We are smack dab in the middle of one of the most unique times that employers have faced in recent decades. In response to the pandemic, work cultures and job expectations are changing at a rapid pace and, to the detriment of employers, employees are leaving their jobs in droves. Some have aptly labeled this “The Great Resignation.”
To understand why this is the current career climate, it’s helpful to understand the big picture. For starters, there are many challenges running parallel: frequent and unpredictable work disruptions, a robust economic demand, changes in work settings and an entire generation of boomers retiring to name a few. In addition to these hurdles, many employees are feeling a general sense of fatigue and burnout and are rethinking just how much their job contributes to that. The cost of living is increasing rapidly, and if they aren’t being paid their worth, they are returning to the drawing board. These combined factors have left many companies scrambling to fill open positions and retain the talented workforce that is still around.
So, what is an employer to do right now? We’re glad you asked.
Investing your time and resources in retaining your top talent helps to avoid the costly process of recruiting and onboarding new talent, with the added benefit of boosting employee morale because their team isn’t regularly in flux. Here are five ways to do that:
1. Present opportunities for learning: Learning new skills is a great way to keep employees passionate and excited about their careers. Offering workshops, courses or sponsoring conference attendance can reignite their passion and then keep it burning. This also has the added benefit of increased value for your company because of the new skills they will learn.
2. Outline career path: If it’s been a while since you have conducted employee reviews or career pathing meetings, now is the time. Hold one-on-one meetings with your team to openly discuss their goals, current job satisfaction and how they can get to the next step in their career without needing to make their way to another organization. If there isn’t a step up, it could be time to create one.
3. Offer challenges: Employees often wrongfully assume that the employees who quietly do their work and keep their heads down are the ones who are the most content with the status quo. This isn’t always the case and could be a warning sign that someone is stagnant in their career and readying to make a move. Be proactive in creating challenges for employees at every level.
4. Optimize team dynamics: Team dynamics are always crucial to job satisfaction, but now more than ever it’s important to check in to see if there are areas you improved among the flow. Speak to managers about places there may be communication breakdowns or sticking points among team members and then get to work fixing them. Creating opportunities for team bonding is a little more difficult in remote situations, but it’s an opportunity to get creative.
5. Remain flexible: It’s imperative to remain nimble right now because the reality is that things will likely continue to change frequently for the foreseeable future. Be open with your workforce about the climate we’re in and be transparent as changes come down the pipeline that may impact their work or work-life balance so you can navigate them together.
Our President and CEO Evelyn Milani recently shared a few more valuable insights on this unique time and what it means for employers. See below.
At Avanti Recruitment Solutions, we are proud to help some of the top technology companies retain and recruit top technology talent. If you’re experiencing changes to your workforce, let’s work through them together.
