Retention reset: Why the end of the year is crucial for retention in the new year

As the year winds down, many people start reflecting not just on their personal goals, but on their professional ones too. The start of a new year often provides workers with the opportunity to think about what they want from their jobs, and allows them to return with new ideas, goals, and perspectives. For many employers, this makes January and February a high-risk period for staff turnover.

For frontline businesses — where keeping skilled and engaged workers is especially critical to service quality and customer experience — this period can have a real impact. So, how can employers strengthen their connection with staff before the new year’s resignations start rolling in?

Here are three practical ways to build loyalty and improve retention before the holiday period hits.

1. Recognise and reward the value of your people

After a long year of hard work, people want to feel appreciated. Recognition can be as simple as a thank you, a shout-out in a team meeting, or the opportunity to earn a meaningful reward. For frontline workers, even small gestures of appreciation can make a big difference to morale and motivation.

When employees feel valued for their contributions, they’re more likely to stay loyal and engaged. Recognition also reinforces culture, reminding people that their work has a purpose and is noticed by those around them.

How to do it

With Humanforce Benefits, recognising and rewarding employees becomes simple, timely and far more meaningful. It grants frontline workers access to tools and features that genuinely make a difference. Through earned wage access, employees can access a portion of their already-earned pay before payday, helping ease financial pressure during a period when personal expenses tend to spike. This increased sense of financial control supports wellbeing and builds loyalty — two critical factors in reducing post-holiday turnover.

Employers can also set up a form of instant recognition by providing access to a curated marketplace of discounts and perks, adding extra value to their work experience and helping them feel appreciated both inside and outside of work.

Together, these features give employers a practical way to show appreciation, strengthen connection and deliver benefits that matter most to frontline workers.

*Benefits is available only for Australian-based Humanforce customers at this time

2. Offer flexibility, fairness and autonomy in scheduling

Work-life balance has become a top priority for many people, and for shift-based workers it often comes down to having more control over when they work. The end-of-year period can be especially challenging with personal and family commitments adding to the mix. Allowing employees to manage their availability or trade shifts gives them the confidence to plan their lives and reduces stress for everyone.

By offering flexibility and autonomy, employers also demonstrate respect and trust towards their employees. When staff feel trusted to take responsibility for their schedules, they’re more likely to feel invested in their work and committed to the organisation. Managers feel the benefit too, with fewer last-minute changes and a more reliable roster of workers behind them.

How to do it

With Humanforce Rostering & Scheduling, managers can build rosters that reflect employee preferences and ensure coverage at every shift. Employees can bid for shifts, swap with teammates, and update their availability directly in the Humanforce Work App. This gives them flexibility and autonomy, while managers maintain visibility, final approval rights and compliance across all scheduling decisions.

3. Listen to the voice of your people and act on it

Employees are far more likely to stay when they feel heard and understood. Asking for feedback, checking in regularly and taking visible action on what people share can make a big difference. These conversations don’t have to be formal; even short chats or quick pulse surveys can reveal what’s driving motivation or frustration.

End-of-year check-ins are a great opportunity to pause, listen and reset. They can highlight what’s working well, where improvements are needed and what will help people feel excited to return in the new year. When employees see that feedback leads to real change, it builds trust and connection.

How to do it

The Employee Engagement solution in Humanforce makes it simple to keep communication open. Managers can run quick surveys, schedule 1:1 check-ins and track engagement over time. Feedback is stored in one place, helping teams spot issues early and act before they turn into resignations.

Data-driven insights to identify flight risks

Don’t forget – the insights generated from workforce data are essential to surface the reasons for turnover and generate insights around why people are leaving. For example, Humanforce’s People Analytics function provides a wide range of reports, covering training needs, recruitment spend, employee satisfaction, annual remuneration, task compliance, and more.

Critically, People Analytics also includes an Attrition Analysis feature. This assesses the historical lifecycles of employees to provide an attrition rate for the business. It helps managers understand the attrition trends that should be proactively investigated to reduce the risk of future regrettable leavers.

Retention reset checklist: Preparing for the new year

• Celebrate team achievements and express appreciation

• Review scheduling practices and ensure rosters reflect staff needs

• Plan January 1:1s or engagement check-ins

• Use workforce insights to identify retention risks early

A proactive retention reset not only reduces the chance of post-holiday resignations; it also helps build a culture where people feel recognised, supported and ready to start the new year with you.

About Humanforce

Humanforce is the all-in-one platform for frontline and flexible workforces, offering a truly employee-centred, intelligent and compliant human capital management (HCM) suite – without compromise. Founded in 2002, Humanforce has a 2300+ customer base and over half a million users worldwide. Today, we have offices across Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK.

Our vision is to make work easier and life better by focusing on the needs and fulfilment of frontline workers, and the efficiency and optimisation of businesses.

To learn more about how Humanforce’s solution can help automate people processes in your business, please contact us.