Have you seen a surge in employee resignations? Chances are you’re not alone, as your business may be falling victim to the dreaded Great Resignation.  According to Gallup currently 48% of employees are actively job-hunting and this figure climbs to 54% amongst Gen Z.   Similar findings emerged from a UK and Ireland study by Personio who found a 38% intention to leave in the next 6-12 months.

If you’re losing talent at an unprecedented rate, here’s what you need to know.

What’s causing The Great Resignation?

Employees are battling with new ways of working, so it’s only natural that stress and burnout are on the rise. Gallup suggest the ‘great resignation’ is really the ‘great discontent’.

Bridge recently looked into some of the causes behind the mass exodus and found that:

  • 59% are burned out by heavy workloads or ‘fragmentation frustration’ caused by digital overload
  • 50% of managers aren’t trained to adequately support their employees
  • 75% want flexible working options and 46% are willing to leave their current role in pursuit of flexibility

Beyond people voting with their feet, Personi found that there is also a looming productivity drought, with many companies overestimating how productive their people are at this stage in the pandemic.  Research shows that the dip in productivity in a medium sized UK business is likely equivalent to an ecomonic output drop of £4,016 per employee.  Whilst many employers would put this down to external factors such as distractions of managing childcare, employees on the other hand are most likely to attribute productivity loss to work related factors such as low motivation, morale or burnout.

What can you do?

The unprecedented events of the last 18 months have taken a toll on employees and organisations. Now’s the time to listen. The issues causing employees to leave highlight what’s becoming more important, as they’re increasingly looking for flexibility, a good work-life balance and support from managers.  Having effective performance management and coaching in your workplace is an essential ingredient to engagement – allowing managers and employees to connect regularly to discuss their performance, wellbeing and goals. Employees are encouraged to play an active role in their own career development and are provided with the space to voice their concerns.  Employee retention strategies demand strong people management skills – investing in your management and leadership skills is paramount.  Development teaches managers how to conduct meaningful conversations, set expectations and create accountability, demonstrate care for employee wellbeing and create an employee experience that retains workers.

Conclusion

People are a business’s greatest asset. So, when people strategy is not well planned or thought out this comes at a cost to the people and the business too. With the potential to provoke a cascade of negative outcomes, such as poor staff retention, damaged employer brand, and poor productivity, this could ultimately cause a significant impact on a business’s bottom line. And for those businesses that haven’t prioritised their people during the pandemic, any detrimental impact may not become apparent until it’s too late.

But, businesses still have a chance to turn the tide.  We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape the workplace and abandon outdated working practices in favour of socially responsible practices which support the holistic needs of employees. By really listening and responding thoughtfully to the needs of their workforce, companies can become talent magnets attracting the best of the talent who are mobilising in this Great Resignation.  By prioritising their people and taking a more strategic approach to people management, employers have the opportunity to drive their business performance as well as stem their staff attrition.

Please get in touch to discuss how HR Optimisation can help your teams to overcome the challenges faced by The Great Resignation or for help developing your effective people strategy.

 

 

 

Hannah Powell