Retaining top talent in 2026 is about more than creating a positive company culture; employees are looking for jobs in which they feel truly seen, heard and invested. They want growth opportunities, but also want to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Offering all of this isn’t always easy, but the cost of not offering it could be detrimental to your business.

Studies suggest that the cost of employee turnover to a company is approximately 33% of their annual salary. With productivity costs, time spent filling the role, and training periods for the new employee, it all adds up – and quickly.

Fortunately, Employment Hero’s HR and payroll solutions can help you create a culture your best people will never want to leave.

Recognize your team

Employee recognition may seem like a fundamental element, but it is too often neglected in the daily grind of running a business. When employees feel like their hard work is invisible, they start looking for the exit.

Employment Hero makes this easy, offering a range of recognition, thank you and even birthday and anniversary options. These can be linked to company values ​​or automated with time triggers and can be assigned by management as well as colleagues.

The live business feed on the dashboard displays them in real time, ensuring no win goes unnoticed.

The Power of Employee Benefits and Benefits

In an era of rising costs of living, your compensation strategy needs to go beyond base salary.

The Benefits tab in the EH Work app gives your employees access to thousands of discounts on everyday essentials, from groceries and fuel to gym memberships and insurance. You can even award Hero Points for exceptional performance, giving your team tangible rewards they can spend on things they actually want. This is a powerful way to help your team’s revenue grow further without increasing your salary budget.

Develop your employees

Keeping your team engaged is one of the most effective ways to retain top talent. You need to actively invest in their learning and development, as well as provide them with opportunities for growth.

The Learning Management System (LMS), delivered in partnership with Go1, allows you to assign courses to employees to ensure onboarding and compliance training runs smoothly and can be completed. Beyond that, employees can use the LMS to improve their skills in areas such as leadership and AI knowledge, ensuring their engagement and ability to future-proof their skills.

Once an employee is ready to advance their career, they can head to the Career tab in the EH Work app to view and apply for internal jobs, allowing them to find their next role within your company and retain their institutional knowledge and talent.

Support your team with an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Burnout and stress are the silent killers of retention. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides a vital safety net, giving your team 24/7 access to professional, confidential advice.

“After just one session, I felt a huge weight on my shoulders,” said Anna, an EAP user working at a mid-sized technology company. “Not only did my counselor support me through a dark time, but she also gave me coping strategies that I still use today. My employer may never know how grateful I am for our EAP, but the sessions I had with my counselor were literally life-changing. I hope I never need to use it again, but it’s a huge comfort to know that it’s there if I do.”

By providing support when they need it most, you can show your employees that you care about them as people.

Be serious about setting goals

Many high-performing employees are intrinsically motivated and seek alignment with overall goals and strategies. By not providing this, they may become disengaged and frustrated.

Employment Hero uses the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework which focuses on transparent and connected company, team and employee goals. By using OKRs effectively as a team, all of your employees understand how they contribute and can achieve the larger goal of the organization.

Improve one-on-one (1:1) communication

If managers and their direct reports only communicate when something is wrong, employees can feel unsupported and voiceless.

By scheduling recurring one-on-ones (1:1) within the Employment Hero platform, managers can dedicate time to the development, workload management, and well-being of their direct reports. The feature includes predefined talking points and questions, as well as note-taking and comments, allowing everyone to keep track of what was discussed, delete actions, and return to previous topics.

The Power of Employee Happiness Surveys

Employee happiness is one of the most important factors when it comes to staff retention. Happy, engaged employees will always be easier to retain than those who are disengaged and performing in their roles.

The employee happiness survey feature allows you to collect anonymous feedback in real time. Using a simple 1-10 scale and open-ended feedback, you get an honest look at company morale. This feature even allows executives to respond to anonymous comments, opening a secure dialogue to resolve issues before they escalate.

Your retention strategy with Employment Hero starts now.

To reduce turnover and retain your star employees, you want to improve their work experience. You want them to feel valued and appreciated, because if they feel satisfied in their role, they are less likely to seek fulfillment elsewhere.

Our team of HR and business specialists is ready to show you how to retain top talent with Employment Hero. They can walk you through a demo and show you exactly how to get the most out of our software. Contact us today so you can retain your employees tomorrow.

In a MAT, one cannot escape reforecasting. But how responsive does it feel and how happy are you with the result?

Fortunately, remaking forecasts doesn’t necessarily mean falling behind. This also doesn’t mean you should devalue trust outcomes. With the right approach and tools, this can become an opportunity to refocus, strengthen teams and protect high standards.

So, if you want to get the most out of reforecasting, where do you start? This blog is a good place. It draws on the concrete expertise of our Smarter Schools: Budgeting for Impact webinar, where industry leaders shared winning strategies. We will also look at how a technology-driven approach can make reforecasting in MAT much easier.

Top 10 Ways MATs Can Repredict for More Success (and Less Stress)

1. Put your confidence vision at the center of everything

If there is one thing that is absolutely essential to a MAT, it is clarity of purpose. If you need to rebudget, this is your North Star. So, before you make your forecast again, ask yourself: “What are we here to achieve?” Let your trust’s vision guide every adjustment, ensuring that the reforecast aims to realign – not abandon – your strategic direction.

Peter Hughes, The Mossbourne Federation CEO said: “If you don’t know what’s important to you, you have no chance of managing your resources. For me, that means teaching and learning – and I want my children to live in a high quality building, so I leave money for that.”

How can digital tools help?

You can protect a MAT’s aspirations with modern digital tools, such as IRIS Financial Planner. This way, you can create multiple budget scenarios and compare their impact before committing.

2. Be transparent and inclusive

If there’s one thing that can do wonders during a reforecast, it’s transparency. This builds trust and helps everyone focus on the same goals.

So, involve your team in the process. Share the numbers, challenges, and rationales for each decision.

How can digital tools help?

It is very important to democratize data, which means providing access and clarity to it. With the right software, finance managers can share consolidated reforecast views, while business leaders benefit from role-specific access to assumptions, allocations and variances. If your solution integrates with the rest of your system, it can bring together financial, attendance, results and human resources data.

3. Use data to reduce reactivity

When you’re remaking your forecast, how can you make sure you’re not too reactive? Use real-time data and anticipate where adjustments might be needed. Timely diagnostics allow you to make thoughtful strategic changes rather than hasty, reactive cuts.

Bless Yue The CFO of River Learning Trust said, “Being strategic means looking at different investment horizons. Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

How can digital tools help?

If there’s any sign that you’re using good technology, it’s in the way it presents current information. The best tools can quickly detect overspending or savings. Automatic updates also have a role to play, as they keep you aligned with the latest pay scales and NIC rates. This way, diagnoses are not skewed by outdated assumptions.

4. Be prepared for any new reality

Revamping forecasts isn’t just about cutting budgets. Sometimes, for example, the process also requires reassessing how your organization operates. Do you need to rethink roles, operating models and even program structures to adapt them to new realities?

How can digital tools help?

Sometimes you need tools to help you reorganize. Good digital solutions like IRIS Financial Planner can do this. For example, they can help you move from one GAG ​​budget model to another, to a top-down budget, or to a hybrid budget. You can safely test structural changes, such as centralizing certain costs or redesigning roles, while keeping your organization agile and focused on impact.

5. Build relationships and join forces – even with other trusts

Teamwork makes the dream work…and that includes between “rival” trusts. Working with other organizations can go a long way in saving money. Just make sure you have a solid plan first. When reforecasting, look for opportunities to combine efforts, exchange skills and build partnerships that enhance your trust’s ability to achieve its objectives.

Corey Bateman, The Pioneer Learning Trust CEO said: “Relationships have played an important role in helping us avoid overspending, while still delivering the highest possible level of skills into our schools and our trust. »

How can digital tools help?

If you want to create a solid foundation for a partnership, data will provide much-needed support. It identifies areas where there is a need, areas where money could be saved, and areas where resources could be shared by your trust in exchange for help.

6. Save time with technology

The gold dust of a MAT is time and resources. So how can you protect them? Use technology to streamline reporting, automate routine tasks, and provide real-time insights. This allows leaders to focus on strategy and improvement, even when budgets are tight.

How can digital tools help?

If you’ve ever imagined a life without work, then good digital tools will get you there. For example, our connected suite (IRIS Central, Invoice Matcher, PlusPay, Every HR and Every Payroll) automates routine tasks and expands insights in real time, giving leaders more time for strategic priorities.

7. A modern culture can adapt to change

If you want your teams to adapt more easily to financial changes, creating a culture of innovation and improvement will better equip staff. Encourage your team to view reforecasting as an opportunity to learn, innovate, and improve.

How can digital tools help?

If you want employees to think about the future, they need information. With digital technology, you can reforecast monthly or quarterly. Comparing “plan, reforecast and reality” helps teams anticipate and adapt quickly.

8. Be smart with your cuts

Taking action is important, but sometimes restraint is just as essential. Avoid the temptation to make sudden, blanket cuts. Instead, use data and benchmarking to identify areas where adjustments will have the least impact on your mission – and where investments are still needed to make progress.

Stéphane Morales, The CEO of the Institute of School Business Leadership said: “What we see so often is people taking a very heavy-handed approach to efficiency savings.

“But did they cut in the right place, at the right time?

Otherwise, he added, budget cuts “will bite them later, and you could find yourself in a downward spiral.”

How can digital tools help?

It’s time to see the big picture And the fine detail. Trust-wide summaries and in-depth school-level analyzes help you direct savings where the impact is lowest and protect priority investments.

9. Empower your employees

If you want to encourage initiative at the school level, these leaders need to take action. Give them control, but within defined parameters. This keeps the energy and innovation alive, even as you adapt to new financial realities.

How can digital tools help?

Settings at the MAT level can help you set boundaries, while directors and SLTs adapt to their context. Permission-based sharing ensures that the right people see the right data and can act quickly without losing governance control.

10. Discover the IRIS financial planner

You’ve heard lots of great ideas from our webinar’s industry expert guests. Here is a technical tip from IRIS.

IRIS Financial Planner helps Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) rethink their forecasts with confidence and strategic clarity.

Simplify scenario planning

Create and compare multiple budget scenarios that match your trust’s goals. Whether you prioritize SEND provision or program investment, this shows the impact of each approach before you make your decision.

Get real-time, synchronized accuracy

IRIS Financial Planner is directly linked to IRIS Financials, which allows you to reconcile your projects with actual expenses. Automatic updates ensure your data reflects the latest pay scales and rates, so analyzes and forecasts are always accurate.

Promote transparency and collaboration

Easily share your views and assumptions with your team to drive transparency and inclusive decision-making. Role-based access ensures that everyone sees the information that concerns them.

Enable rapid thinking and continuous improvement

Run monthly or quarterly updates, compare “plan, update and reality” and quickly adapt to changing circumstances.

With IRIS Financial Planner, reforecasting becomes a strategic opportunity and trusts can stay focused on great results.

Click here to learn more.

Watch the webinar, get insights

Smarter schools: budgeting for impact, not just survival, is available now, upon request.

One of the most persistent challenges for housing and social care organizations is to attract new employees.

The sector is experiencing high rolling rates due to factors such as demanding work environments, low wages and limited career increase.

In fact, Care England has called for government actions and support from the government to combat the crisis in the recruitment of social care for adults, because the latest reports show that vacancies remain unbearably high.

A representative of Care England warned that the pressure is not durable and that the current workforce is “extended beyond its limit”.

There are good news! Recruitment technology, also known as candidate monitoring system (ATS), can make a big difference, helping organizations to optimize and accelerate the hiring process.

In this blog, we have covered three ways whose recruitment technology can help you.

1) Simplify your vacancy approvals

A common judgment in recruitment expects vacancy authorizations.

Hiring managers are facing an endless back and forth, dragging the process and wasting precious time.

How recruitment software can help

The recruitment software corrects the vacant post holder using intelligent automation.

For example: Recruitment software can send instant alerts and reminders to those responsible for approvals. These automated boost keep things in motion and help you avoid unnecessary delays without needing manual follow -up.

In addition, the recruitment software also offers a clearer view of each vacancy, so that you can quickly see where there are bottlenecks.

2) Advertising of smarter roles

You are tired of having to publish the same position in several places to try to increase your chances of finding the right candidates?

Putting the word on your open roles should not be complicated!

How recruitment software can help

The recruitment software allows you to publish your job advertisements on several platforms, all from a single system.

With only a few simple clicks, you can reach a wider pool of candidates faster.

In addition, the recruitment software compiles the answers of all channels in one place, making sure you never miss a big candidate.

3) Friendly application forms

Long and complicated application forms can dissuade the right candidates.

The objective should be to collect enough information so that you can make an informed decision without blowing up people through hoops.

How recruitment software can help

Modern recruitment tools offer flexible models that help simplify the demand process.

These models rationalize the information gathered, ensuring that you only get what you need and that candidates enjoy a more fluid experience.

An additional bonus is that all data is also automatically transferred to your recruitment system, deleting manual data entry and reducing the risk of human error.

Do not waste time (or superior talent!)

Housing and social care organizations face enough challenges without the slow hiring processes that hold them.

Good tools can help you reduce job costs, save time, minimize stress and guarantee the necessary crucial staff.

The three main HR challenges impacting housing and social care organizations

Huge recruitment pressure is not the only challenge that has an impact on people in housing and social care!

Our recent guide covers the three main HR challenges impacting organizations, offering tangible advice and advice.

Download the free guide here and discover practical solutions and ideas to help you meet these front HR challenges.

By Alan Gregory | November 7, 2019 | 3 minutes of reading

As the dreaded January peak season approaches, it is essential that you consider how to prepare to avoid it impacting your health and practice.

We are talking about burnout, recognized as an “occupational phenomenon” by the World Health Organization (WHO). It’s more than just “being stressed.”

Burnout can seriously disrupt your work life: more sick days, feeling exhausted, or losing interest in a job you once loved. Additionally, because burnout can last for months or even years, it can have disastrous consequences on the lives of those who suffer from it.

Accountants are clearly at risk, given the heavy workload, competing deadlines and the dreaded busy January period. So what can you do? Here are five key areas to consider to ensure you don’t become a victim. Prevention is better than cure.

1. Pay attention to early symptoms

Identifying the early signs of burnout is essential. The WHO has defined burnout and its characteristics as follows:

“[…] a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of lack of energy or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s work, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s work; And
• reduced professional efficiency.

High achievers and perfectionists may have a higher risk of suffering from burnout.

2. Cut back a little

Work less? It’s easier said than done, you hear yourself saying. But spending time away from the office can do wonders to help you mentally reset and reduce any feelings of burnout. Taking time off during peak season can be tricky. However, try to ensure that you make full use of your annual leave entitlement each year. If you think you’ll need a longer stay, check to see if your company has a policy allowing you to purchase additional vacation time.

3. Put yourself first

Are you not eating properly? You go to bed late ? Are you spending too much time sitting and not exercising?

These are all bad habits that are easy to fall into when faced with high stress levels and a difficult workload. Be careful though: these actions are a quick way to increase the risk of burnout.

Although improvements won’t happen overnight, try introducing more self-care into your daily routine. This might mean making a conscious effort to get a better night’s sleep, eating a balanced meal for dinner, or trying to get active several times a week. Even adopting one of these changes could improve your overall well-being.

4. A more flexible professional life

They say that change is as good as rest. Well, why not change your work routine by working from home or elsewhere on an odd day? Flexible working and a change of scenery can help reduce feelings of burnout.

Or, if you prefer to stay in the office, see if you can work flexible hours, perhaps arriving at work a little later and leaving earlier to avoid rush hours.

5. Seek help

If you get to a point where you feel burned out or close to being burned out, one of the best things you can do is ask for help. If a colleague, manager or even a partner is aware of your situation, they can put measures in place to support you in your recovery.

Professional accounting bodies can also help. For example, CABA offers free and confidential services to past and present members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in areas as diverse as wellbeing, emotional support and development career, among others.

At IRIS, we are always looking for ways to help accountants and tax advisors simplify their tasks. Why not take a look at our cloud software for accountants to help simplify tasks like tax and accounting?