The Great Resignation should be rebranded as the Great Transformation.
There’s an unprecedented energy in the talent marketplace right now. People are fired up and ready to make big, scary decisions in service of their passions. How many times have you heard someone say, “Life is too short” in the past couple of months?
The Microsoft Work Trend Index found that 40% of people want to change jobs this year. A survey of workers in the U.K. and Ireland put the number at 38% and a similar U.S. survey found 26% of workers are planning to leave their current job over the next few months. This is real and it’s happening right now.
In addition to developing employee-centric retention programs and taking a data-driven approach to employee experience, companies should start viewing the Great Resignation for the opportunity that it is. Before panicking and investing all resources into figuring out how to stop employees from quitting, we need to look closely at the reasons why.
According to Forrester, here are a few:
Many employees want to continue to work flexibly, and their current companies won’t support that.
Lots of people are re-thinking the whole work-life paradigm. They’re thinking about sacrifices they have made for ‘office life’ and wondering if they are worth it.
In the wake of the pandemic, workers are seeking a compassionate work environment. Conversations around social justice in the past year have driven a desire to work for a company with strong moral fibre.
A reactive, surface-level approach will not work in the thick of the Great Resignation. Instead, consider your talent value proposition (TVP) and how authentically it aligns to some of the key reasons employees are leaving their current job. In addition to strengthening retention programs, companies should be examining their employer brand strategy and diving deep into establishing powerful, honest narratives about how you are leading HR transformation and responding to the changing talent marketplace.
Organizations that can move quickly to integrate this messaging into their external talent presence will emerge from the Great Resignation having lost some employees, for sure. But, in amplifying a focus on wellbeing and flexibility, support for remote work and a strong social conscience, they will also be able to sweep the talent market and attract incredible people who are invigorated, energized and ready to re-assert their talent identities with the right company.
Here are some ideas to augment your employer brand strategy to respond to the Great Resignation:
Empower employee advocates to champion what is exceptional about your company. Allow talent an unvarnished look inside your organization through the voices of your people.
Make a real investment in your Alumni Network. Strengthen your proactive outreach strategy – maybe it didn’t work out the first time around, but now is the time to remind former employees about what drew them to you.
Focus on skills-based recruitment. According to Mercer, just 12% of Canadian HR leaders have implemented skills-based strategies. Get ahead of the game. Employees who are leaving their jobs are looking for opportunities where they can let their talent shine.
Create employer brand content that speaks (honestly) to your approach to work-life balance, flexibility, well-being, and employee-led initiatives. This is what people care about and why they are leaving their current roles.
The idea of the Great Resignation is uncomfortable and scary for many. But, with talent seeking more from their careers, the marketplace is heating up. There are incredible people leaving jobs to seek real career fulfilment. Whether it’s an opportunity or a setback will depend on how you respond.
If you want to discuss creating your employer brand & culture strategy for the new world of work, reach out to chelsea@driftemployerbrand.com.