and additional work duties, as well as the time being allocated to them. It also facilitates discussion around which duties can be suspended (temporarily or permanently), which can be reassigned (temporarily or permanently), and which can be automated. In some cases, you may need to update job descriptions to accurately convey primary duties, or you may identify competencies that need to be developed.
Regular, planned pay increases that outpace inflation and compete with market salaries are needed to provide employees with an incentive to stay, yet higher ed employee salary increases have not kept pace with inflation since the pandemic started.
Review Your Compensation Strategy
It should come as no surprise that a pay or salary increase was the most frequently cited reason for seeking other employment, according to the ERS. Regular, planned pay increases that outpace inflation and compete with market salaries are needed to provide employees with an incentive to stay, yet higher ed employee salary increases have not kept pace with inflation since the pandemic started.
Redefining compensation strategy is no small task. CUPA-HR’s Compensation Programs Toolkit includes general guidance, helpful resources and higher ed examples. Also, Higher Ed HR Magazine recently featured two articles about the compensation work of the Maricopa County Community College District. In 2019, the district began developing a compensation strategy that incorporated progressive pay practices, internal pay equity and market alignment. Since then, its efforts have focused on addressing internal pay equity and updating its livable wage strategy in the midst of the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic. The work is ongoing, but the impact on employees and their perception of the district has been positive.
Find Ways to Provide Flexible Work Arrangements
The ERS found that two-thirds of employees believe that most of their duties can be performed remotely, two-thirds of employees would prefer to have remote or hybrid work arrangements, yet two-thirds of employees are compelled to work strictly on-campus. Flexible work options can be a game-changer when it comes to retaining top talent and attracting new employees to hard-to-fill positions.
The Flexible Work Toolkit features resources for developing strategies for remote or flexible work, examples of higher ed programs and policies, and resources for managing a remote workforce in multiple states. Not yet ready for an overhaul of your remote and flexible work policies? Even small changes to enhance flexibility can make a big difference. Examples include allowing one day of working from home per week, implementing half-day Fridays, reducing summer hours, and allowing employees some say in their schedules.
Support Your Supervisors
According to ERS findings, supervisors are more likely to work additional hours and take on additional responsibilities. They’re challenged with filling empty positions, maintaining staff morale, and — in some cases — learning new management skills as they implement remote and flexible work policies.
Ensuring that supervisors have both the power they need to advocate for their staff and adequate resources, support and training will enhance their basic job satisfaction and strengthen their relationships with the employees they supervise. The Management and Supervisor Training Toolkit in the Knowledge Center offers training tools, resources and examples of supervisor training from other higher ed institutions.
HR supervisors, in particular, may need additional support because they bear stress and pressures they can’t share with colleagues. Marcus Hotaling, director of the Eppler-Wolff Counseling Center at Union College, explores the critical importance of self-care in “Prioritizing YOU: Self-Care Tips for HR Professionals in High-Stress Roles.”
Next Steps
Factors such as workforce size, organizational structure, and even workloads may impact how quickly and expansively you can act to strengthen your institution’s retention efforts, but the only way to move the needle on retention is to tackle the issues that matter most to employees. Whether you start with a list of small changes to strengthen job satisfaction or with a plan to tackle a much bigger retention challenge, be sure to align your efforts with the data and your institution’s values.
Looking for additional inspiration? Be sure to read “Be Kind, Don’t Rewind: HR Must Embrace Innovation for a Post-Pandemic World,” by Paul Grantham at Duke University and Health System. He makes a compelling case for having a growth mindset, thinking like an entrepreneur and listening to your stakeholders.
*Although the Work Prioritization Assessment Template was developed to help HR teams whose workloads were impacted dramatically by COVID-19, the template can be used to assess workload challenges under any circumstances.