Lack of engagement, poor leadership, and lack of growth opportunities are the main reasons why employees leave organisations. This is not news, of course, and as a progressive entrepreneur you have been working on this for a long time by adapting your company culture to it – right? After all, the war for talent is still a major challenge.

With new business models and increased digitisation, finding candidates with the right experience is proving particularly difficult. This means that as an employer, you have to be pretty amazing if you are going to attract the right people. Research shows, however, that more than half of all employers still struggle to position themselves as an attractive employer, although the need has never been greater.

The pillars that employers focus on to distinguish themselves are actually not all that distinctive any more. These include flexible working hours, a good working atmosphere, work guarantee, challenging work and opportunities for education. If you really want to make a difference, paying attention to the mental well-being of employees is more effective.

Fit and vigorous employees who feel involved in the organisation: that is the wish of many employers. Given the high absenteeism rate in many organisations, this turns out to be quite challenging in practice. If you add the fact that 70% of absenteeism is about mental issues and employees stay with employers longer if they pay attention to this, you will understand that focusing on mental support may not be such a bad idea.

Mental issues don't always have to be as difficult as you might expect. They are often an accumulation of problems, a combination of private circumstances and goings-on at work, causing thoughts to continue to keep going around in circles. If this happens, a dissatisfied customer, for example, may just be the last straw before a burnout, causing long-term absenteeism.

In practice, it turns out that employees who can blow off steam in an accessible way are less likely to report sick. Getting one's ducks in a row together with a coach can really clear the air, and help someone to get back on track. This is good for the employee, and saves the organisation absenteeism costs, which amount to around €250-400 per day on average.

Even three to seven short sessions with a coach can prevent employees from piling up their problems and dropping out. When employees feel comfortable in their own skin once more, engagement levels improve. They are motivated to work, will go the extra mile and are open to growth, so that they can make a positive contribution to the team.

Although many employees see it as a positive if the employer offers mental support, asking for mental help remains difficult. That is why at One2Talk we have made seeking help as accessible as possible. It only takes five easy steps for employees to anonymously connect with a coach. As the employer, you won't know who engaged a coach, or why. But you will get information on how often the tool is used.

If you want to be seen as a social entrepreneur who has more to offer than just a salary, please do not hesitate to contact me.