How Can Small Health Research Organizations Boost Employee Engagement and Retain Staff?

Addressing Employee Engagement in a Small Health Research Organization

One of my clients is a very small organization in health research. Based on the workload, I understand that a maximum of two staff members are enough for their finance department. However, due to the attrition rate, they hired two more staff members in the department as extra backup.

It seems that, due to the light workload, the employees have enough time but are not effectively engaging themselves. Over time, negative thinking has developed against the organization. With ample time on their hands, they started searching for jobs, and three people left their positions, leaving only one person working in the organization.

Can anybody help us?

Regards,
Chaitanya

I need a little more clarification on what you have written in the first two sentences. You have stated that your client "is a very small organization." In that case, why do they require a "Finance Department"? Or is it that the "Accounts Department" is labeled as the "Finance Department"?

For a "small organization," why not outsource the accounts work? Why not approach an agency that provides accounting services and deploys their manpower at the client's site? They can be tasked with handling routine accounting work up to "account finalization."

If there is attrition in the Accounts/Finance department, were exit interviews conducted? If yes, why did no one suggest the idea of outsourcing? Despite being from finance/accounts, why did it not occur to anyone to perform a "Cost-Benefit Analysis" (CBA) on outsourcing the accounts activity?

Please confirm your views on my above solution.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Yes, please read the finance department as the accounts department. The organization's annual turnover is Rs. 12 crore, and they are in the development sector. As per project guidelines, they can't outsource the work; they have to keep permanent staff in the accounts department.

If there is attrition in one particular department, then its reasons need to be studied. Secondly, were the wrong recruitment reasons for attrition? Is it the case that one person continues to work whereas there is rotation of manpower among others? Is this person responsible for attrition?

Confidentiality Concerns in the Accounts Department

The Accounts Department has a lot of confidential work. Is it the case that the persons who left failed to gain the trust of the employer? The opposite scenario to this is too much distrust of the employer towards the Accounts staff.

There has to be some reason. Call all the staff who left earlier. With skillful questioning, you will be able to find out the truth.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

For obvious reasons, if an additional 100% of staff is hired as backup, either they must be trimmed or appropriate workloads have to be created for them. Additionally, it seems that people are hired and left on their own without being properly inducted. It's a move on the wrong foot and has reflected in the approach of the business owners; somewhere they must be wanting the same.

Regards,
SA

You mean to say that when two people were sufficient to cope with the present workload in the Accounts/Finance Department, your firm hired two extra people for the same job as backup. Now, three of them have left, and only one person is working. If you are the person who has to work now (I hope so), please approach your superior and share your concerns with him. Share your ideas with him to deploy that excess manpower in some other valuable tasks in the interest of the organization if the existing trend continues.

Meanwhile, take this as a good opportunity to manage the workload on your own and showcase your abilities. This calls for meticulous planning. Give it some thought, and you will be successful.

All the best!

With regards,
Vaishalee Parkhi