The forever resignation: Can employers survive it?

It might come as a surprise to some that the phenomenon of ‘The Great Resignation’ still shows no sign of abating.

It might come as a surprise to some that the phenomenon of ‘The Great Resignation’ still shows no sign of abating.   Fuelled by workers with both the time and space during multiple lockdowns to contemplate the purpose of their work, with many finding it lacking, corporations quickly found themselves caught in a vicious cycle of high attrition, leading to a need for high volumes of recruitment.   We are still yet to discover what the long-term effect of this mass employee movement will be. But with a global recession on the horizon, and suggestions that the phenomenon is set to become the Forever Resignation, tackling its impact on business growth is now crucial. In our research, The Talent Trap, business leaders across the UK and USA told us that the impact of the Great Resignation on their operations has been significant – to the point that they were worried about the future growth of their globally recognised companies. Almost half (45%) said they were also not confident in their ability to attract the right talent to fulfil their growth potential.   In fact, in a conversation just a few months back, Ellie Bertani, former SVP of HR Transformation at Wells Fargo shared these thoughts with me. “It is a short-term solution to go and buy the talent. Unless we get smarter about how to build those skills internally, we are all just driving up our internal costs, and that is not sustainable over the long term.” Stemming the tide of dissatisfaction What can businesses do to stem the tide of unsatisfied workers leaving their jobs? Many employers would have originally recruited workers to match pre-determined job descriptions, which didn’t then evolve as the business grew and adapted, leaving most without a career path or plan to follow. This has made employees now feel that the only way they can change the direction of their career was by moving companies entirely. Employers must instead look to Talent Mobility initiatives and best practices to empower and support workers in making sideways moves, and encouraging and supporting the opportunity of finding alternative career paths within the organisation. Are your values fit for purpose? Millennials were the first to question the status quo at work, and whether careers could become more integral to our lives, aligning job choices more closely to personal values.  When Generation Z entered the workplace in 2016 they brought an even more definitive shift to this way of thinking.  Those starting their first job now have an expectation that their employers should align with their own personal values around, for example, diversity and inclusion, or sustainability. Stuart Rowland, former Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at ServiceNow, suggests this is a good thing, saying: “Trust building, empathy, communication and growth mindset are the critical skills in the digital economy. Today we need people that can demonstrate these behaviours and who can live our values. We can train the rest.” Ultimately, businesses should consider how they can adapt to meet the shifting values of employees, starting with whether or not their policies on key societal issues are fit for purpose. An authentic representation of the company values is vital for employee satisfaction and retention. The next generation of customers are also watching. Challenges are a springboard for innovation Technology can help businesses break out of rigid job role structures and create an equitable and satisfied workforce and business leaders agree. 75% of those we interviewed for our Talent Trap report said that talent decisions are better made when based on data than instinct. Data-driven decisions enable recruiters to improve the experience for candidates but AI can also help make longer term career planning and mapping accessible to existing employees. By looking at individuals’ prior experience and skills, and making predictions about their potential, AI can identify lateral moves into more fulfilling roles within the same company, increasing employee satisfaction that training and development investment is being made, which in turn drives up motivation levels.  What’s clear is that the way we work has gone through a revolution from many perspectives. In the short term there have been challenges, but there is clearly so much potential for businesses to turn the challenges from the Great Resignation into the great opportunity of developing, and retaining, the workforce of the future.

It might come as a surprise to some that the phenomenon of ‘The Great Resignation’ still shows no sign of abating.  

Fuelled by workers with both the time and space during multiple lockdowns to contemplate the purpose of their work, with many finding it lacking, corporations quickly found themselves caught in a vicious cycle of high attrition, leading to a need for high volumes of recruitment.  

We are still yet to discover what the long-term effect of this mass employee movement will be. But with a global recession on the horizon, and suggestions that the phenomenon is set to become the Forever Resignation, tackling its impact on business growth is now crucial.

In our research, The Talent Trap, business leaders across the UK and USA told us that the impact of the Great Resignation on their operations has been significant – to the point that they were worried about the future growth of their globally recognised companies. Almost half (45%) said they were also not confident in their ability to attract the right talent to fulfil their growth potential.  

In fact, in a conversation just a few months back, Ellie Bertani, former SVP of HR Transformation at Wells Fargo shared these thoughts with me. “It is a short-term solution to go and buy the talent. Unless we get smarter about how to build those skills internally, we are all just driving up our internal costs, and that is not sustainable over the long term.”

Stemming the tide of dissatisfaction

What can businesses do to stem the tide of unsatisfied workers leaving their jobs? Many employers would have originally recruited workers to match pre-determined job descriptions, which didn’t then evolve as the business grew and adapted, leaving most without a career path or plan to follow. This has made employees now feel that the only way they can change the direction of their career was by moving companies entirely. Employers must instead look to Talent Mobility initiatives and best practices to empower and support workers in making sideways moves, and encouraging and supporting the opportunity of finding alternative career paths within the organisation.

Are your values fit for purpose?

Millennials were the first to question the status quo at work, and whether careers could become more integral to our lives, aligning job choices more closely to personal values. 

When Generation Z entered the workplace in 2016 they brought an even more definitive shift to this way of thinking. 

Those starting their first job now have an expectation that their employers should align with their own personal values around, for example, diversity and inclusion, or sustainability. Stuart Rowland, former Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at ServiceNow, suggests this is a good thing, saying: “Trust building, empathy, communication and growth mindset are the critical skills in the digital economy. Today we need people that can demonstrate these behaviours and who can live our values. We can train the rest.”

Ultimately, businesses should consider how they can adapt to meet the shifting values of employees, starting with whether or not their policies on key societal issues are fit for purpose. An authentic representation of the company values is vital for employee satisfaction and retention. The next generation of customers are also watching.

Challenges are a springboard for innovation

Technology can help businesses break out of rigid job role structures and create an equitable and satisfied workforce and business leaders agree. 75% of those we interviewed for our Talent Trap report said that talent decisions are better made when based on data than instinct.

Data-driven decisions enable recruiters to improve the experience for candidates but AI can also help make longer term career planning and mapping accessible to existing employees. By looking at individuals’ prior experience and skills, and making predictions about their potential, AI can identify lateral moves into more fulfilling roles within the same company, increasing employee satisfaction that training and development investment is being made, which in turn drives up motivation levels. 

What’s clear is that the way we work has gone through a revolution from many perspectives. In the short term there have been challenges, but there is clearly so much potential for businesses to turn the challenges from the Great Resignation into the great opportunity of developing, and retaining, the workforce of the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abakar Saidov
Abakar Saidov
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