There is a record number of people leaving or thinking about leaving their jobs right now – you will have all seen headlines around ‘The Great Resignation’. Recruitment firm RANDSAD UK surveyed 6,000 workers and cited that 24% want to leave their jobs in the next 3-6 months. According to RANDSAD usually 11% of people move jobs a year and this increase, they believe, could result in financial losses for firms of around £25,000 per exiting employee.
The first port of call for many organisations is a quick fix…financial perks and bonuses. For most of us, after 18 months of a loss of human connection this solution feels way too transactional. Yes more money and better perks may well be part of the problem but there are often other reasons why people are leaving/thinking about leaving such as the following:-
Burnout and stress – there may have always been a culture of overwhelm and overwork or this may be a newer phenomenon brought on by a remote working environment. People have revaluated what work life balance they need and want and are less inclined to put up with high levels of stress
Lack of personal connection and shared identity – working remotely or in a hybrid way has made it more difficult to maintain meaningful connections and shone a spotlight on the ‘work’ aspect of people’s jobs.
Lost sense of purpose – many people are craving this human aspect of work that enables them to create a sense of purpose about what they do and what connects them to the wider business
Appetite for flexibility – employees have been used to a more flexible working set up and if organisations fail to recognise and offer this, there are plenty of other places that will
But the ‘Great Resignation’ can be turned around into the ‘Great Attraction’ if we take time to reset and take stock of what is going on around us. Undoubtedly the biggest question to ask as a leader is ‘why are people leaving?’. Asking your people directly is the first step here yet there are also some fundamental questions you need to reflect on too.
- What are our managers and leaders like? Are they able give purpose to their teams work by connecting the individual’s contributions to the wider business?
2.Do we have a transactional environment? We need team environments where it’s encouraged to be honest, speak openly and also to be listened to. Do we have positive, psychologically safe team environments or toxic ones?
- Do we have the right perks and benefits in place? Often our perks and benefits still exist for office-based employees. Making sure we consider location agnostic perks and benefits is important right now
- Do people have clear career paths and development opportunities? Over the last 18 months many managers and leaders have been firefighting and become more task focused that normal. Having a strong focus on opportunities and development is key to keeping good people
- Are we creating a sense of community working in a hybrid manner? Something many organisations are still struggling with is how to create a strong culture and sense of belonging when our teams aren’t all in the office together. Effort needs to be placed here in order to create the human and emotional connections that people are craving.
Truly understanding the needs of your teams is critical if you want to retain good people and ensure high performance. This will undoubtedly require both you and the organisation to provide flexibility, connectivity and a sense of unity and purpose going forward.