The Great Resignation describes the large numbers of workers who were reportedly leaving their jobs, or thinking about it, during 2021.
Some evidence suggests that this is still evident into 2022 – according to Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index 43% of employees surveyed said that they were considering changing jobs within the next year.
People Management also report data gathered by Owl Labs which suggests that one in four UK workers are currently looking for a new role. (People Management, June 2022).
Why Is There a Great Resignation?
For many workers, the pandemic provided an opportunity to reassess their work and life priorities and perhaps prompted a change in mindset – leading them to a career move, a shift to home based work, or perhaps an earlier retirement than anticipated.
Some workers had time away from work on furlough, perhaps giving them time to consider future career moves. Certainly a move to home working, for some, will have prompted thoughts about different work options which may not have appeared possible in the pre pandemic world. The pandemic may also have led people to reassess what it is most important to them and to consider how they want to spend their time.
What Is the Impact on Employers?
With large numbers of staff apparently considering a job change or career move, it is more important than ever to think about the retention and employee engagement of your key staff. This is particularly important at a time when recruiting staff can be extremely difficult.
There are some things that you could consider in your workplace:
- Can you offer flexible working? Not all employers can offer remote working or flexible hours but think about what you can offer to make working for your organisation more attractive.
- Look carefully at your benefits package. Aside from pay, which will be high on the agenda for many workers at present, what other benefits can you offer that are appealing to staff? Extra holidays, well-being initiatives and health insurance may be attractive.
- Look at your workplace culture and take steps to promote a positive workplace environment. Think about what your values are and embed them within your workplace.
- Consider a focus on internal mobility within your organisation. This is often an area which is not a key focus within organisations, with People Management reporting that 70% of HR professionals do not have a clear strategy on internal mobility within their organisation.
- Consider how effectively you use your professional development processes. Could you focus more on career development for your staff, or perhaps introduce mentoring or coaching schemes?
- Look at how well you advertise internal vacancies to your existing staff.
We’re Here to Support You
The Narrow Quay HR team can work with you to improve your retention rates and look at your employee engagement by analysing your pay and benefits package, reviewing your workplace culture and helping to embed your core values within your workplace, and working with you to develop a focus on internal mobility.
